This article appeared as "Modern Knowledge" in the Winter 2025 issue of Independent School.
Many educators might not be surprised to hear that education has not yet fully adapted to the Information Age. For example, though many schools teach “STEM,” only the S (science) and the M (math) are comprehensively taught in K–12—little technology or engineering is included in curricula. In the subsequent Internet Age, 25 years later, education needed to adapt rapidly to changing information, dealing effectively with a diversity of languages, cultures, and lifestyles. Now, as we enter the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the accumulated deficit of the past two time periods comes back even more forcefully with a new set of challenges for teachers and learners.
As AI vastly increases the uncertainty of the future, it seems like raa prudent policy would be one of versatility, which needs to be nurtured during schooling. In his 2019 book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein contrasts “kind” and “wicked” learning environments, explaining that while structured, predictable “kind” environments can favor early specialization, real-world “wicked” environments often reward a wide range of experiences. He also stresses that a sampling period, where a student explores various interests before settling on one, can lead to more career satisfaction and success. Epstein argues against early specialization in education, stating that it can limit children’s ability to explore their potential and adapt to new situations.
A broader set of knowledge areas can respond to the need for versatility in an uncertain world. But what exactly should schools teach? Traditional disciplines, such as math and literature, haven’t been modernized for decades, and critical new disciplines haven’t been introduced. In the age of artificial intelligence, schools need to examine what they teach to ensure that students will build the knowledge, skills, and motivation to be ready for tomorrow.
Modernizing What We Teach
What we teach in math, science, history, and the other traditional courses needs an update. Educators made this connection through the number of professions that have emerged beyond what we typically teach in school. The World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2023” explores how jobs will evolve over the next five years, with technology, big data, cloud computing, and AI likely to be adopted by 75% of companies. While independent schools are beginning to introduce new and timely topics, it’s not always mandatory or of the quality that it could be.
As we begin to reimagine what we teach, we must look at what disciplines currently exist, what areas of focus to add, and what competencies are needed for a future with AI.
Knowledge: The Disciplines
Math: To better understand a world with AI, we must teach and demystify the mathematics needed to understand its conceptual processes. Beyond the branches of calculus and linear algebra, we must include statistics, probabilities, and data science. Our world is highly algorithmic, so we should teach discrete/computational mathematics as well.
Science: While physics and chemistry are certainly needed, so is their extension into modern areas. Physics should include a study of clean tech, technology that places an emphasis on environmentally friendly products, services, or practices. Chemistry should add nanotechnology, the manipulation of materials on an atomic or molecular scale especially to build microscopic devices such as robots.
Performing Arts: Adaptability is a characteristic that is highly needed in an uncertain future world. Adding improv and comedy helps students adapt to changing situations on the fly.
Visual Arts: “Manufacturing” isn’t such an outdated term—advanced manufacturing is becoming a highly desirable job. We can teach students to manufacture objects by a wide variety of fabrication techniques; look at an object and know how it was made; operate safely in an industrial environment; operate computer-aided design and manufacturing systems; construct a small flexible manufacturing system; and optimize entire manufacturing facilities for cost, throughput, and quality.
Literature: In today’s world, we must teach our students to be global citizens. Collective storytelling is central to human cultures, and literature can expand learners’ cultural literacy. But we need to give students access to writers from around the world. For example, the public database of 275 works of literature—of which only 10% are from Anglo-Saxon authors—available through the Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR) gives teachers and students easy access.
History: Rather than a textbook with only a chronological structure, students need to visualize connections, concepts, and trends in history. The challenges of today often transcend national borders, and a global community needs to learn from its successes and mistakes and collaborate in pursuit of a positive future. As in literature, world history fosters a broader understanding of human cultures and situations.
Schools should also begin to add new disciplines. There’s a common complaint that students are not attracted to STEM jobs, failing to give room for students to develop an interest in the human-made world of technology and engineering. By building up T&E curriculum, schools can focus on civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering, and design and manufacturing in K–8, and in computer science, biotech, clean tech, and nanotech in grades 9–12. Another discipline to add: The social sciences—including psychology, sociology, and anthropology—are critical in a world where learning about oneself and society matters all the more. And given that entrepreneurship is the job of the future, schools should make this discipline mandatory.
Skills, Character, and Meta-Learning: The Competencies
Building knowledge is not the only dimension of education that is challenged in this new era of artificial intelligence. Now more than ever, students need to effectively use what they know, behave and engage in the world, and reflect and adapt. This means paying attention to skills, character, and meta-learning, including competencies such as communication, creativity, critical thinking, curiosity, metacognition, and so on.
For an AI world, the competencies of meta-learning (metacognition and meta-emotion) are particularly important. Human adaptability involves the capacity to deal with different sources of data and modes of reasoning that AI is not quite able to handle yet. To stay ahead of AI, human adaptability is the ultimate differentiator. This translates into self-directed learning, which students must be exposed to from a very young age and internalize as habit.
A Framework for Motivation
Epstein, who argued against early specialization, also investigates what he calls “match quality,” the fit between one’s interests, abilities, and career and the broad range of experiences that can enhance it. As students will increasingly wonder, “If AI can do it, why should I?” We need to pay attention to identity (belonging), agency (growth mindset), and purpose (passion). These three drivers are the key to intrinsic motivation, doing something for inherent satisfaction and not for a reward or to avoid consequence.
At CCR, we’ve developed a framework that supports this concept and what we need to teach in schools today (see graphic below). When we modernize the disciplines; cultivate skills, character, and meta-learning (learning how to learn); and personalize to align with the intrinsic motivations of the student, we begin to see the full picture of a learner in the age of AI.
A New Path
The good news is that many independent schools already attempt to teach modern disciplines on an optional basis and competencies as part of their Learner Profile. But making that more systematic and comprehensive will require adjustments and rebalancing of all that is already on the docket.
School leaders can outline this work in the strategic plan, and, on the ground, the role of director of teaching and learning/curriculum is critical. School leaders must work with department heads to ensure buy-in, coordinate and project manage, and provide professional development for teachers, including AI literacy. As the learning continues, teachers should begin to incorporate the new disciplines and branches, and new teachers should be recruited and trained for the new disciplines.
Independent schools thrive on offering differentiation and depth of learning. Beyond college admission, students will be prepared for an uncertain future armed with the knowledge and skills they need to compete, collaborate, and build a better future in the age of AI and whatever comes next.
Go Deeper
- Check out Charles Fadel’s recent NAIS webinar recordings, Education for the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
- For Center for Curriculum Redesign tools, such as the World Literature Texts, World History Site, Physics Concepts Extractor, and more, go to curriculumredesign.org/tools.