Rebecca Winthrop

Do you participate? Do you do your homework? It relates to how you feel. Do you find school interesting? Is it exciting? Do you feel you belong at school? It relates to how you think. Are you cognitively engaged? Are you looking at what you learn in one class, applying it to what it might mean in your life outside or other classes? And it's also how proactive you are. about your learning.

Do you participate? Do you do your homework? It relates to how you feel. Do you find school interesting? Is it exciting? Do you feel you belong at school? It relates to how you think. Are you cognitively engaged? Are you looking at what you learn in one class, applying it to what it might mean in your life outside or other classes? And it's also how proactive you are. about your learning.

And all those dimensions really work together in education that's a very powerful construct to predict better achievement, better grades, better mental health, more enrollment in college, better understanding of content, and lots of other benefits to boot. And we need to have kids build that

And all those dimensions really work together in education that's a very powerful construct to predict better achievement, better grades, better mental health, more enrollment in college, better understanding of content, and lots of other benefits to boot. And we need to have kids build that

muscle of doing hard things, because I worry greatly that AI will basically make a frictionless world for young people. It's great for me. I'm loving generative AI, but I have said several decades of brain development where I know how to do hard things. But kids are developing their brains. They're literally being neurobiologically wired to

muscle of doing hard things, because I worry greatly that AI will basically make a frictionless world for young people. It's great for me. I'm loving generative AI, but I have said several decades of brain development where I know how to do hard things. But kids are developing their brains. They're literally being neurobiologically wired to

for how to attend, how to focus, how to try, how to connect ideas, how to relate to other people. And all of those are not easy things.

for how to attend, how to focus, how to try, how to connect ideas, how to relate to other people. And all of those are not easy things.

Absolutely. So we found after three years of research that kids engage in four different ways. They're passenger mode, kids are coasting, achiever mode, they're trying to get perfect outcomes, resistor mode, they're avoiding and disrupting, and explorer mode is when they really love what they're learning and they dig in and they're super proactive. So that's the high level framework.

Absolutely. So we found after three years of research that kids engage in four different ways. They're passenger mode, kids are coasting, achiever mode, they're trying to get perfect outcomes, resistor mode, they're avoiding and disrupting, and explorer mode is when they really love what they're learning and they dig in and they're super proactive. So that's the high level framework.

What part do you want to dig in on?

What part do you want to dig in on?

So passenger mode is difficult to spot often. for parents and sometimes teachers, because many kids in passenger mode get really good grades, but are just bored to tears. They show up to school, they do the homework, they have dropped out of learning. So passenger mode is when kids are really coasting, doing the bare minimum.

So passenger mode is difficult to spot often. for parents and sometimes teachers, because many kids in passenger mode get really good grades, but are just bored to tears. They show up to school, they do the homework, they have dropped out of learning. So passenger mode is when kids are really coasting, doing the bare minimum.

Some signs of this are your kid comes home and they do their homework as fast as possible. Another sign is that they say, oh, school's boring. It's just boring. I learn nothing. Kids are in passenger mode because school is actually too easy for them.

Some signs of this are your kid comes home and they do their homework as fast as possible. Another sign is that they say, oh, school's boring. It's just boring. I learn nothing. Kids are in passenger mode because school is actually too easy for them.

We talked to so many kids who said, look, I'm in class, and the teacher is going over the math homework from yesterday, and I got everyone right, and I know the answers, and it's 45 minutes of that. And I understand the kids who don't get it. They need the help. but I'm gonna shop online.

We talked to so many kids who said, look, I'm in class, and the teacher is going over the math homework from yesterday, and I got everyone right, and I know the answers, and it's 45 minutes of that. And I understand the kids who don't get it. They need the help. but I'm gonna shop online.

Or I have kids who say, well, I got the homework home and I know how to do this stuff, so I just put in chat GPT and it did my problem set for me and then I turn it in. So that's when it's too easy. Another version of why kids get into passenger mode is when it's too hard. School's too hard. You could have a neurodivergent kid. Kids don't feel they belong, and so they're not tuning in.

Or I have kids who say, well, I got the homework home and I know how to do this stuff, so I just put in chat GPT and it did my problem set for me and then I turn it in. So that's when it's too easy. Another version of why kids get into passenger mode is when it's too hard. School's too hard. You could have a neurodivergent kid. Kids don't feel they belong, and so they're not tuning in.