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🟡 Introduction
Emerson Collective and XQ Institute collaborated with Mesh Ed and Betaworks to host a two-day advisory event. The event culminated in a workshop, which we share here. The gathering aimed to highlight the transformative impact of AI in education, focusing specifically on "High School Redesign" during the second day. The XQ team presented strategic insights that guide their work, ranging from an introduction to Project-Based Learning to the benefits of a new Student Performance Framework and learner competencies. The objective of the event was to foster meaningful connections between pioneering AI innovators and seasoned educators and to disseminate these insights across the educational field.
Strategic Framing
While AI is already revolutionizing various sectors, our high school education system remains stagnant, intensifying social inequalities and hindering the full realization of students' potential. This summit aims to pivot from mere theoretical discourse to actionable solutions, emphasizing AI's capacity to redefine high school education, particularly through initiatives like Project-Based Learning and competency-based frameworks. In a landscape cluttered with well-intentioned but often overwhelming discussions on both the transformative promise and ethical dilemmas of AI, our one-day generative session stands out. Its goal is not to unearth a single, flawless solution but to identify areas of mutual agreement and shared enthusiasm among a diverse group of participants, thereby refining our collective direction.
We employed a core framework anchored in an Impact-Effort Matrix—a straightforward yet effective tool for prioritizing tasks based on their potential impact and required effort. This matrix is instrumental in facilitating consensus on which initiatives offer the highest impact for the least effort, guiding our collective decision-making process.
Moreover, we strategically assembled a cross-functional team of experts, deliberately curating a mix of individuals both from within the educational sector and beyond. This included thought leaders in broader AI and design thinking spheres, as well as actual practicing educators and administrators from high schools across America. The intent was to foster a multidisciplinary dialogue that enriches our collective understanding and propels us toward meaningful, actionable solutions."
Problem Statement
How can AI, help make High School more relevant to both the educator and the learner?
High schools are at a crucial juncture, responsible for preparing students for an uncertain future. As XQ Institute's work reveals, high schools face an array of challenges—educational, ethical, and developmental. Artificial Intelligence (AI) introduces an additional layer of complexity to this landscape. While AI has the potential to revolutionize teaching methods and enable personalized learning experiences, it also raises ethical concerns, including data privacy and algorithmic bias.
Beyond the ethical considerations, the introduction of AI into the educational space could have far-reaching implications for the cognitive and emotional development of adolescents. The technology could alter the traditional student-teacher relationship, perhaps reducing human interaction in favor of machine-led tutoring. We need to ask hard questions: What is the role of a teacher in this AI-influenced educational landscape? How will AI affect the critical interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence that students typically develop through human interaction in the classroom?
The summit aims to create a focused discussion among career educators, design thinkers, ed tech specialists, and AI technologists. The objective is not to provide a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather to identify overlapping areas of interest and concern. By doing this, we hope to narrow down the scope of our collective focus in the application of AI in education. Additionally, we will perform sentiment analysis to capture the room's collective opinions and emotional responses concerning the state of AI in education as of October 2023.
This gathering is not just about problem-solving but also about understanding where we stand at this particular historical moment. Our aim is to harness this multi-disciplinary knowledge to navigate the challenges and opportunities that AI presents in the context of high school education.
Objectives
- Our primary objective is to foster a focused approach towards integrating AI in education, with an emphasis on Project-Based Learning and the New Competencies Framework for high school stakeholders. Unlike previous discussions that have often been broad and theoretical, this initiative aims to differentiate by honing in on actionable, impactful strategies. Through our engagements with tech leaders and academic peers, we've identified a pressing need for tangible pathways in AI's educational application.
- The event's uniqueness lies in its commitment to deriving practical insights, especially in areas like PBL. On Day 2, our goal is to discern where collective enthusiasm and consensus lie, particularly in solutions that participants rank from "Low Effort / High Impact," to "High Effort/ Low Impact". Instead of chasing a singular solution, we aim to pinpoint where opportunities align with genuine, collective ENERGY and a freshly cultivated group of collaborators who may NOT otherwise have come into orbit on this topic.
Advisors Attendees
Why this workshop structure?
Our generative workshop was a carefully designed blend of many of our facilitator’s experiences, as well as methodologies drawn from AJ & Smart(source for AJ & Smart) and Jake Knapp's Crazy 8s exercise (source for Crazy 8s), adapted to fit the time constraints and specific strategic objectives we faced. We further refined these ideas with input from colleagues and attendees, with an emphasis on quality, engagement, and fun. The goal was to generate a meaningful array of actionable artifacts that could serve as a foundation for ourselves and others in the educational field.
Procedures
- Review materials
- Announce roles:
- 1 Facilitator: guides the exercise
- 1 Note-taker: captures real-time notes and takes photos of the output
- 6-7 Advisors: Provide domain expertise
- Encourage Advisors to log into the Team’s Notion to contribute, especially to add links/resources in the “Notepad” sections
- Conduct icebreaker
- Establish norms for the rest of this day
- Focus, to the fullest extent possible.
- We each have a voice at this table.
- This is our opportunity to take risks. Embrace wild ideas.
Timer [seated]
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Post-its (plain white rectangular)
- Sharpies (writing material)
- Rolling easel
- Personal mat to place Post-its
- Sticker dots for voting
- Virtual and physical timer
Outcomes
- Teams are familiar with each other
- Teams understand the exercise and materials they will be using
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 10 min - Overview: 5 min - Ice breaker: 5 min Icebreaker format: - State your name - Where you’re from - One word to describe how you’re feeling
Notes
This is merely a placeholder. Please edit to personalize what was pertinent to YOUR TEAM. Delete if Nothing to add.
Procedures
- Within 5 minutes, each Advisor writes down as many problems or challenges they perceive:
- INSIDE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM or IN HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
- Example: “High schools are failing our students in math, they can’t relate and it is boring for them.”
Notes:
- Use one Post-it for each problem/challenge
- You will select up to 5 problems/challenges to share with the Team
Timer [seate
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Post-its (plain rectangular)
- Sharpies (writing material)
- Rolling easel
- Personal mat to place Post-its
- Virtual and physical timer
Outcomes
- Each Advisor has at least five problems/challenges written down on Post-its
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 5 min
1. Little career progression for HS teachers- variety of different opportunities but not the same as tech/other professions.(IS)
2. People need school for widely different reasons. A lot of stuff that people need out of the school that is beyond just learning.(IS)
1. Little relevance to learners purpose. (JS)
2. Focus on abstract knowledge acquisition rather than expertise development.(JS)
1. Low agency- Manage the way you engage with the world. HS are designed to systematically inhibit agency development. not focused on developing sense of purpose. massive boredom, low engagement, low relevance (TVA)
- Lack of supporting staff- Bus drivers, custodians (AM)
- Methods and modes of instruction is very dated and doesn't meet the expectations of students. (AM)
- Low room for creativity; students dont get to explore their own passions or interest; more focused on compliance
- Low social relevancy, hard to connect to real world problems. how students are helping the world and engaging with others — more about meta knowledge; they why and how learners see themselves day to day, the community that they're in. Connecting and influencing your community
- Toxic Test and AP culture; skirting through the development that should be happening to game the standards ;
- Both Game Design and Reward system is fundamentally flawed.
- Avoiding game gives teachers the room to maneuver.
- Game within a larger game (larger context)
- Lack of Proximity of 21st century learning skills
- State of the American student - everything is worse than it was three years ago. ex. Increase in feelings in sadness and hopelessness, Academic outcomes are worse. Basic bars that are being missed (literacy) —
- Lost students post- pandemic, mental health at all time low.
- Anonymity that continues to reign on most high schools - large HS, with students with most needs, student feel unknown and alienated.
- Default state for many high schools
- Community partners- don’t know how to participate and teachers struggle to make connections
- Connectedness to community, institutions, etc- is being broken in high school structures
- Behavior/Discipline/Classroom Management
- Advising- FAFSA, studying for SAT, students fall through the cracks
Epistemological difference in the room- Knowledge acquisition to develop purpose/identity vs. Developing purpose/identity to acquire knowledge
Missing: Parents Expectations, demanding change and parents drive a lot of expectations in high school- activated constituent
AI and the potential for AI to reimagine education
Themes:
Low agency- Manage the way you engage with the world. HS are designed to systematically inhibit agency development. not focused on developing sense of purpose. massive boredom, low engagement, low relevance (TVA)
Low social relevancy, hard to connect to real world problems. how students are helping the world and engaging with others — more about meta knowledge; they why and how learners see themselves day to day, the community that they're in. Connecting and influencing your community
Procedures
- Each Advisor selects up to 2-3 problems/challenges to share with the Team, spending ~30 seconds on each problem/challenge (3 mins max per Advisor)
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- After each Advisor shares, Facilitator takes the Post-its and attaches them to the rolling easel, grouping common problems/challenges together
Timer [seated]
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Post-its (plain rectangular)
- Sharpies (writing material)
- Rolling easel
- Personal mat to place Post-its
- Virtual and physical timer
Outcomes
- The team has an idea of all problems/challenges inside high school classrooms or the high school educational system
- Problems/challenges are grouped by commonality
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 30 min - Each Advisor: 3 min max Reminders Facilitator should: - Remind others to respect the time constraint and to listen to the shared problems/challenges - Track the time for each Advisor - Collect the Post-its from each Advisor - Group common post-its together Note-taker should: - Note-taker will take a photo of each advisor’s board of post-its 📷 and upload all of them to this section of the Notion section. - Summarize each Advisor’s conversation on the shared problems/challenges
Procedures
- Each Advisor receives two red dots to vote on the most pressing problems, doing so silently
- Facilitator moves the top 3 problems/challenges based on the number of votes to the middle of the easel
Notes:
- If there is a tie-breaker, Advisors will vote for the top problem/challenge by using their hand
Timer [standing]
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Post-its (plain rectangular)
- Rolling easel
- Virtual and physical timer
- ¼ inch dot stickers (round and red color)
Outcomes
- Advisors vote
- Top 3 problems/challenges are identified
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 5 min Facilitator reminds Advisors to vote silently
Procedure
- The top 3 problems/challenges are rephrased by the Team. The team works to reframe the problem into a "How might we...?" statement.
Example:
Problem: “We have no means of measuring the efficacy of these AI tools my students are using."
Reframed: "How might we create means of measurement and efficacy of AI products?"
Timer [standing]
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Post-its (plain rectangular)
- Rolling easel
- Virtual and physical timer
Outcomes
- There are 3 “How might we…” statements and they are captured in the Team Notes section
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 5 min
Note-taker captures the “How might we...” statements
Notes
This is merely a placeholder. Please edit to personalize what was pertinent to YOUR TEAM. Delete if Nothing to add.
Initial: How might we give students a chance to choose their own adventure?
V2: How might we create more meaningful experiences for students
EX. HVA/IB Model: They don’t have a lot of choice but they have a lot of voice in their experience.
How might we enable students to discover their own meaningful experience?
Design perspective: You cant design without constraints and without context. You want to create some guardrails that move students forward, inject discovery and agency where purpose and agency are built.
Outcome of school to increasingly be to build the meta cognitive skills to learn anything. Develop those skills over time and adults can help you.
V3: How might we create more meaningful experiences for students that allow them to leave school able to learn anything?
V4: How might we create more meaningful experiences for students that allow them to enact their purpose in the world?
Lack of Support Staff:
Initial: How might we expand the community that supports learning in schools?
V1. How much we expand the community that supports learning ecosystems in schools?
V2. How much we optimize the community that supports learning ecosystems in our schools? Note-taker captures the “How might we...” statements - How might we:
V4: How might we create more meaningful experiences for students that allow them to enact their purpose in the world?
V2. How might we optimize the community that supports learning ecosystems in our schools? Think about: AI & Technology
Procedure
- Brainstorm. Allowing 5 mins for each of the top problems/challenges, each Advisor writes down as many solutions they have for the specific problem/challenge
- The format for Solutions on a Post-it should be no more than 3 sentences, which sounds similar to an “elevator pitch”
- Given the current landscape of companies and AI products, hold space for how technology may play a role in each solution Post-it
- Example solution: “Build the most dynamic curriculum on becoming an Entrepreneur; using AI co-pilot trained on insights from world-famous business leaders.”
- This process will be repeated for the problem/challenge, totaling 15 mins
- Shareout. Each Advisor selects up to 3 solutions to share with the Team, spending 1:30 min max per advisor on sharing solutions (~30 secs on each solution). Limit to three sentences “elevator pitch.”
- Sorting. After each Advisor shares, Facilitator takes all solution Post-its from the Advisor and attaches them to the rolling easel. Team reads all solutions and [if applicable] Team supports in sorting common solutions under each problem/challenge
Timer [seated]
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Post-its (plain blue rectangular)
- Sharpies (writing material)
- Rolling easel
- Personal mat to place Post-its
- Virtual and physical timer
Outcomes
- All solutions are sorted and presented under each of the top 3 problems/challenges
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 40 min - Solutions for each problem/challenge (total 3): 5 mins - Solutions discussion (1:30 min each): ~15 mins Reminders Facilitator should: - Encourage as many solutions to be written. No pressure on “over” designing - Reminder others to respect the time constraint and to listen to the shared problems/challenges - Track the time for each Advisor - Collect the Post-its from each Advisor Note-taker should: Summarize each Advisor’s conversation on the solutions
V4: How might we create more meaningful experiences for students that allow them to enact their purpose in the world?
AI enabled career path maker: Reverse path from career choices, What skills in classes are important to learn. AI enabled bot could help me plot that path, could track progress along the way. Mentor matching - other professionals who have walked that path/in that space
Key Stone Programs: SystemsGO, includes competition which allows orientation of the self.
Visualization Platform: Depicts each school community in a vibrant way, shows everyone where they fit and what systems exist around them. Could Identify gaps. every student, parent, teacher, etc would be on boarded onto it
AI Generated interdisciplinary and endlessly adaptive curriculum, particularly as it pertains to student interests without diminishing rigor
Implementing AI at the logistical layer of education; to support curation of learning environments - allow the teacher to have time before & after work to have space for conversation (Both)
Inputting project that students created to extract the standards and competencies
Generative AI version of scratch,
V2. How might we optimize the community that supports learning ecosystems in our schools?
AI enabled gig economy model for schools / remote options: AI enabled matching app. Opens up options to micro financing and transactions
+Identify needs in the community / beyond my community
Launch a learning experience network: Network that allows students to access client projects, Ex: EPIC; help communities create projects that are important to the student and community.
Embed Learning in the Full Community:
Learner driven experiences: HS students going to MS/Elementary students
Create or enhance digital platform that will enhance co teaching- facilitate match making between them
Using tech to allow a student to create their own board of advisor: mid high school and into high school
AI Advisor: Upload info, Generate a FAFSA, for you send reminders to students, events, equivalent of helicopter parents.
Opportunity 1
AI Enabled Path Maker
Co Teacher Match
1000 new schools (High Effort, high Impact)
Endlessly Adaptive Curriculum
gen AI Scratch
AI tool Project→ Skills
Opportunity 2:
AI enabled matching app (High Effort, High Impact)
Mentor Support systems
Platform to visualize the community (Medium Effort, Medium-High Impact)
AI to handle teacher logistics
Launch a learner experience network (Medium effort, medium effort)
Procedure
- Each Advisor receives 5 red dots to vote on the most appealing solutions, doing so silently
Notes:
- If there is a tie-breaker, Advisors will vote for the top problem/challenge by using their hand
- Only 1 vote per solution
Timer [standing]
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Post-its (plain rectangular)
- Rolling easel
- Virtual and physical timer
- ¼ inch dot stickers (round and red color)
Outcomes
- At least 3 solutions are identified via votes
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 5 min
Procedures
- Facilitator selects at least 3 and at most 5 of the most voted-on solutions and moves them to the top of the matrix side of the easel
- Advisors discuss each of the solutions to determine the feasibility and place the solution on the “Effort vs. Impact” matrix
- Vertical axis: level of impact of the solution
- Horizontal axis: level of effort required to create the solution
- Each Advisor receives 1 green dot to vote on the most appealing solution from the matrix, doing so silently.
- By the end of this session, the team has landed on one idea to build a roadmap for.
Notes:
- The objective of this exercise is to gather consensus, if not a majority, on where to place each solution on the matrix
Timer [standing]
Materials
- AV for Note-taker to share Notion on screen
- Rolling easel
- Virtual and physical timer
- ¼ inch dot stickers (round and green color)
Outcomes
- Top solutions are on the effort vs. impact matrix with their votes
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 20 min - Placing solutions on matrix: 15 mins - Vote on matrix: 5 mins
Notes
This is merely a placeholder. Please edit to personalize what was pertinent to YOUR TEAM. Delete if Nothing to add.
Procedures
- The facilitator rolls the Team’s easel to the general area for viewing.
Side 1: Problems/challenges & solutions
- Grouped problems/challenges
- Voted on top 3 problems/challenges
- All possible solutions under each of the Top 3 problems/challenges
Side 2: Mapped matrix
- Quadrant with at least the top 3 solutions plotted based on effort vs. impact
Timer [walk]
Materials
- Rolling easel
- General area for a break
- Coffee, tea, biscuits break
Outcomes
- Advisors have scanned the problems/challenges, solutions, and mapped matrices from the other Teams
FACILITATOR AND NOTE-TAKER GUIDELINES Total time available: 15 min Facilitator should guide the Team back to workspaces Note-takers should take a photo of all easels
Team Yellow, Go to Your Team Reports Page!
