Klingbrief

Jay Caspian Kang’s musings on generative AI make for an insightful read. Kang first dispenses with concerns about generative AI tools as only being used for cheating, pointing out that rates of cheating remain largely the same as from the pre-LLM world. Probing deeper, Kang sees the arrival of generative AI tools as a provocation, situating these tools in broader conversations about teaching, learning, and curriculum. When viewed as continuous with previous moments of technology-induced worry (like graphing calculators, Wikipedia, or the broader internet-inspired move away from content knowledge), generative AI tools represent not so much a challenge, but rather as an opportunity to rethink what it is we do in school. For example, Kang wonders, “when we think about students’ work, where do we draw the line between what has sprung out of their developing mind and what has not?” This question arises with new urgency in an age of LLMs, but it should be an ever-present reflection for educators. Connecting the agita over generative AI to broader questions of curriculum and skills “gives us a chance to reemphasize the work-habit part of schooling and to walk away from claims that the books that children read are somehow dangerous or that only one version of history can be taught.” In other words, this new technology forces us to think about what we really want students to get out of their classroom and school experiences – and reminds us that the work of learning can never be automated.

Risky play has so many documented benefits for healthy child development that robust uptake of the concept seems intuitively inviting. This report not only brings us documentation, beautifully building the case for children to experience time and settings that give them healthy choices, but also speaks directly to the adults who will implement, supervise, and defend outdoor playtimes as foundational blocks of learning for children from early years into the teens. Balancing the benefits of risk-taking with the possibility of injury is seen as a challenge worth taking up from the point of view of this report from the Canadian Paediatric Society, authored to help professionals everywhere make careful, logical, and supported choices and changes in school-based programs so that children can exercise their ability to choose safe play. This report has it all: the statistics on injury prevention, a down-to-earth look at risk vs. hazard, and a how-to on design features that increase physical, cognitive, and social growth potential in outdoor play. The best part of this paper is its position of respect for children and their capacities, judgment, instincts, and experiences. Here is an elegant medical defense that smoothly slides into place to support educators interested in exploring how the UN declaration on a child’s right to play can more meaningfully leap off the page straight into our schools’ playgrounds.

Amy Edmondson’s research has demonstrated why a feeling of psychological safety is essential to high-performing teams. In The Psychological Safety Playbook, Karolin Helbig and Minette Norman outline concrete steps readers can take to promote psychological safety in the workplace. Using the analogy of a coach’s playbook, the authors focus on five broad competencies or “plays:” communication, listening, managing reactions, embracing risk and failure, and inclusive practices. What makes the book particularly useful is the way it breaks each play into bite-sized “moves”—distinct skills or actions that can be practiced until they become habitual. For example, one listening-related move is to “commit to curiosity.” The book’s digestible structure invites readers to dip in and out for quick pointers or reminders. Each move features a cartoon illustration, a concise explanation of the “why,” and bullet points detailing the “how.” Overall, the practical tools in this book will contribute to a happier, healthier workplace, and they are equally pertinent to our work with students. Excerpts from the book could even be incorporated into SEL or advisory programs, helping to foster leadership skills and psychological safety schoolwide.

Have you ever wondered what it would take to truly transform our education system? Aimee Quickfall and Phil Wood tackle this question head-on in their groundbreaking book, Transforming Teacher Work. This compelling read offers a bold vision for addressing the teacher recruitment and retention crisis plaguing schools, particularly in England. Quickfall and Wood don’t just rehash familiar problems such as overwhelming workloads, stress, burnout, and the exodus of experienced teachers. Instead, they delve deeply into the root causes and propose radical solutions. One of the most intriguing ideas presented is the creation of an “Education Council” to set a long-term strategy, placing teachers at the heart of decision-making. Another standout aspect is the authors’ call for an “evidential ecosystem”—a diverse range of educational research to inform policy and practice. Are we currently making the best use of education research? Quickfall and Wood argue for a more nuanced approach to ensure that diverse research perspectives shape our educational landscape. While the book focuses on England, its insights have global implications. The challenges of teacher recruitment, retention, and well-being are not unique to any one country.

In this Education Week article, Evie Blad discusses a new study on chronic absenteeism from the RAND Corporation and the Center on Reinventing Public Education. While this study analyzed data from 190 public school districts and interviews with 12 district leaders, the issue of student attendance and increased chronic absenteeism persists in the independent school world, as well. Attendance remains a challenging issue for many reasons, one of which is a cultural shift around parental attitudes regarding school attendance. This change has been observed across family income levels, so while common barriers such as poverty, lack of transportation, and chronic health issues continue to persist, it is much more likely now for parents to allow their students to miss school for family trips, less severe illness, and general disengagement from school. School leaders in the study posited many possible reasons for this cultural shift including systemic problems in schools (i.e., long-term substitute teachers), confusion about how to handle less severe sickness caused by stricter rules at the height of the pandemic, and families growing accustomed to remote days and the seeming ease with which students could make up missed work. Unfortunately, many of the schools involved in the study reported that no one intervention saw broad support across the study. In addressing truancy, should it arise, schools will therefore need to tailor their approaches and messaging to families as opposed to using a one-size-fits-all approach.

Is the modern world leading us into a collective "attentional injury"? In this thought-provoking conversation between Ezra Klein of The New York Times and Dr. Gloria Mark, a Chancellor's professor in the Department of Informatics at University of California, Irvine, the parallel between physical and mental exhaustion takes center stage. Mark's research suggests that just like physical resources, our cognitive resources also need rest and recovery. Prolonged mental effort, exacerbated by constant digital interruptions such as emails and notifications, leads to burnout. Mark's research reveals that people check email an average of 77 times daily, contributing to stress and reduced focus. She explains how frequent task-switching leaves behind a cognitive "residue," making it harder to concentrate on new tasks. This insight is particularly relevant for educators dealing with the increasing influence of technology in learning environments. As technology usage becomes increasingly common, understanding how digital distractions affect students' attention and well-being is crucial. Additionally, managing both students' and educators' mental resources is also essential. This conversation invites educators to reconsider their approach to attention and workload in today's tech-heavy world, offering actionable insights into how to prevent burnout and support cognitive health.

In Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick argues that although there is a cost to becoming familiar with AI – a few sleepless nights – it’s an imperative. After just a few years of training on vast amounts of human-generated data, AI can now easily spit out great test questions (and answers); on-point emails (and essays); startlingly beautiful images; and novel ideas for student-centered projects (and solutions). And, as Mollick points out, today’s AI is the weakest AI there will ever be; it will only get better and better at what it does, which is to produce content in any voice or from any perspective we tell it to. Given this reality, Mollick argues that we should engage with AI intentionally and optimistically, and seek to combine its augmentative capacity with our creativity and productivity. AI is not (yet) sentient, but Mollick says that in order to get the best from it, we need to treat it like it is – give it a persona, tell it the rules of our engagement, give it clear and ethical boundaries, and provide it feedback when it stumbles through hallucination or immorality. In some ways, then, the best AI users are teachers or at least act like them when interacting with AI. Mollick himself strikes a strong pedagogical pose in his book, offering readers concrete tips and suggestions for ways to understand and use AI – as a co-intelligent creative partner, coworker, tutor, and coach.