Collaborating with AI companions
And building in flexibility into the curriculum is very much what ISB is about. MacDonald thinks that while most students will still aspire to graduate high school in the future, more are already questioning university as the automatic next step. He thinks a K12 education will increasingly involve “a customised rather than a standard model” as the outcome and refers to the AI revolution as being very significant, though just as maths teachers survived the introduction of the scientific calculator in the 1980s, we will need to adapt our educational approach with AI.
“Young people are already collaborating with AI companions rather than just using them as a tool or a resource. Yes – you must caution against the possibility of AI ‘hallucinations’, which students will learn to question, but whether AI companions are sentient beings or not is beside the point, because they push your own thinking and you get replies you would not necessarily expect, to which you have to respond.”
Continuity
But in looking to the future, it’s not all about change and disruption. He agrees with Jeff Bezos who prefers the question “what’s going to stay the same?” to “what’s going to change?”
It’s a really good point.
“In fifteen years relationships and the social element of school” will still be central to learning as will “challenging kids without overwhelming them.” And in terms of theory, he does not see the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development being any less important in the future than it is today or when it was first formulated by Vygotsky in the 1930s:
“Fifteen years ago, I was expecting more change, but our current graduates did not go through the kind of revolution I had anticipated.”
Time
None of this means that it is easy to do what you have to do while finding time for yourself. He acknowledges that effective leadership probably takes “more bandwidth than we are given.” But it is clear that trying to occupy any professional space too completely will be damaging and ultimately self-defeating for the leader and the school. Time with family and for keeping fit is essential. He also rides his bike to and from school, year-round, whatever the Belgian weather throws at him.