Kuang Wen Chan | Head of Department, Educational Technology
Raffles institution

I am the Head of Department (Educational Technology) at Raffles Institution, where I lead initiatives in artificial intelligence, educational technology, and digital innovation. My work focuses on helping educators and students meaningfully integrate AI and technology into teaching and learning, while supporting capability development and exploring innovative pedagogical approaches for the future of education.

Appearances:

Pre-conference Workshops @ 10:00

[M5] 3 Nov (AM) - Culture first, AI second: driving sustainable adoption

AI tools offer powerful new affordances for teaching and learning, yet in many schools and organisations, adoption still lags behind what’s possible. The sticking point is rarely whether the tools work. More often, it’s culture: the beliefs, norms, incentives, and everyday routines that shape whether people feel safe to try, time to experiment and support to persist when early attempts are messy.

This workshop focuses on the “culture engine” behind sustainable AI adoption. Drawing from our school’s experience, we will share a practical, field-tested approach to shifting mindsets and behaviours - from cautious curiosity to confident, purposeful use. Participants will explore how we build trust and psychological safety, reduce friction in teachers’ workflows, and create shared language for what “good” AI use looks like. We will also unpack the systems that make change stick: leadership signals, professional learning structures, peer champions, quick-win pilots, feedback loops and lightweight governance that protects quality without slowing innovation.

Beyond sharing examples, this is a hands on planning session. Participants will diagnose their current adoption barriers and identify the cultural levers most relevant to their context. Using a simple strategy canvas, they will craft a customised adoption plan- including key messages, enabling structures, pilot ideas, measures of progress and a realistic action roadmap - so they can return to their organisations ready to lead AI-enabled change with clarity and momentum.

Key takeaways include:

Explain why culture (not tool effectiveness) is often the main driver of AI adoption and identify the key cultural barriers and enablers in their own context
Apply a set of practical culture-shaping strategies (e.g., psychological safety, norms for “good use”, peer champions, quick-win pilots, supportive structures) to increase teacher uptake and quality of AI use
Design a customised AI adoption strategy for their organisation, including priority actions, stakeholder roles, communication moves and simple success measures

Kuang Wen Chan, Head of Department, Educational Technology, Raffles institution

Gabriel Lim, Teacher, Raffles institution