Theory of Knowledge teacher, Farah Ahmed, writes for The Halcyon Blog, outlining how innovation is not just about technology.

At Halcyon we embrace technology to amplify and enhance humanity’s capabilities, rather than replace them. We employ a Digital Learning Coach - unique, we believe in the UK education system - to help students and staff embrace tech tools to reduce workloads and advance research; we converse about the many ethical storms surrounding AI from chat-gpt to deep-fake-technology, and we preach paperless classrooms.

Recently The Atlantic published an article highlighting the destabilising effects of AI to white collar jobs, lamenting that AI “creates content out of what is already out there, with no authority, no understanding, no ability to correct itself, no way to identify genuinely new or interesting ideas”. It reminded me of the benefits of an innovation team at a tech-facing school like Halcyon, which tries to do the opposite; to teach tech-savvy students to grapple with challenges like climate change and inequality, to take action rooted in human empathy, and to use their resources to do something different.

Last week, the team, composed of Martyn Steiner, Dr Sabahat Lodhi, Faye Ellis and myself, delivered a two-day workshop on international mindedness and service.

The days included conceptual understandings of international mindedness and effective service; along with workshops leading on strategies to make this work in our classrooms. In response to Faye, who introduced a number of technological tools - such as building digital museums to explore students’ intercultural heritages, and using data to create support systems for vulnerable communities - I decided my workshop on inquiry learning would offer a complementary set of skills; ones that could be built tech-free.

A Tech-Free Innovation Workshop

The first section of my workshop had staff compete in gamified tasks in order to answer simple, ‘factual’ inquiry questions like “What are students’ interests right now?” and “What global issues does your subject tackle?”. There is an obvious benefit to gamifying in the classroom – as one staff member said “I was scared when you told me I’d have to think hard in this workshop, but it didn’t feel like I was working at all!”.

The games were conducted sitting around a table, but part of my task was to have staff use their bodies; to link their thinking with physical movement. I created a very simple set-up: two whiteboards on either end of the room, one with a list of things that were important to students, the other with global issues happening in the world (all of which had been sourced from the brainstorming staff had done previously). Their task was to create a physical web, using a roll of string and some tape, between student interests and the world – for example, students are interested in clothes, which links to the global issue of fast fashion. The increase in activity also linked to an increase in complexity - now staff weren’t just answering factual questions like “what’s going on in the world” but more conceptual questions like “how does what I teach connect to students in meaningful ways?”.

This activity would have been far more efficient if I’d used the many excellent tools for mind mapping that are available online. But the goal was not efficiency. In fact, one of the first things staff noticed when reflecting on the activity was the pace: it took time to explain the connection, unravel the string and tape it to the board. That time allowed for the building of ideas: “that makes me think of…!”, “we could also add to that…!”. Often, when I use mind mapping softwares in class, I have to make a set of rules: make three posts, sign your name, comment on each other’s posts and so on. But in creating something tangible together, there was less emphasis on ownership individually and more on what the group was creating.

Collaborating Offline

Moving offline made it easier to emphasise ATL (attention to learning) skills which are the backbone of an IB Education. When I began the making of our ‘web’, I did not give many instructions. I pointed to the boards, I held out the string and tape in my hands, and I allowed the group to organise themselves. I made sure to point out the ways staff worked in ways that felt service-oriented, like when a colleague was struggling to unravel the string fast enough, and another jumped up to help them. The point of the overall training was to encourage staff to deepen their understanding of the world and take action. In this workshop, I hoped to model the way that we must actively teach the skills students will need to make this a reality.

As Dr Lodhi noticed in her presentation on service, we need to tackle students’ helplessness about issues that seem out of their control, like climate change. We need to give them hope. When the web was finally created, it was impressive; “it’s like a work of art!” one colleague noticed. I made sure we took time to marvel at this big, physical representation of our group work. It was incontrovertible evidence of our collective power.

As the Atlantic notes: “AI can’t interview AI and labour experts, nor can it find historical documents, nor can it assess the quality of studies of technological change and employment”. All of these skills require understanding, human connection, imagination and critical thinking. Halcyon is a tech-facing school, but in ensuring that our workshop prioritised technological and non-technological, physical, face-to-face pedagogy, we were ensuring that students develop the wide range of skills needed for this new world order.

And, after all, being in a room together is still the primary benefit of a school, as opposed to the digital classrooms that dominated the pandemic.

Online and Offline Approaches Complement Each Other

New technologies like AI and social media need to transform our teaching, as did the internet, photocopiers and other technologies of the past. I've learned a lot from my students’ interactions with technology, using games to create intrigue and friendly competition in my classroom. But I also feel a responsibility to remind students, and myself, that there are alternatives as well. That we can give up the lure of efficiency and endless information for the benefits of slowing down and learning from our community.

The Halcyon innovation team is composed of Martin Steiner, Dr. Saba Lodhi, Faye Ellis, and Farah Ahmed.