Keeping Student Thinking Visible: Why AI is Making Classrooms Harder (In a Good Way) | Ep. 117

About this episode

In this episode of ChatEDU Keeping Student Thinking Visible: Why AI is Making Classrooms Harder (In a Good Way), Matt and Liz kick it off with an informal pop quiz distinguishing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) from Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) and then Artificial Slider Intelligence (ASI-2 - as in burgers). They dive into a study from NPJ Science of Food detailing this new ASI coined by Ethan Mollick where researchers utilized a two-stage generative AI diffusion model to analyze human food data and successfully generate optimized, nutritious, and sustainable burger recipes.

The Rundown

The state passed a comprehensive piece of artificial intelligence legislation establishing a statewide AI academy and a higher education alliance, while requiring every public school district to integrate computer science and AI into its curriculum.

A major sweep of ecosystem updates from Orlando includes new Gemini features like study notebooks and expanded exam prep, alongside fresh Chromebook tool locks and massive google.org funding investments for non-profits like AIEDU.

Spurred by a listener tip and an analytical piece in Wired Magazine, the hosts discuss a growing European movement to establish localized tech platforms and break free from a reliance on American big tech infrastructure.

The Beneath the Surface

High school English teacher and Connecticut Teacher of the Year semifinalist Kate Avcollie joins the show to discuss her classroom strategies for shifting student focus away from simple compliance and toward authentic cognition. She details how she utilizes custom chatbot "Gems" as structured interventions to pressure test student ideas, requiring them to unpack and annotate their logic. This process ultimately makes student thinking entirely visible and elevates classroom rigor during live evaluations like Socratic seminars and shark tank presentations.

The Bright Byte

The episode closes with a positive look at Intercept, a new 500 million dollar philanthropic initiative aiming to eliminate common respiratory infections like colds and the flu. The project relies heavily on advanced AI protein design tools like AlphaFold to engineer specialized molecules and create broad spectrum treatments without harmful side effects.

Announcements

Purchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday

Amazon - https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77

Seeing through the Machine – Teaching Bias as an Equity Practice in AI - Dr. Elizabeth Radday - https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a

Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ​​⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠ 

Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.skills21.org/social-balance⁠⁠⁠

Address Screen Time concerns - ⁠skills21.org/ai/screenshift⁠ 

Links

The Visible Thinker

thevisiblethinker.com

Generative artificial intelligence creates burgers

https://tinyurl.com/mw4cjy2w

Connecticut AI law could reshape how students learn from kindergarten to college

https://tinyurl.com/5n6nekdp

Google for Education Launch Guide: ISTE Orlando 2026

https://tinyurl.com/37uu4nvk

Google.org is funding three long-term partners on education and AI

https://tinyurl.com/4txc8cax

Patricia Rootsaert

https://tinyurl.com/yc62h3pc

CIV AI

www.civai.eu

Europe Is Fed Up and Wants Its Own AI

https://tinyurl.com/3n8kk24h

Intercept: Ending Respiratory Infections

https://tinyurl.com/mrxxfbk5