Thanks for this, Chad. I hadn't seen Randi's speech.
I continue to think one of the biggest blind spots in many conversations about project-based learning, student-centered education, and 21st-century skills like "critical thinking" is the assumption that knowledge can be treated as secondary. As you note, knowledge isn't an alternative to critical thinking, creativity, or problem-solving; it's what makes those things possible.
That was the central argument of E.D. Hirsch's AFT article "You Can Always Look It Up... Or Can You?" in 2000 and, as your title points out, it may be even more important in the age of AI than it was then.
I explored this question last fall in a short piece for Learner Studio:
Thanks for this, Chad. I hadn't seen Randi's speech.
I continue to think one of the biggest blind spots in many conversations about project-based learning, student-centered education, and 21st-century skills like "critical thinking" is the assumption that knowledge can be treated as secondary. As you note, knowledge isn't an alternative to critical thinking, creativity, or problem-solving; it's what makes those things possible.
That was the central argument of E.D. Hirsch's AFT article "You Can Always Look It Up... Or Can You?" in 2000 and, as your title points out, it may be even more important in the age of AI than it was then.
I explored this question last fall in a short piece for Learner Studio:
https://learnerstudio.org/what-shape-does-knowledge-development-take-in-the-age-of-ai-2/
Thanks for continuing the conversation.
Domain knowledge based upon strong foundational skill development in literacy, numeracy, and civics is for sure the way to go. Agree 100%
I wish we’d dive deeper into ‘what is foundational knowledge’.
For example, a standardized test asked students to identify which tribe was associated with the totem pole in the illustration.
Or, 2nd grade teachers are going into great depth on individual genus/species of birds.
I’m here for a lot more on the specifics, and less on the repetition 70,000 ft generalities.