Navigating the Future of Education: Insights from ASU+GSV and the AI Show
Why the future generation of learners needs to focus on a new set of skills (and how to encourage innovation in classrooms)
I just returned from four days at the AI Show and ASU + GSV in San Diego. It was my first time attending this large gathering of national educational leaders from school districts, nonprofits, and companies.
I was curious to learn more about the modern-day narrative shaping our use of the evolving state of technology in and out of educational contexts. A few key themes resonated with me from the conference.
Three Key Themes on the Future of Education from ASU + GSV
There’s a new set of skills being established for the future of work.
Discussions at the conference emphasized the essential skills for next-generation learners—curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, and compassion (the four C's). These conversations highlighted the importance of focusing on foundational learning areas that go beyond traditional academics. Another recurring theme was “metacognition,” a deeper understanding of learning how you learn. As someone who has spent the last few years as an adult refining my own radar for learning outside of traditional learning environments, I appreciated this theme. Over time, metacognition contributes to learning agility, a crucial construct for evaluating an individual's ability to succeed in constantly evolving environments.Equity in education requires better design and better access.
Just because something is broadly accessible on the Internet does not mean it is equitably accessible by all. I learned this the hard way when I first started working with NYC students and youth nearly a decade ago, and it continues to be an important theme in the dialogue and discourse of promoting equity in education. Tiffany Green, the founder of Uprooted Academy shared that when it comes to AI in education, there are problems of both design and access that make equity a challenge. While much of the discourse around broadening AI access to students involves each learner having a “perfect AI tutor,” this is likely not enough. Because learning is inherently social, the needs of learners go beyond just having access to perfect academic content. As a result, it’s important for educators and leaders to consider how to foster more collectivist (rather than individualistic) learning communities.Educators and students need safe learning environments to experiment (and fail).
One of the things I’ve learned the hard way over the past several years of rapid personal upskilling has been how critical it’s been to establish “safe” sandbox environments for practice reps at my own learning. By working in smaller organizations or in fractional roles within emerging industries where the stakes were lower, I developed a resilience that made me less afraid of learning in public. At the conference, numerous education leaders emphasized the urgent need to establish a “change state” where teachers feel secure enough to try new teaching methods. This is of course equally important to establish among student learners and interestingly mirrors the “build first, refine later” learning mentality of how many technologists have been learning AI solutions.
Case Study: Rewarding Innovators in Action
One of my favorite moments at ASU+GSV came during a panel where a school district shared a simple, clever tactic to encourage teachers to experiment with new lesson plans.
Let’s be real: It’s called a learning curve for a reason. Learning is messy, not linear. But in schools, that “two steps forward, one step back” process feels too risky. One district found that teachers were afraid to try out new lesson plans out of fear of having a supervisor or department leader sit in on a classroom observation on a day when they were trying something new. The fear of receiving a lower evaluation score while testing something unproven actually discouraged experimentation.
The solution? The school introduced “Innovator in Action” door badges. They encouraged teachers to hang these signs on door knobs whenever they were trying something new. This way, if an observer walked in (even if things weren't going perfectly), it was clear that the classroom was a space for experimentation.
At the start of the school year, only a couple of teachers would hang these 'Innovator in Action' signs on their doors. But by the end of the year, nearly every teacher was doing it.
This clever strategy not only incentivized the learning curve but also encouraged teachers to openly share their experimental processes. It fostered a safe environment for playful tinkering, an essential element for any creative transformation.
Learning In Action
One of the things that I'm most excited about during this period of rapid collective upskilling is to learn alongside different ends of the learn and work spectrum. It's empowering to dig right into learning new tools and AI frameworks alongside tech entrepreneurs who are building at the brink, just as it's exciting to hear the early stages of how education leaders all over the country are working to untangle some of the systemic stickiness in typical classroom environments.
I'm eager to see how all of this plays out in the months and years ahead, and hopeful that this continued dialogue of multiple groups coming together will contribute to better outcomes across the board.
Exploring themes from ASU + GSV, @bethanymarz highlights key insights on transforming education: From vital future skills like curiosity and adaptability to the importance of equity and safe experimenting environments, let's shape learning for evolving needs.
@gabrielayuso.eth this embed and several others casted from @paragraph don't seem to be rendering, but: - they work on the mini app preview tool - refreshing embeds does not fix them seems like possibly an issue on the WC side?
Thx for reporting. Will look into it.
The issue is that the URL was pasted with http not https. https://hardmodefirst.xyz/navigating-the-future-of-education-insights-from-asugsv-and-the-ai-show
Ahh, thank you!
This week I attended ASU + GSV, the nation's biggest convening of education leaders. Three takeaways: 1. There’s a new set of skills being established for the future of work. 2. Equity in education requires better design and better access. 3. Educators and students need safe learning environments to experiment (and fail). Read on for my full post summarizing these takeaways (plus a fun case study) from the conference: https://hardmodefirst.xyz/navigating-the-future-of-education-insights-from-asugsv-and-the-ai-show