For many years, educators have envisioned personalized learning as a way to tailor education to each student's unique needs. With advances in artificial intelligence, this vision is becoming a reality. AI has the potential to transform classrooms by offering personalized learning experiences that align with individual strengths, interests and learning needs.

At the same time, there is a growing emphasis on fostering creativity and authenticity in student work. AI can play a pivotal role in supporting the creative process, from generating ideas to refining projects. By making the creative process more explicit and accessible, AI empowers students to overcome obstacles and express their unique perspectives. This approach not only boosts engagement but also prepares students for a future where creative thinking and problem-solving are indispensable skills.

Brian Johnsrud
Director of Education Learning and Advocacy, Adobe

Recently, EdSurge spoke with Brian Johnsrud, the director of education learning and advocacy at Adobe, about using educational tools that not only harness the power of AI but also uphold the creative integrity of students and teachers. He highlights how AI can help personalize learning by allowing students to present their understanding and ideas in diverse and individualized ways. This shift from standardized assignments to personalized projects can make learning more engaging and relevant for each student.

EdSurge: How can educators safely and responsibly leverage AI for more personalized learning?

Johnsrud: The dream of learning personalization has been around for decades. The first phase really focused on getting the right content to the right student at the right time. Now, with AI, we're in the second phase, which isn't just about personalizing content but also about how students present their understanding and share their knowledge. Because a hallmark of creativity is uniqueness. So if we want students to be doing creative thinking, then 30 assignments done by 30 different students should all look different.

As for deploying AI safely and responsibly, schools are paying attention to a number of things right now. The first step is to check if the AI tool is actually designed for education specifically. If it wasn't made for the classroom, it probably wasn't made to improve learning. It won’t necessarily have those pedagogical pieces baked in or the accessibility and other edtech integrations that you need.

Check if the AI tool is actually designed for education specifically. If it wasn't made for the classroom, it probably wasn't made to improve learning. It won’t necessarily have those pedagogical pieces baked in or the accessibility and other edtech integrations that you need.

— Brian Johnsrud

Part of being designed for safety and responsibility includes ensuring that the tools don't train their models on student or teacher projects because the creative work you develop as a teacher or student in the classroom should be respected and protected. If you're using a tool that benefits or takes inspiration from your creative masterpiece, it's not truly aligned with core creative values and academic integrity.

In what ways does AI help foster creativity while ensuring that student work remains authentic?

AI can support any part of the creative process. If a student is stuck in brainstorming, AI can help generate multiple ideas. If another student is good at brainstorming but needs help refining their work, AI can act as a thought partner, providing critique. This is what's exciting about AI designed for creativity! It makes the steps of the creative process explicit and helps students overcome obstacles. It removes that fear of the blank canvas.

I hope AI helps shift the focus from teachers being the content creators to students taking on that role. As an example inspired by my time as a social studies teacher, instead of asking students to write a paragraph about continuity and change in a historical era, you could have them choose an era, pick a topic that shows continuity, and design an imaginary propaganda poster from that period. The benefits of this creative assignment are clear to every educator. But with rigid standards and a packed curriculum, it's challenging to dedicate two weeks to it. The good news is, with AI, you could complete this assignment in just 30 minutes during class.

Interestingly, we crave authenticity more than ever in the age of AI. AI tools are moving beyond the basic prompt-and-result, “grab and go” approach. They're becoming integrated into our creative workflows, allowing us to bring our best ideas to life and express ourselves more genuinely. The goal isn't for AI to do the work for us but to help us create more authentic, meaningful content so we can be impactful storytellers. As a teacher, you should be able to see each student's unique voice in the work they produce.

The goal isn't for AI to do the work for us but to help us create more authentic, meaningful content so we can be impactful storytellers.

— Johnsrud

How do AI literacy and creative thinking equip students for future job market demands?

In just a few years, AI skills have become essential. The 2024 Work Trend Index Report found that 66 percent of industry leaders wouldn't hire someone without AI skills. It's amazing how quickly this has become a hiring dealbreaker. In that same report, 71 percent of leaders said they're more likely to hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them. For students, this means having AI skills can level the playing field with more seasoned professionals.

At the same time, creativity and creative thinking are also in high demand. The World Economic Forum's 2023 Future of Jobs Report highlighted creative thinking as a top skill for the future. The creator economy is booming, with 200,000 new creative jobs created in the United States in 2023 alone. Students who can combine AI skills with creative problem-solving are able to seize some pretty incredible opportunities.

Research has shown that the more students are able to create, the more they thrive. And AI opens up more opportunities for student creation. A 2019 Gallup report found that educators who focus on creativity and use technology in transformative ways see significant gains — students are more engaged, demonstrate better critical thinking, retain more, make connections between subjects and achieve deeper learning. For educators, seeing students excited and proud of their work is incredibly rewarding, especially in a time of increased teacher burnout.

How can educators easily incorporate creative thinking into their lessons?

Start by identifying areas in your curriculum where students need to dive deep into a concept or fully demonstrate their understanding. These are the moments where creative activities can replace traditional methods like note-taking or multiple-choice questions and garner a much wider and deeper set of learning outcomes.

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Cignition delivers high-impact K-12 virtual tutoring, led by experienced educators who produce proven, repeatable results in student success. Tutors complete internal assessments, broken down by grade level, to validate their qualifications. Using classroom data, students are initially matched for tutoring. Teachers and tutors then utilize data from mastery progress, surveys, and online activities to continuously track and enhance student progress within the established groups.

Cignition’s research-based approach focuses on data-informed instruction and collaborative learning, encouraging student-to-student interaction to build deep conceptual understanding. Instead of the traditional model of learning through repetition, Cignition tutors focus on the conceptual goals of each topic. Teachers tell Cignition they can see the change in their students’ engagement and participation after receiving tutoring.

Making dashboards and tools available to help tutors understand each student’s most immediate needs also contributes to the success of the thousands of virtual tutoring sessions delivered by Cignition. Research on Cignition’s learning model, backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates and Overdeck Family Foundations, shows an effect size indicating dramatic student growth. The amount of growth shown in the study suggests that students complementing their learning with a year of Cignition tutoring would advance by up to two years’ learning gain with their robust intervention model.

In addition to the collaborative learning model, Cignition is committed to connecting students with certified educators who have experience crafting personalized learning experiences. Keeping instruction inquiry-focused empowers students to build academic confidence and critical 21st-century skills.

For these reasons and more, Cignition was named “Best Collaborative Learning Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.  

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A comprehensive K-12 Project-Based Learning (PBL) solution serving over 120,000 teachers in over 7,500 schools nationwide, Defined Learning engages students in high-quality projects that are based on careers to deepen understanding, enhance engagement, and build necessary future-ready skills.

The platform provides teachers with the essential curriculum and assessment tools they need to engage students in PBL, including a library of standards-aligned projects, career-focused videos, research resources, editable rubrics, and more. Defined Learning’s interdisciplinary projects are based on careers and provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world challenges. It excites students about their future and empower them to build the critical future-ready skills they need to succeed in college, careers, and life.

It is the mission of the company to drive student engagement and achievement through real-world PBL. Through career exploration and experiences coupled with hands-on, real-world PBL, they want to ensure that all students have visibility into the limitless world of opportunities ahead of them. Their content leads to enhanced student skills such as: 21st Century & Workplace Skills, College & Career Readiness, Social Emotional Learning & Standards Mastery.

Research by Mida Learning Technologies showed that after utilizing PBL through Defined Learning for one year, teachers saw improvements in students’ engagement and motivation. In addition, students who used Defined Learning outperformed their peers in critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Defined Learning gives educators all they need to facilitate deeper, career-connected learning through high-quality PBL instruction that engages students and empowers them to build future-ready skills. For these reasons and more, Defined Learning is a Cool Tool Award Winner for “Best Skills Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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