When young people believe early on that they are not creative or smart enough or that they don’t belong, that can stay with them into adulthood and lead to a fixed mindset, said Sabba Quidwai, educator, author and CEO of Designing Schools, who kicked off Tuesday’s trio of Mainstage speakers. Those with a fixed mindset may feel that they lack agency to help shape the future and lack hope as well, she said.
But for those with a growth mindset, who have hope and a belief in their agency, but still face barriers around time and resources, there is an opportunity to embrace an AI mindset, Quidwai said.
“People with this type of mindset say: these are my big hopes and dreams, these are my big ambitious ideas, and these are all the problems and barriers that are standing in my way. How are my AI tools going to help me figure this out so that I can finally focus on what matters?” she shared.
Quidwai outlined four “power moves” she developed for adopting this mindset, and described the process in action through the work of fifth-grade teacher Tara Mangeni, who used the framework with her students as part of a plan to help prepare them to succeed in a world of AI and other emerging technologies.
One part of the process is focused on communication, both with humans and AI teams. For communicating with AI, Quidwai shared SPARK—situation, problem, aspect, results and kismet—a prompt framework she developed designed to focus on the human before the machine.
Quidwai acknowledged that “innovation is messy” and the work can be hard, but says “it might be the hardest work we have not just been called upon to do but chosen to do in our generation as collectively we shape and design what comes next.”
A time for curiosity
Storyteller, author and curiosity expert Scott Shigeoka opened his talk by engaging attendees in a mindfulness exercise, focusing their thoughts on honoring and thanking one person in the world who made them feel seen and heard by being curious about them – and speaking their name out loud into the conference hall.
Shigeoka, author of “Seek,” has focused his work on what he calls “heart-centered curiosity.”
“How do we know people and understand them? Know their stories or values, and what makes them who they are?” This type of curiosity prompts deeper questions. “Instead of ‘Where do you live?’ you might ask, ‘What does home feel like for you?’” he said.
In addition to curiosity about others, curiosity can be directed inward or in a beyond direction — toward a divine consciousness or our ancestors or descendants, Shigeoka said. And research shows all three types contribute positively to one’s happiness and fulfillment.
“Curiosity is completely connected with having a growth mindset. It helps us to build trust, especially in the workplace, but also in interpersonal relationships. It deepens empathy. Because when we’re curious about others we understand other perspectives. We take on their perspectives.”
Shigeoka described a framework he developed called DIVE — detach, intend, value and embrace — which can help with accessing deep curiosity, he said. And he offered three steps for adopting a curiosity practice — visualizing yourself being curious, modeling and admiring curiosity and developing a powerful list of questions.
Research suggests that leaders who practice curiosity are more liked, more likely to be forgiven for their mistakes and are seen as competent leaders, he noted, suggesting that the practice is also easily scalable and is most needed right now amid a culture that is increasingly marked by division.
Nurturing imagination
When the pandemic hit in 2020, author Jason Reynolds had recently taken on the role of National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a position he had been tapped for by then Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, he told attendees at Tuesday morning’s Mainstage talk. Reynolds said he had accepted the role on the condition that he would have the freedom to be himself and do the job his way and with rigor.
Reynolds said he initially had plans to travel to reach children in small towns around the country – “the places where there’s one stoplight, one church, one school, maybe a Walmart,” he said. But his mission was instantly changed by the pandemic as he was asked to turn his focus to helping the country’s young people cope.
And like much of the rest of the world, his work moved online. Reynolds shared with attendees a simple card game he created that he played with students on Instagram each Friday called Brain Yoga, where two random cards with images are drawn and the player must imagine or invent a new thing that combines the two images.
“And what I realized in the midst of it all . . . I would argue that imagination is probably the most important thing that we lose,” he said.
“Imagination is actually a democratic thing. It’s a thing that is for all of us. It is fair. The issue is not who gets to have it, but how long they get to hold it.”
Reynolds asked educators to think about how to ensure we maintain students’ imagination. “I would argue that we have to create spaces of humility, intimacy and gratitude,” he said.
What this means for adults is admitting to young people that they may have expertise in some areas, but not all.
“Humility goes a long way if you work in the classrooms,” he said. “Make a fool of yourself. Embarrass yourself. It’s important — so that [students] know that foolishness in this particular way leads to greatness, because that’s how you learn. It leads to imagination.”
Building intimacy requires educators to share a little bit of themselves when they are asking students to open up and share about their lives.
And expressing gratitude toward students is also important, Reynolds said. ”What your gratitude does is it changes the temperature of the room and it opens them up to imagination.”
Reynolds offered practical tips for teachers, including “tap[ping] back into the fun stuff.”
He shared an example of teaching Shakespeare by telling students about all the words Shakespeare invented, like “swagger,” and asking students to translate a Shakespeare text into standard English, or into language a child might use at home. “What happens is the child is now seen as big . . . as valued and valuable. And his imagination expands.”