Rebecca Winthrop

They've lined up the evidence to create a thesis, and they've presented it in logical order on their own. And that is the art of thinking. And that's why we assign seventh graders to write essays or 10th graders to write essays. It's not that they're going to create incredible works of art. It's to train them how to think logically and how to think in steps.

And that is a core component of critical thinking. So As long as kids are mastering that and the AI is helping, that's a good use. But a lot of kids are using it to do exactly like you said, shortcut the assignments. So an example, one kid I talked to said, well, you know... This is a high school kid. For my essay, I break the prompt into three parts.

And that is a core component of critical thinking. So As long as kids are mastering that and the AI is helping, that's a good use. But a lot of kids are using it to do exactly like you said, shortcut the assignments. So an example, one kid I talked to said, well, you know... This is a high school kid. For my essay, I break the prompt into three parts.

I run it through three different generative AI models. I put it together. I run it through three anti-plagiarism checkers, and then I turn it in. Another kid said, I run it through chat GPT, and then I run it through an AI humanizer. which goes in and puts typos in and makes it, you know.

I run it through three different generative AI models. I put it together. I run it through three anti-plagiarism checkers, and then I turn it in. Another kid said, I run it through chat GPT, and then I run it through an AI humanizer. which goes in and puts typos in and makes it, you know.

Kids will find a way, no matter what. Kids will find a way. We cannot outmaneuver them with technology. So the first response when Gen AI came in was ban it, block it, get anti-plagiarism checkers in, which are bad, by the way. Like I talked to one kid who showed me he had this essay and the plagiarism checker flagged 40% of it and he changed two words and then it went away.

Kids will find a way, no matter what. Kids will find a way. We cannot outmaneuver them with technology. So the first response when Gen AI came in was ban it, block it, get anti-plagiarism checkers in, which are bad, by the way. Like I talked to one kid who showed me he had this essay and the plagiarism checker flagged 40% of it and he changed two words and then it went away.

So we cannot out-technologize ourselves. So what we need to do is shift what we're doing in our teaching and learning experiences.

So we cannot out-technologize ourselves. So what we need to do is shift what we're doing in our teaching and learning experiences.

I am not sure I agree. I agree with several things. One, you are not alone. There are many, many kids who currently today are going through the system and feel like you. Two, I agree with you that as sort of a bureaucratic system that is actually quite miraculous if you think about it, like in every community across our country,

I am not sure I agree. I agree with several things. One, you are not alone. There are many, many kids who currently today are going through the system and feel like you. Two, I agree with you that as sort of a bureaucratic system that is actually quite miraculous if you think about it, like in every community across our country,

Kids as young as 3 to 18 at the same time of day are getting themselves to a place Monday through Friday for a certain amount of days in the year. I mean, that is an organizational feat. And the thing I don't agree with is that once you're there... you just have to design for the mean and the average.

Kids as young as 3 to 18 at the same time of day are getting themselves to a place Monday through Friday for a certain amount of days in the year. I mean, that is an organizational feat. And the thing I don't agree with is that once you're there... you just have to design for the mean and the average.

I think there's lots of examples that are relatively big scale, or at least not just one little school in a corner by one fabulous homespun teacher that do things differently. And I think it actually just gets down to how we orchestrate teaching and learning experiences.

I think there's lots of examples that are relatively big scale, or at least not just one little school in a corner by one fabulous homespun teacher that do things differently. And I think it actually just gets down to how we orchestrate teaching and learning experiences.

I'll give you a couple. So there's an example of schools in North Dakota that have created studios for their adolescents. And what are studios? They are self-created classes that a student can design and And they have to tell you, or tell the teacher, what standards they're meeting. I'll give you an example.

I'll give you a couple. So there's an example of schools in North Dakota that have created studios for their adolescents. And what are studios? They are self-created classes that a student can design and And they have to tell you, or tell the teacher, what standards they're meeting. I'll give you an example.

We have a great character in the book I've done with Jenny Anderson, the disengaged teen, named Kia. And she was totally disengaged, doom scrolling in middle school, and then these studios showed up. She got super into it because she was learning history and science, and she decided to design an escape room.

We have a great character in the book I've done with Jenny Anderson, the disengaged teen, named Kia. And she was totally disengaged, doom scrolling in middle school, and then these studios showed up. She got super into it because she was learning history and science, and she decided to design an escape room.

And she had to list out for herself, these are the standards I'm meeting for whatever grade she was in, 10th grade, I think, history and science. And she did an escape room around the assassination. of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. But she had to design this escape room. That turned her on like nobody else. And she got super excited. And she did several of those.