We used to look for unicorns - now we need Centaurs

What is a “Unicorn”?

When I think of a “unicorn” - I am not thinking about a billion dollar start-up. That’s one definition, but I think a little more closely to my own area of focus: education.

When I think of a “unicorn” in education - I think about a student that has learned many skills, learned how to apply those skills, and has a very special trait when it comes to those skills: they can interconnect them to each other. This hasn’t always been something that we’ve seen in traditional education.

There is a change to how students need to learn. This is something that I came across in a book on AI in Education by Salman Khan (“Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education”) and that I agree with.

We need to move beyond traditional education, beyond trying even to “unicorn” our students, and into a new world of creating “centaurs” - learners that are half human and half AI prompt engineers. Using AI to augment their skills.

This can have the benefit of helping students not only gain valuable prompt engineering skills, but also allow them to “stitch together” their learning across various subject areas. (Hmmm.. are these Frankenstein Centaurs?).

Traditional Education:

In education, we sometimes follow a pattern that I tend to disagree with. We provide “shopping cart” education. You take a series of courses, add them to your transcript, and when you achieve a certain number of credits - you get a Certificate, Diploma, Degree, etc. There is even a trend towards a “convenience store model” where we offer quick and easy learning experiences and call them badges and micro-credentials.

The challenge with these methods is that the connection between courses is sometimes lost. Are we using the skills from one course in another? If we learn Data Analysis - are we using that in a course on Communication?

There is, of course, value to all of the above divide and conquer methods - but I prefer to think in terms of interrelated skills provided as a “Program” where one skill connects and is used in the pursuit of another. For example, if I am teaching a Python course (which I am) and want my students to be successful using Python (which I do) - then I need to not just teach them concepts of the language in the hopes they can apply it to other Domains. I need to contextualize those concepts in the form of applying their skills to solving problems that they have identified in other subject areas.

The classic way to do this is through a case-study or capstone project. However, I think that there may be some ability to extend and mature this method.

The Rise of the Centaurs

This is where I would use AI and to try and extend the way that the students learn new material. Adding prompt engineering to the subjects I teach, and applying that across a Program Map (or Strategic Design), I would have the students ask AI to help them with their application of their learning.

For example, if I teach students about an IF/ELSE structure in Python - then I would have them use AI to help them understand the implementation of that structure not only from a syntax lens, but also some an applied lens.

This may take the form of: “Hey AI, how to I write an IF/ELSE statement in Python” and then “Hey AI, can you provide an example of how an IF/ELSE statement in Python could be used in creating an analysis of a decision on what type of vehicle to purchase for my small delivery company located in Vancouver, BC?”

(I’ll leave it to you to copy/paste those examples into the AI tool of your choice - my results in ChatGPT were quite interesting).

Blending AI with Learning will create empowered people

This use of AI is something I think will ultimately benefit learners. Allowing them to create a sense of connectedness with their various skills and across courses.

Instead of a shopping cart of different skills, they can interconnect those skills and ensure they are creating a cohesive whole with purpose.