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DOK vs AI: Exploring the Value of Student Learning in the Age of AI
I asked ChatGPT 4.1: "what is the difference between the capacity of students to respond to teacher-assigned tasks and prompts at each DOK Level 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the capacity of AI to respond to user-assigned tasks and prompts?" I found its response illuminating. My thoughts about this response are below. Here is the ChatGPT 4.1 response (with zero edits).

Greg Mullen
5 days ago6 min read


Respect as a Core Value: Understanding Disrespect through Six Core Attributes
The deeper point of this quadrant model (and any other Core Values quadrant model) is not to claim that individuals live permanently in one quadrant. Instead, it provides a map of orientations that people may default to, shift between, or consciously choose depending on factors such as the relationship in question, the setting (formal vs. informal, public vs. private), the stakes (high-pressure vs. low-pressure situations), and any relevant cultural expectations.

Greg Mullen
6 days ago10 min read


Community as a Core Value: Cultivating Belonging and Shared Purpose in K–12 Education
Community as a Core Value reflects more than just how well people get along. It speaks to the deeper, structural interdependence of individuals within a group. The concept of "community" is to bind individuals into relationships of shared purpose, shared belonging, and shared responsibility.

Greg Mullen
7 days ago7 min read


Building Agency-Driven School Cultures: A Unified Framework
If schools aspire to nurture lifelong learners who take ownership of their growth, they must go beyond equipping students with individual skills. They must design school cultures and systems that develop agency at all levels—students, educators, and leadership—through structures that reward collective growth, collaboration, and purposeful autonomy.

Greg Mullen
Jul 25 min read


Integrity as a Core Value: Harmonizing Six Virtues Through Four Quadrants of Moral Alignment
Integrity is often described as “doing what’s right when nobody is looking.” In schools, it means staying true to what we believe is...

Greg Mullen
Jun 3013 min read


The Five Foundations of Learner Agency
The Five Foundations turn everyday lessons into launchpads for self-directed growth. Learn how planning, tracking, resourcefulness, collaboration, and flexible mastery make agency teachable—and measurable.

Greg Mullen
Jun 258 min read


Understanding Trust: How Trust Shapes Personal Attributes and Behaviors
Trust as a Core Value is more than the belief that someone will keep a promise. At its foundation, Trust is built on three core...

Greg Mullen
Jun 229 min read


“Agree to Disagree” Isn’t a Teaching Strategy—It’s a Stalemate
A few weeks ago, a veteran teacher stopped me outside her room, eyes wide with frustration. “My eighth-graders are constantly butting...

Greg Mullen
Jun 154 min read


Is Tutoring a Band-Aid for a Poorly Designed System?
In this article, I’m digging into that bigger condition of how our current school model quietly creates the demand for endless tutoring and what we could do instead of always having to run to the store for more band-aids.

Greg Mullen
Jun 126 min read


Is Your School Ready for Self-Directed Schooling?
I’ve found that a common reaction to the phrase “self-directed” involves the following presupposition: letting students fend for...

Greg Mullen
Jun 98 min read


Understanding Responsibility: The Influence of Core Values on Personal Attributes and Behaviors
Responsibility as a Core Value is more than checking off tasks. It is the place where accountability (answering for outcomes) intersects with priorities (deciding what matters most). Two perpendicular dimensions can effectively map that intersection.

Greg Mullen
Jun 58 min read


Self-Directed Schooling (SDS) Principles and Practices
Instead of marching through a rigid syllabus, learners help decide what they want to achieve, how they’ll get there, and how they’ll prove they’ve arrived–even if it involves obtaining an accredited school diploma. The payoff is a classroom learning environment buzzing with curiosity instead of compliance, where feedback feels less like a scoreboard and more like mile-markers on a long-distance walk students actually care about.

Greg Mullen
May 2523 min read


Reducing Resistance to AI in Schools: Ethical Considerations in Behavior Change
When is it ethical to “move” a principled AI-skeptic toward adopting AI tools? Short answer: Only if the benefit you’re offering does...

Greg Mullen
May 227 min read


When Toxic Culture Hijacks Effective Agency-Driven Change Management
Greg Mullen’s Trailblazing Change model marries the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of change with Motivational Interviewing (MI) to foster...

Greg Mullen
May 224 min read


AI Partnership Pipeline: What CIS/Cyber Divisions in Colleges Can Offer K-12 Schools
It is becoming clear to an increasing number of schools around the world that Generative AI is no longer a lab curiosity or a tech...

Greg Mullen
May 229 min read


The Fractured State: Rethinking Government's Role in Safeguarding Society
As I reflect on the state of our country today, I find myself standing at the intersection of frustration and reflection. The growing...

Greg Mullen
May 16102 min read


Beyond ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Pedagogy: Embracing Pedagogy, Andragogy, and Heutagogy as Complementary Lenses
In this article, I reject that shallow dichotomy and argue instead for recognizing three complementary lenses—pedagogy for the dependent novice, andragogy for the self-directed adult, and heutagogy for the autonomous expert. There are very good reasons why pedagogy doesn't always work with adults and why heutagogy isn't just "good pedagogy".

Greg Mullen
May 1612 min read


Teachers Aren’t Therapists: But We Can Still See the Signs
As a classroom teacher, I’ve supported many students in developing their socioemotional skills alongside academic growth. While some...

Greg Mullen
May 1110 min read


The Hidden Curriculum: An Introduction
Who We Are and How We Learn: A Comedy of Education (and Errors) Have you ever sat through the first PD session of a school year with your...

Greg Mullen
May 82 min read


Challenging Norms: Shifting from a Teacher-Led to a Student-Led Schooling Environment
Traditional schooling models often aim to develop students who are independent thinkers, self-motivated learners, and collaborative problem-solvers. However, the very teacher-led practices that shape these environments often hinder students from fully realizing these goals. Essentially, traditional teacher-led approaches may inadvertently stifle the very qualities they are trying to foster.

Greg Mullen
May 610 min read
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