Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators

In this conversation, we explore the new collaborative picture book 'Rise Girl Rise', which explores themes of empowerment, friendship, and the importance of storytelling across cultures. They emphasize the book's role in inspiring the next generation and fostering a sense of shared humanity.
Gloria Steinem is a political activist, feminist organizer, and the author of many acclaimed books, including the national bestseller Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem. She is a contributor to the classic children's book Free to Be You and Me, which became a children's entertainment project, conceived, created, and executive-produced by actress and author Marlo Thomas, produced in collaboration with the Ms. Foundation for Women, and the Free to Be Foundation, both cofounded by Ms. Steinem, and most recently illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Ms. Steinem is also the co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus and the Women's Media Center. In keeping with her deep commitment to establishing equality throughout the world, Ms. Steinem helped found Equality Now, Donor Direct Action, and Direct Impact Africa. To learn more, visit gloriasteinem.com.
Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, social worker, and women's rights advocate. She is Founder and President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, based in Monrovia. As a writer, Ms. Gbowee is the author of the inspirational memoir Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War, and author of the children's book A Community of Sisters, illustrated by Coleen Baik. Ms. Gbowee is perhaps best known for leading a nonviolent movement that brought together Christian and Muslim women to play a pivotal role in ending Liberia's devastating, 14-year civil war in 2003.
Chapters
00:00 The Power of Picture Books
02:43 Friendship Across Cultures
05:15 Legacy and Call to Action
The Shifting Schools podcast is produced and edited by Sagheer M.

How is artificial intelligence being used in the NFL today?

In this solo episode of Shifting Schools, Tricia Friedman explores how AI is already shaping professional football, with a special focus on Super Bowl Sunday. Rather than speculation, this episode looks at concrete, current examples of how AI is influencing advertising, predictions, player safety, and fan experience.
Get the free conversation guide to share with friends and family:
https://open.substack.com/pub/k12aileadershipbrief/p/five-signals-of-change?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
 
This episode is designed as a conversation resource for educators, families, and anyone gathering around the Super Bowl, offering five clear lenses for discussing AI's role in sports and society.
What role does AI play in Super Bowl commercials?
Major brands, including OpenAI, are now using the Super Bowl to tell stories about AI itself, while many non-AI companies are using generative tools to shape persuasive advertising. Tricia invites listeners to compare past and present Super Bowl ads and consider how the rise of AI-driven storytelling may change the creative skills schools should prioritize.
What is the AI Influence Index and why does it matter?
For the first time, startup Emberos is tracking which Super Bowl ads are most visible inside large language models during the game. Instead of asking people at the watercooler which ads were memorable, this index asks which brands "win" inside AI systems like ChatGPT. 
Can AI really predict Super Bowl winners?
Recent reporting from USA Today and CNET shows how generative AI models are being used to forecast playoff outcomes, Super Bowl scores, and even halftime show cameos. As these models improve, Tricia raises questions about how fans may rethink expertise, intuition, and luck in sports forecasting, and whether some fans will resist consulting AI altogether.
Why this episode matters for educators and families
This conversation goes beyond football. It models how adults can talk with one another about AI's influence in everyday life, notice differing attitudes toward technology, and ask longer-term questions about which changes are likely to last over the next decade.
Key discussion questions listeners can use on Super Bowl Sunday
– Does AI enhance or diminish creativity in advertising?
– Should brands optimize for human memory or AI visibility?
– If AI predictions outperform humans, how does that change our view of expertise?
– Where should decision-making authority sit when AI informs player safety?
– Does AI-driven commentary deepen or reduce the joy of debate in sports?
Subscribe to our free AI Forward newsletter to get the free conversation guide:
https://k12aileadershipbrief.substack.com/
 
Email thoughts or additional angles to Tricia at [email protected].

What do puzzles teach us about being human. In this episode, Tricia talks with Allison Kane, Head of Puzzle Innovation at Highlights, about why puzzling matters far beyond entertainment. From Hidden Pictures and Wordle to classroom design and family learning, this conversation explores how puzzles build confidence, perseverance, and joyful learning across ages.
Learn more:
https://parents.highlights.com/printable-puzzles-and-mazes-puzzle-day-challenge
 
Allison shares her origin story as a lifelong puzzler, explains the idea of the satisfaction of the solve, and offers practical advice for educators and families who want to integrate puzzles into learning spaces. The conversation also looks at puzzle design, community building, and what adults model for young people when they choose curiosity over avoidance.
Topics covered Allison Kane's path from Highlights intern to Head of Puzzle Innovation Why puzzles support perseverance, confidence, and joyful learning The satisfaction of the solve and why payoff matters Puzzles as community builders in classrooms and families Designing puzzles that challenge without frustrating How educators can bring puzzles into classrooms easily What adults model for kids through playful intellectual challenge National Puzzle Day and the rise of puzzle communities
Puzzles are not just activities. They are invitations to practice thinking, persistence, and joy. When adults model engagement with challenge, they show young people that learning can feel good.

How do you move forward with AI in schools when staff confidence is all over the place?
Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman address one of the most persistent leadership challenges in AI literacy implementation. Within the same faculty, some educators are experimenting confidently with tools and workflows while others feel intimidated, skeptical, or frustrated by rapid change.
Jeff and Tricia frame the issue through a mindset-first lens and introduce practical leadership moves grounded in BAKE: balance, adaptability, knowledge sharing, and empathy. The conversation begins with a simple leadership truth: confidence grows through a beginner's stance, repetition, and low-stakes practice, not perfection on day one. Tricia shares a "pumpkin patch" analogy for learning something new and models how leaders can normalize experimentation and productive struggle for staff.
From there, the episode explores how leaders can reduce anxiety and build confidence by "level setting" foundational understanding of how AI works. When teachers grasp what is happening under the hood, they are more willing to engage, ask better questions, and try new workflows.
A central theme is personalization. Confidence increases when educators connect AI learning to what they already love about teaching, then use AI to enhance that strength rather than asking teachers to adopt tools for their own sake. The hosts also highlight the importance of playful, low-stakes experimentation outside of school contexts, from recipe support to pop-culture research challenges, as a way to learn tool boundaries without the pressure of classroom performance.
The episode closes with a clear leadership stance: sustained learning matters. AI capabilities are changing quickly, so professional learning cannot be treated as a one-time training. Adaptability requires ongoing documentation of experiments, time-stamped learning, and renewed emphasis on media literacy as AI becomes more persuasive and more embedded in everyday life.
If you are leading AI literacy in a school or district and trying to support both early adopters and hesitant educators, this episode offers a grounded approach to building momentum without fracturing culture.
In this episode, you will hear about leading AI literacy when teacher confidence varies widely, progress over perfection and the beginner's stance, differentiated professional learning for AI, foundational understanding of how AI works, low-stakes experimentation that increases staff buy-in, balancing voices of early adopters and skeptics, adaptability as AI tools evolve, and mindset-first change management through the BAKE Framework.
Explore the BAKE resources and multiple ways to engage, including a four-week email series, PLC slide decks, a live cohort, and school-wide implementation:
https://www.shiftingschools.com/
Our show is edited and produced by Sagheer M. Learn more about his work:
https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01a20f0c0c32996d55
Are you signed up for Crayola Creativity Week?
https://www.crayola.com/learning/creativity-week
Reach out to learn with us: [email protected]
00:00
Welcome and Series Context
Jeff frames the third and final BAKE episode and names the core leadership question about uneven staff confidence.
01:30
Why Confidence Gaps Are Normal When Learning Something New
Using the beginner's stance and the pumpkin patch example to normalize discomfort and learning curves.
03:30
Progress Over Perfection in Teaching and Leadership
Why educators often expect mastery too quickly and how modeling learning matters.
05:30
The Leadership Challenge of Mixed AI Confidence
High flyers, hesitant staff, and the tension leaders feel managing both groups.
08:00
Level Setting: How Understanding AI Builds Confidence
Why explaining how AI works reduces fear and increases willingness to engage.
10:30
Passion-Based Entry Points for AI Learning
Connecting AI use to what educators already love doing in their work.
13:00
Playful, Low-Stakes AI Experiments
Using non-school examples to explore AI without pressure or risk.
15:30
Pop Culture as a Confidence Builder
The Taylor Swift research experiment and why interest drives learning.
18:00
Abundance of Information and Better Questions
Why confidence grows when educators move from answers to inquiry.
20:00
Empathy First: Leading With BAKE
Starting with empathy before tools, expertise, or expectations.
21:45
Knowledge Sharing Inside and Outside the Classroom
Why sharing personal AI use builds collective confidence.
23:15
Adaptability in a Fast-Changing AI Landscape
Why AI learning must be ongoing, time-stamped, and revisited.
25:15
Balance: Creating Space for All Voices
Supporting both skeptics and early adopters through reciprocal dialogue.
27:15
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
Mindset-first leadership, community, and how schools can engage further with BAKE.

AI literacy in the classroom looks like students practicing judgment, sense-making, and self-awareness while working alongside AI, not replacing thinking with tools. It emphasizes mindset before mechanics.
In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman frame AI literacy through the BAKE Mindset:
Balance – Knowing when AI helps and when it doesn't

Adaptability – Updating learning practices as tools change

Knowledge Sharing – Making thinking visible and collective

Empathy – Designing learning with student experience in mind

How Does AI Change Research in Schools?
AI changes how research starts and what counts as learning.
Instead of:
Finding information

Rewriting sources

Formatting citations

Students now practice:
Comparing perspectives

Identifying bias and heuristics

Deciding what matters and why

Research becomes an exercise in judgment, not retrieval.
The episode traces this shift historically—from card catalogs to microfiche to Google—and positions AI tools as the next evolution rather than a rupture.
The conversation highlights several skills that remain human-led:
Judgment – Evaluating ideas, not accepting outputs

Question Formation – Using AI to clarify what to ask next

Bias Awareness – Recognizing anchoring and confirmation effects

Metacognition – Noticing learning gaps and strengths

AI supports these skills but does not perform them on a learner's behalf.
What Does "AI as a Co-Learner" Mean?
AI as a co-learner means:
Students remain responsible for decisions

AI offers scaffolding, variation, or clarification

Learning paths stay human-directed

This mirrors patterns already familiar in education, including IEPs, 504 plans, and differentiated instruction.
How Does AI Literacy Connect to SEL?
AI literacy intersects with social-emotional learning by strengthening:
Self-awareness of strengths and gaps

Confidence in asking questions

Comfort with uncertainty and revision

As students work with AI, they gain clearer insight into how they learn—not just what they produce.
Who Is This Episode For?
Classroom teachers rethinking research and assessment

School leaders shaping AI literacy strategy

Instructional coaches and curriculum designers

Educators focused on mindset, SEL, and learning design

Series Context
This episode is part of the BAKE Mindset series from Shifting Schools.
Ready to learn more:
https://www.shiftingschools.com/
Do you love the way this show is edited and produced?
If you are looking for an amazing producer, learn more about connecting with our very own, Sagheer M.
https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01a20f0c0c32996d55