When I was growing up and going through my Dinosaur phase (I believe almost all of us had a dinosaur phase), I remember asking my teacher when we would learn about dinosaurs.

It was September and she mentioned that we would have a unit on dinosaurs in February. I had already checked out all of the dinosaur books in our local library and the school library. I’d watched “Land of Time” too many times to count.

Flash forward to my son going through his Dinosaur phase. I caught him on a Youtube Livestream, watching a Q&A show with one of the best paleontologists in the world at an actual dig site.

Talk about a difference in learning opportunities. Same subject. Different time. World changed.

I have to be honest.

For years I believed phones should not be banned in classrooms.

But, after looking at the research, and my interactions with students and my own children, I started leaning heavily in the direction of removing phones from all learning environments.

I’m not one to change my beliefs lightly, but I’m also not going to hold onto a belief when research and reality are showing me, I’m wrong.

That is where the initial research for my upcoming book, Meaningful and Relevant, started: From a place of a frustrated Dad, teacher, and school leader wondering how we can possibly engage learners in such an era of distraction.

Average GPA goes up! Average SAT goes down...in the same time period.

Why is this so important (and why does it bug me so much, when maybe it shouldn't)?

Because much of our K-12 system and Higher-Ed is based around one specific type of measure: Final Product Grades.

These summative grades are given at the end of a test, quiz, unit, project, essay etc.

While the grades keep rising, what we are really missing out on is whether or not real learning is occuring.

The learning happens during the actual process, not in the result of a final product.

When we only assess the final product, we miss so much value in the learning -- and ultimately fall short of providing valuable and useful feedback that is needed to support learning progress.

There is an intense video making its way across the internet and social media this week.

A professor confronts one of his students about using AI to cheat. He apparently assigned five different videos (10 minutes each in length) to watch and respond to (100 words).

The student in question, turned in the assignment in four minutes. The professor, obviously upset, gets into a contentious back-and-forth as the student shows the AI tool they are using to watch the video, provide notes, and ultimately answer any questions.

The student reiterates over and over that they are not cheating, they are using the technology to help them learn.

The professor disagrees, and it seems like this is not the first time it is an issue. The student is subsequently kicked out of class.

I’m not sure either of the people in the video gave their consent in the filming, so I won’t share it out here.

First, a quick overview of this plagiarism problem:

In March 2024 Copyleaks announced new data showing changing student habits regarding AI usage and plagiarism in schools. The study—conducted from January 2023 to January 2024—revealed a 76% surge in AI-generated material over the year. 

Recent studies underscore the rapid adoption of AI tools among students. A survey by BestColleges revealed that 56% of college students have used AI for assignments or exams. Similarly, research from Nerdynav found that 43% of students admitted to using tools like ChatGPT, with 89% leveraging them for homework, 53% for essays, and 48% for at-home tests.

Educators are increasingly alarmed by the ease with which students can use AI to sidestep academic standards. A Wiley survey indicated that 96% of instructors believe at least some students have cheated in the past year, with AI tools frequently cited as contributing to this trend.

The Gallup report Creativity in Learning is based on a survey conducted in 2019 as a “nationally representative study” of teachers, students, and parents of students. The focus was the extent to which “creativity in learning” is being fostered in American classrooms, what respondents think of it, and how technology supports it. Project Based Learning is cited throughout the report.

Here are some highlights via PBLWorks:

“Teachers who often assign creative, project-based activities are more likely than other teachers to say their students display a range of learning and development goals, including building self-confidence, utilizing their unique strengths, and developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

“68% percent of teachers say project-based assignments are a good measure of student learning, far more than the 12% at who say the same about standardized tests.”

Raise your hand if you’ve ever held a big ol’ floppy disk before!

If I could look through this screen I’d see a lot of hands held high :)

Way before we all had three devices on us (yea, I see you with the watch, phone, and laptop over there).

And way before we used computers for work, communication, research, writing, music, art and thousands of other creative pursuits.

There was Oregon Trail.

A few weeks ago I was leading a workshop with a local school that was focused on engaging learners in an era of distraction. It was our second session together and we were trying to answer this question:

What does it look like to teach (and learn) in a world of distraction and engage in a world of artificial intelligence?

What followed was partly inspired by Trevor Ragan’s amazing video on Zoo Tigers and Jungle Tigers, but also involved a learning sprint connected to the Gradual Release of Responsibility, with the goal of transfer.

I break it all down in this latest video below. Share your feedback on the video if you can, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

You’ve probably heard of the “Gradual Release of Responsibility” Model. If not, you’ve at least been shown the cliff notes version: “I do, we do, you do”.

The term "Gradual Release of Responsibility" (GRR) and its associated process in education were coined and developed by P. David Pearson and Margaret Gallagher in 1983. These researchers from the University of Illinois introduced this concept in a report that has since become widely influential in the field of education.

Pearson and Gallagher's model was loosely based on the ideas of Russian educational theorist Lev Vygotsky. They envisioned an instructional approach that would transition from explicit modeling and instruction by the teacher to guided practice, and eventually to activities that incrementally positioned students as independent learners.

The goal and focus of their model is to transfer the responsibility of learning from mentor (teacher) to mentee (student). This transfer of responsibility takes place over various timeframes, such as a day, a week, or even a semester, depending on the complexity of the task and the needs of the learners.

My daughter is in 3rd grade. She loves learning (seriously, she comes home every day excited about writing stories, diving into multiplication, a piece of art she made, or something she learned while in school). 

She has a great class with good friends and a safe place to learn, imagine, create, and explore.

I know that we are lucky and she is lucky to have this learning experience.

Yet, in a conversation with my daughter at the end of last year, I realized something.

She was already playing the game of school.

And, at 8 years old, she knew the rules.

I distinctly remember taking part in the Classrooms for the Future Grant as a new teacher, and having a Smartboard and Laptop cart in the classroom.

Everything I had previously used as a teacher now seemed obsolete. It changed my entire practice, and the learner experience.

We had a training that year on the SAMR Model, and I quickly made the connection to my classroom. The new technology was often augmenting and modifying my old practices. It was rarely redefining, but when it did, great learning happened!

Flash forward two decades.

We are undergoing another massive shift along the SAMR Model. Artificial Intelligence tools and features are starting to completely shake things up in K-12 and Higher Ed institutions.

Yet, this time it feels a bit different. It feels like we are missing a level on SAMR.

Imagine, for a moment, you are a student.

You just got home after a full day at school. You took the bus to an away game, played and watched another game, took the bus back. Your parent is out, so you are helping younger siblings get dinner and ready for bed.

It’s late, you are tired, and remember all the homework you still have to do.

Your phone is dinging with messages and Snapchat notifications.

Your friend reminds you that you don’t really need to do all 30 math questions for homework, you can just pop open Photomath and jot down the work and answers.

What do you do?