Educator · Speaker · AI & Learning Strategist
Asking the hard questions about AI and education.
Helping education adapt to AI—without outsourcing the learning.
AI is already changing how young people write, think, create and learn. The question is no longer whether education will be affected, but what we want learning to become.
Kathleen Pierce, founder of Future Minds Collective
A place to think together about how AI is changing education—and what we want to do about it.
Future Minds Collective is a platform bringing educators, parents, students, researchers and decision-makers together to explore how AI is changing learning—and what young people still need from education. Through writing, conversations, research, speaking and professional learning, we ask how AI can support learning without replacing the thinking, communication and human judgment students need to develop for themselves.
“We gave students a tool that can do their work for them. But in too many cases, we never taught them how to use it without outsourcing their learning.”
An early experiment in teaching students to use AI differently
AI-Powered Personalized Feedback: Save Time & Spark Critical Minds
In 2024, Kathleen published a classroom approach that asks students to create an original first draft before using AI for feedback. Students are responsible for evaluating the advice, documenting their interactions and making their own revision decisions—using AI to support the learning process rather than replace it.
Read the published chapter (opens in new tab)→Questions we’re exploring
These are not yet published articles. They are questions Future Minds Collective is actively working through—questions that educators, parents and researchers are asking right now.
Is AI helping students become better writers—or simply producing better writing?
What should schools actually be teaching students about AI?
What do young people still need to learn and do for themselves?
Some things I know for sure
AI is not going away
Pretending it is not in our classrooms does not make it less so. Education needs to respond honestly and intentionally.
The answer is not simply to ban it
Students need guidance in deciding when and how AI can support their work—and when the learning requires them to work without it.
Learning cannot be outsourced
Forming an idea, finding the words, working through confusion and making decisions are not obstacles surrounding the learning. They are part of the learning.
Teachers need support, not blame
Educators are navigating an enormous shift in real time, often without consistent guidance, appropriate professional learning or institutional support.
Every perspective matters here
These conversations are happening unevenly across schools and institutions. Future Minds Collective exists to bring them together.
Educators
Navigating AI policy and pedagogy in real time, often without sufficient guidance or professional learning.
Parents
Trying to understand what their children are being taught about AI—and what skills they will genuinely need.
Students
Adapting to these tools faster than the adults around them, often without clear expectations or instruction.
Researchers
Investigating how AI is affecting learning, cognition, writing, assessment and educational practice.
School leaders and policymakers
Making consequential decisions while the technology—and our understanding of it—continues to change.
Journalists and producers
Looking for an accessible, grounded voice on a story that is still being written.
Bring this conversation to your school or organization
Kathleen brings a grounded educator’s perspective to conversations about AI and learning—helping audiences move beyond hype, fear and blanket prohibitions toward more thoughtful questions and practical decisions.
- Speaking and keynotes
- Educator workshops and professional learning
- Panel participation and moderation
- Media and podcast interviews
- Facilitated strategic conversations
- Advisory support