While I was putting the IKEA bed together and following the steps, I couldn’t help but think that this is what many of our students must feel like. They are often given “big tasks” to complete in school. These tasks could be writing a paper, research essay, book report project, word problem, or lab.

You might have even experienced that nagging feeling when you have a minute of wait time or boredom, and your hand reaches subconsciously for your device…

Believe me, it’s not just you. It’s me. It’s most of us.

We are distracted. More than ever. The chances you finish this article are very slim. The chances you finish this article without getting distracted by your device are extremely small!

Kids are distracted by constant notifications for their attention. You already know this. Because you are also distracted. We live in an era of distraction.

AI-compatible practices will dictate how much of our learning is structured now and in the future.

Since then I've worked with many schools on developing these practices for a variety of grade levels and subject areas.

My favorite AI-compatible practice that works in almost any classroom is "Defend Your Learning".

If you are anything like me, your educational experience probably consisted of a lot of lectures, notes, homework, tests, and papers.

Then, when I started teaching, I gave a lot of PowerPoint lectures, had my students take a lot of notes, and focused on rigorous tests, and all kinds of papers.

Seemed to be a cycle.

This is the basic structure for every 11-Minute Essay:

Essentially, the minutes are broken down like this:

✅ Students react to the truism = 1 minute

✅ Students connect their belief about this truism to something they've read = 3 minutes

✅ Students connect their belief about this truism to something they've seen in a movie or show = 3 minutes

✅ Students connect their belief about this truism to something they've personally experienced = 3 minutes

✅ Students elaborate on the significance of this truism = 1 minute