Christian Talbot is the CEO and President of the Evolution Lab, the innovation arm of the Middle States Association (MSA), which serves over 3,000 schools across 115 countries. With a mission to help school leaders drive transformational growth, Christian and the Evolution Lab focus on guiding schools through strategic change, fostering environments where both students and educators can thrive. Recently he and his team have worked with a cohort of ten innovative schools who have earned the first Responsible AI in Learning (RAIL) endorsement, Literacy, Safety & Ethics.

In this episode, Christian discusses the future of education in the era of artificial intelligence, emphasizing the need for schools to reimagine learning rather than simply integrating new technologies. He highlights the importance of building trust, maintaining ethical frameworks, and ensuring that both students and staff experience personal growth. With a focus on creating innovative educational models, Christian and The Evolution Lab are helping educators stay at the forefront of generative AI and be future thought leaders.

Timestamps

• [02:07] Christian Talbot’s Journey with Accreditation and AI

• [04:25] Strategic Planning for the Future

• [07:35] Accreditation VS Endorsement

• [10:20] Integration VS Innovation

• [12:48] A Robust Framework for Generative Education

• [14:25] Characteristics of the Cohort Schools

• [17:40] Student DesignSprint with AI

• [23:36] Explicit Instruction & Authentic Exploration

• [26:08] Keeping Ethics at the Forefront

• [30:52] Parental Involvement

• [33:31] Connect with Christian Talbot

Notable Quotes

“[...] we want to be the source for school leaders, and we know that when it comes to transformation, AI is going to be transformational, whether we like it or not.”

“[...] what they all had in common is a head of school or some other senior leader who we characterise as an early adopter, a visionary, someone who understands it isn’t about integrating AI into what we do, it’s about reimagining what kind of learning is possible now that we have AI.”

“[...] we bundle together literacy, safety and ethics. It's kind of impossible to pull those apart. You can't be ethical if you don't. [...] We won't allow a school to pursue the endorsement in essential learning experience until they've done literacy, safety, and ethics because it's a precondition. It's a precondition for anything else.”

Let’s Connect

Connect With Christian Talbot

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-talbot/

Website: https://www.msaevolutionlab.com/rail

Connect With Kailyn Fullerton

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaifull/

X: @kaifull

Website: www.upstream-collaborative.org

Connect with Celiah Bunsie

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Celiah Bunsie⁠⁠⁠

Connect With Dana Specker Watts

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/danaspeckerwatts/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/teachwatts⁠⁠⁠⁠

Connect With Mike

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-pierre/⁠⁠

More Resources

• Tom Vanderark, “AI in Education” Getting Smart Website
• Middle States Association, RAIL Information Deck Presentation
• MSA & Tom Vanderark, “School Transformation, Learning a Path Forward, RAIL & AI” YouTube

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