After taking a brief pause from blog posts during Week 5 due to midterm break, we are back to reflecting on the previous week’s work. Unfortunately, I have not been as efficient as I would have liked with my personal project, largely due to the intensity and fast pace of the Carleton term and a heavier-than-usual workload. That said, I plan to make significant progress before my next check-in with Sarah, my personal advisor, and I am confident that by Week 8 I will have more substantial updates to share.
Shifting to group dynamics and collaborative work, our team had the opportunity during our usual meeting hours to have lunch with two NPR podcasters who traveled from California to Northfield. In preparation, we listened to two of their podcast episodes—one framing AI as a metaphor and the other discussing AI as an emerging reality. The conversation that followed was both insightful and intellectually stimulating.
The topic that resonated most strongly with me was the discussion around AI integration in education. One point that sparked extended conversation was the introduction of new AI policies in K–12 school systems and the potential downstream effects this may have. Specifically, we discussed how increased AI use earlier in education could contribute to first-year college students struggling more with understanding rubrics and expectations around writing and assessment.
This conversation connected closely to a paper I had read for class by David Brooks, which argues that traditional definitions of merit need to be reexamined in a rapidly developing and unequal world. Without redefining merit and evaluation, Brooks suggests, existing gaps in access and opportunity are likely to widen—an idea that felt particularly relevant in the context of AI and education.
Finally, for our team’s Leganto project, we met Friday morning to discuss the student survey that Ava and I developed. The survey focuses on student perceptions of the program’s accessibility and ease of use, especially as we consider its continued integration and investment at Carleton. In the coming week, we will begin testing the survey with participants to ensure it functions as intended and collects the necessary data. This work will be essential as we move toward the anticipated April assessment deadline.
