Interactive Learning Experiences for Critical Thinking

AI was trained on dominant narratives. That makes it the perfect tool for flipping them. Welcome to: 🧠 Day 6: Activist Engagement with Knowledge aka: the ability to use what you learn to challenge existing systems, surface inequity, and act on what needs to change. This isn’t “critical thinking as critique.” It’s knowledge as leverage —a willingness to wrestle with injustice, and the skill to revise the script that’s been handed down. Most classrooms stop at awareness. They ask for reflection, not redesign. They critique power, but don’t practice rewriting its rules. That’s where AI becomes subversive. Used well, AI can simulate the dominant narrative, expose its inherent assumptions, and build scaffolding for constructing alternatives. Here are 3 AI-powered activities that transform passive critique into activist redesign: › 🚨 Rewrite the Record Start with a known injustice (e.g. school discipline disparities, algorithmic bias in hiring). ⤷ Students prompt AI to generate how that issue is typically framed by those in power. ⤷ Then they ask AI to simulate the same issue from multiple marginalized perspectives—documenting shifts in framing, priority, and language. ⤷ Final phase: students use AI to help them compose a new policy, framework, or public narrative that could be implemented, challenged, and iterated. _____ › 📊 Data Doubt Engine Students choose a common data claim (e.g. “Crime is rising in urban areas”). ⤷ Ask AI: What data supports this? Who collects it? What’s missing? ⤷ Then students prompt AI to help generate counterfactual scenarios: What would the data look like if we measured community trust? If we disaggregated by neighborhood? ⤷ Students build a parallel dashboard or model—and then refine it across iterations to visualize what’s been erased. _____ › 🧬 System Swap Lab Students select a complex system (e.g. standardized testing, housing policy, scientific peer review). ⤷ They use AI to map its historical origins, intended function, and who benefits. ⤷ Then prompt AI to help them redesign the system with a different foundational logic (e.g. equity-first, anti-racist, community-controlled). ⤷ Students critique their own version using stakeholder simulations generated by AI—forcing them to defend, refine, or rebuild. _____ Activist thinking doesn’t end at critique. It lives in the messy, iterative work of building what’s better. When used wisely, AI doesn't need to be a reflection of the biases we've collected. It can be a thought and prototype partner for the futures that are waiting to be authored. Which of these would move your students from resistance to reimagining? 🛠️

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the gap between how we assess learning, and how we actually think in the real world. And here’s something to consider: Post-its > Blue books. Because if we want students to become critical thinkers in an AI world, we need to make their thinking visible, not just test their recall. I’ve seen how design sprints help make that possible. At some point, I started to connect the dots: The strategies we use in design sprints - rapid idea generation, sorting, moving, deciding aren’t just for innovation teams. They’re exactly what students need to practice real thinking, together. They offer structure for creativity and teach the skills we say we value: ✅ Collaboration ✅ Decision-making ✅ Strategic thinking ✅ Communication When you apply design sprint pratices to lessons, students don’t just sit and “get it.” They sort. They vote. They group. They move. They decide. Above all they are learning real skills they can take with them when they graduate. One of my student teachers joined a workshop I was leading on this at her district. She took the framework back to her classroom and saw an immediate shift. Same content, same kids. But this time, they were engaged, focused, and fully owning their thinking. We don’t need to throw everything out. We need to adapt with intention. And sometimes, that starts with a stack of Post-its and the freedom to move.

AI optimizes for speed. Education must optimize for struggle. In a world of instant answers, the deepest learning still happens in moments of cognitive friction. Students who wrestle with ideas build neural pathways that AI-only workflows can't replicate. The Toggle Method's foundation rests on these non-negotiable human phases: 1. Raw Cognitive Drafting (AI-Free) What's Protected: Initial hypothesis formation, original synthesis Implementation:Handwritten "messy thinking" journals Ungraded error-forging sessions ("Fail First" math problems) Analog source triangulation (books + print articles + interviews) 2. AI as Provocateur What's Enhanced: Perspective expansion, bias testing Implementation:"Devil's Advocate" prompts: "Challenge my thesis using 3 logical fallacies" Cognitive mirror exercises: Have AI generate variations of student work Counterfactual scenarios: "Rewrite this history essay assuming different outcomes" 3. Verification Sprints What's Developed: Discernment, intellectual ownership Implementation:"Source Autopsies:" Evaluate AI-generated citations for credibility Line-item veto exercises: Students must eliminate 30% of AI content with rationale Live defense panels: "Demonstrate this conclusion is authentically yours" Evidence-Based Impact: English students using verification sprints demonstrated 2.3x more substantive revisions to AI outputs than control groups (Harvard GSE observational study). When we embrace productive struggle alongside technological efficiency, we develop thinkers who can navigate both human and artificial intelligence landscapes with confidence. #CriticalThinking #EdTech #CognitiveScience Michael Spencer Michael Woudenberg Richard Andrew Aman Kumar Sam Bobo Nneka J. McGee, J.D., Ed.D. Christine Zanchi Mike Kentz David H.

The best way to teach brainstorming? Let students brainstorm your teaching approach. Today, our design thinking class at the University of Kentucky, TEK 300, "Teens and Screens," reached a pivotal moment. With midterms behind us and spring break over, we faced a critical question: How might we structure the remaining weeks to promote deeper understanding rather than just blasting through the steps of our semester-long project? Instead of deciding for our students, we chose to "eat our own dog food"(as they used to say at Apple). (HT Reinhold Steinbeck, charles kerns) We turned our students into users and co-designers through a structured brainwriting session focused on this challenge. The process was beautifully simple: • Students received worksheets with our "How Might We" question and a 3×5 grid • Everyone silently wrote initial ideas (one per box) in the first row • Sheets rotated three times, with each person building on or adding to previous ideas • We ended with a gallery walk and dot-voting to identify the strongest concepts In just 20 minutes, we generated over 50 unique ideas! The winner? Incorporating hands-on, interactive activities in every session that directly connect to that day's learning objectives. The meta-realization? We were already practicing the solution before formally adopting it. The brainwriting exercise itself exemplified exactly what our students told us they wanted more of. My teaching partner Ryan Hargrove immediately began storyboarding how we'll implement this approach, moving us closer to the collaborative learning journey we want to have with our students. We're moving from "Once upon a time..." (not as great as we could be...) to "Students designed..." (active participation), to "Now we really dig learning all this..." Your students already know what they need; your job is to create space for them to tell you. P.S. What teaching approaches have you transformed by inviting your students to become co-designers of their learning experience? #DesignThinking #HigherEducation #TeachingInnovation #BuildingInPublic #StudentCenteredLearning

Learning flourishes when students are exposed to a rich tapestry of strategies that activate different parts of the brain and heart. Beyond memorization and review, innovative approaches like peer teaching, role-playing, project-based learning, and multisensory exploration allow learners to engage deeply and authentically. For example, when students teach a concept to classmates, they strengthen their communication, metacognition, and confidence. Role-playing historical events or scientific processes builds empathy, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Project-based learning such as designing a community garden or creating a presentation fosters collaboration, creativity, and real-world application. Multisensory strategies like using manipulatives, visuals, movement, and sound especially benefit neurodiverse learners, enhancing retention, focus, and emotional connection to content. These methods don’t just improve academic outcomes they cultivate lifelong skills like adaptability, initiative, and resilience. When teachers intentionally layer strategies that match students’ strengths and needs, they create classrooms that are inclusive, dynamic, and deeply empowering. #LearningInEveryWay