Brain Training

WISELY NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL AGE

Our Critical Thinking course is a curriculum based on the idea that to thrive in a changing world students must become both discerning users of AI as well as develop an intentional, healthy relationship to screens.

Through a series of custom-built lessons, incorporating a wide range of material—from Harvard’s AI pedagogy lab to readings from Marcus Aurelius—these small group sessions help students build the skills necessary to manage their relationship to the technologies of today, so that they can thrive in the economies of tomorrow.

  • Critical Thinking

    In small group conversations with their teacher, and through a series of writing assignments, students learn to strengthen their ability to analyze & question complex ideas.​

  • Mindfulness & Screens​

    Students examine, discuss openly, and reevaluate their own relationships with technology. Screens are here to stay, but how kids choose to engage with them shape their habits, focus, and well-being for years to come.​

  • Navigating AI​

    Through exercises developed at Harvard’s AI pedagogy lab, we help students identify the technology’s strengths as well as its weaknesses, allowing them to begin using it as a ‘collaborative tool’ rather than a replacement for their own thinking.​

A sample syllabus

Week 1
Hello World​
Socratic discussion: why is it important to strengthen our critical thinking skills in the digital age?
Writing assignment: identifying the ways technology is helpful and the ways it holds us back from rising to our full potential
 
Week 2
The Mind-Body Problem
Excerpt from Stephen Law’s The Philosophy Gym
Writing assignment: persuasive essay
 
Week 3
Euthyphro Question
Readings: Plato’s Euthyphro
Writing assignment: a short analytic essay
 
Week 4
The Trolley Problem
Michael J Sandel’s lecture Justice
Socratic discussion: What does it mean to make moral choices?
 
Week 5
Mindfulness & Screens
Readings: Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh
introducing the time diet & a guided meditation
learning to track how we spend our time over the week
​

Week 6
Social Media
Readings: The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt
a week of digital detox and journaling exercise
 
Week 7
The Habit of Focus
Readings: Deep Work, Cal Newport
Socratic Discussion: what is deep work vs. shallow work?
learning time blocking for deep work
​
Week 8
Layered Prompting
Media: Harvard’s AI Pedagogy Lab
practicing layered prompts
interviewing a favorite fictional character or historical figure
Research prompt: understanding the strengths and weaknesses of AI?
 
Week 9
Information and Society
Readings: Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari
learning to use AI as a collaborative partner, rather than a learning crutch.
 
Week 10
Reflection
Socratic Discussion: what did I learn? How have I grown?
Final assignment: a letter to my future self