Executive Function in the Age of AI: Rethinking Learning Beyond the Artifact
Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed what students can produce.
What it hasn’t changed—and what may matter more than ever—is the cognitive work students must still learn to do themselves.
As generative AI becomes embedded in education, educators are being challenged to rethink long-held assumptions about learning, assessment, and student success. While much of the conversation has focused on AI tools, prompting, and academic integrity, a more important question is emerging:
What human capacities should education intentionally cultivate in an age where AI can generate increasingly sophisticated work?
This webinar explores executive function as one of the missing pieces in the AI conversation. Drawing from research in cognitive science, educational psychology, and higher education, we’ll examine why planning, self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, metacognition, and judgment continue to develop throughout adolescence and early adulthood—and why these capacities have become even more valuable in an AI-enabled world.
Participants will explore practical strategies for redesigning instruction and assessment so that AI supports learning without replacing the cognitive processes students still need to develop.
Participants will learn how to:
- Reframe executive function as a higher education and lifelong learning issue—not just an elementary education concern.
- Understand how AI changes the role of planning, judgment, metacognition, and self-regulation.
- Identify which cognitive processes should remain central to learning experiences in an AI-enabled classroom.
- Design assignments and assessments that intentionally develop executive function while allowing for responsible AI use.
- Apply practical instructional strategies that can be implemented immediately across disciplines.
Whether you teach in K–12, higher education, or lead institutional innovation, this session offers a research-informed framework for preparing learners for a future where information is abundant—but judgment remains indispensable.
Presenters
- Michael Angelone, M.A. – English Professor, American River College; CCC AI ChangeMaker Fellow
- Dyanne Marté – Faculty AI Fellow, American River College; Co-founder, IncredibrAIn