Teachers and Students Prompt Together!

Many people are drawn to «Positive». The world there seems intimate, colorful, and cheerful, just like the mood of its creators. I’m almost ashamed that I’ve positioned myself on «Negative» with my critical vision of the future, and I’m glad to have the chance to explain my perspective.

I am attending a workshop at the Waldorf FutureLab, a conference on AI and Waldorf education organized by the Freie Waldorfschule Isartal. In numerous workshops and short presentations, experts introduced us to the possibilities of AI while also highlighting potential pitfalls. The diverse mix of teachers, students, parents, and interested members of the local business community led to enriching, multi-perspective discussions. It became clear: the students are already well on their way. When doing homework, some students use multiple AI tools per day, since the free versions only allow a limited number of queries. From the employers’ perspective, as reported in the FutureLab, AI can only be as good as the person who queries it. Consequently, companies are increasingly opting for graduates from the humanities, from whom they expect a high degree of linguistic precision.

Otherwise, what matters most to them are fundamental future-oriented skills: critical thinking, problem-solving skills, collaboration skills, ethical awareness, self-management, and creativity. Digital literacy is taken for granted and is usually no longer even asked about in job interviews. The experts recognize that Waldorf schools place special emphasis on developing these skills. They emphasize the future-readiness of Waldorf education. In response to the fear that upcoming developments threaten to increasingly blur the line between humans and machines, one student pointed out that he believed exactly the opposite. AI forces humans to develop what is specifically human with ever greater precision, and for him, these are skills such as empathy, creativity, and ethical awareness.

I found one expert’s suggestion particularly inspiring: to practice «prompting»—that is, giving instructions to an AI—in mixed-age teams. While young people bring a carefree spirit of experimentation, adults can use their life experience to help craft prompts that are focused on specific goals. In my mind’s eye, I see teachers and students exploring this field together and developing interesting teaching formats. School as a laboratory for the future: this prospect excites me!