This morning I was listening to The Teaching in Higher Ed podcast by Dr. Bonni Stachowiak who was interviewing Josh Brake, and was inspired to create the image to the right with the help of Google Gemini.
One of the things Josh talked about was the necessity for productive struggle in the learning process. In the context of GenAI use when learning new information or a new skill, he argued, and I agree, that we need to be mindful as learners to NOT use GenAI in ways that will inadvertently short circuit our learning. He then compared the unmindful use of GenAI in learning to taking a forklift to the gym when we are trying to build our muscles and become stronger. Yes with a forklift I can lift massive amounts of weight, but will I become stronger?
Much like the productive struggle we engage in with weight lifting, we need to be mindful of when the use GenAI tools will hinder our learning journeys and not help them. For example, I’d argue that spell and grammar checkers do not short circuit my personal learning where I currently am at in my learning journey. On the other hand, if I want to learn about cognitive load theory how it can help me plan assignments for my classes, using GenAI immediately for ideas might not be helpful in the long run. Reading about cognitive load theory and thinking of ways I may have overloaded my learners in the past would be a “productive struggle” that would serve me well in the long run.
In any case, I highly recommend listening to Bonni’s podcast episode titled, An E-Bike for the Mind: AI, Augmentation, and Moral Hazards with Josh Brake, and well as many other episodes with her wonderful podcast guests.
Image prompt: Create a cartoon image that has 2 very muscled people (one man and one woman) doing different types of weightlifting in a gym, and then 1 skinny person using a small forklift to lift a very heavy set of weights, with a text bubble of him saying “I’m crushing it today!!!” Make sure the forklift is on the ground.