Campfire Session — Making Student Thinking Visible with AI

Presentation from Justin Cerenzia about leveraging Flint to make students think and give teachers insight into their process.

Justin Cerenzia, Buckley Executive Director, Chair for Teaching & Learning | LinkedIn

Lulu Gao, Head of Teacher Experience at Flint | LinkedIn

Long-time friend and advisor to the Flint team, Justin Cerenzia shares a presentation about making student thinking visible through interactions with Flint activities. Justin serves as Episcopal Academy's Chair for Teaching & Learning and writes and speaks about how to better pedagogy with edtech and social-emotional learning tools.

This session covered:

1. The importance of making student thinking visible

2. The process of making student thinking visible

3. Visible thinking in action (examples)

Slides from Justin's presentation can be found here, and slides from Lulu's presentation can be found here.

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Introduction to Making Thinking Visible • 00:00

• Participants are welcomed and introduced. Justin Cerenzia is highlighted as the session host.

• Justin Cerenzia shares insights on Flint's growth and his connection to the team.

Importance of making student thinking visible • 02:33

• A reference to a Harvard statistician's work is included.

• Two questions are posed to frame the discussion. The first question addresses the impact of making student thinking visible on teaching effectiveness.

• An anecdote about parenting is shared to illustrate the importance of understanding student thinking. The second question explores whether exercises promoting dialogue and feedback can enhance learning.

• A critique of common perceptions of AI in education is presented. The speaker emphasizes the need for AI to be used appropriately to support learning.

Process of making student thinking visible • 09:20

• Justin explains what he means by "making student thinking visible" with an example of a social annotation tool for reading.

• The impact of Flint on student performance is discussed. Better performance on tests is noted when Flint is utilized effectively.

Naquin's Three-part Model • 11:50

• The dialogic computing model is introduced as a framework. It asserts that an AI model, like Flint, can be used to enhance student engagement with learning resources.

• The importance of visibility into student thinking is emphasized. Flint provides teachers with insights into student learning and areas needing support. "Flint gives teachers a privileged view of learning," Cerenzia says.

Where AI fits into the enhanced learning timeline • 16:15

• Access to student thinking supports learners beyond traditional content.

• Active practice for homework is emphasized. Flint is suggested as a tool to enhance traditional textbook readings.

• Think Pair Share is highlighted as a valuable classroom strategy. The integration of Flint improves student engagement and feedback.

• "Data of student thinking made visible at every step" is the goal. A significant moment of student engagement is highlighted. The potential of educational technology in facilitating learning is emphasized.

Visible thinking in action (examples) • 22:12

• A Flint exercise is introduced to enhance historical thinking skills. Students are encouraged to engage with the text through close reading.

• The effectiveness of immediate feedback from Flint is discussed. Students demonstrate improved understanding in assessments following the exercise.

• A discussion on the use of artificial intelligence in education occurs. The potential for oral exams via chat is highlighted as a future assessment method.

• The importance of analytics in understanding student thinking is emphasized. The ability to provide tailored feedback based on student performance is appreciated.

Conclusion and Q&A • 29:24

• The concepts of conversational competency, intellectual ping pong, and dialogue about dialogue are all made possible by pursuing the visibility of student thinking.

• Question from Sohan about how visibility into student thinking has impacted how Justin himself teaches or prepares to teach.

• Question from Lulu about how Justin, as an administrator, addresses teachers' fears around academic integrity to promote student use of AI and visibility in their thinking.

• Follow-up question from Lulu if Justin has any advice for teachers in terms of how to create Flint activities that will focus on making student thinking visible.

• Discussion around the balance of designing conversational assignments versus assignments to prepare students for testing ensues.

• Sarah shares her experience seeing how online school during COVID was beneficial for introverted students. She notes how higher engagement from them might also be enabled through a student thinking focus.