AI as a Divisive Topic
A faculty activity for K-12 & higher education

Reclaiming AI as a Subject of Serious, Civic-Minded Study

In an era when many "divisive concepts" have been chilled out of the classroom, artificial intelligence remains an open frontier — a goldmine of provocative pedagogy. This interactive activity invites faculty to think, debate, and design assignments around eighteen genuinely contested questions about AI's role in our society.

18 provocative scenarios
Self-paced & workshop-ready
Open resource — share freely
Based on Watkins & Monroe, Thresholds 49.1 (2026)

How to Use This Activity

Start by choosing how you want to engage. The page adapts: self-paced mode emphasizes private reflection; workshop mode surfaces small-group discussion prompts and facilitation notes.

01

Browse or filter

Each of the eighteen scenarios stems from a question raised in the source article. Use the theme filters to find scenarios most relevant to your discipline.

02

Sit with the provocation

Read the scenario. Notice the perspectives. Resist the urge to immediately resolve the tension — that tension is the pedagogical opportunity.

03

Go deeper

Each scenario links out to vetted reporting, scholarship, primary documents, and counter-arguments. Read at least two before forming a position.

04

Reflect & capture

Answer the reflection prompts in the in-page notebook (saved in your browser). In workshop mode, use the discussion prompts with colleagues.

05

Build an assignment

Use the Assignment Builder to combine scenarios, learning outcomes, and assessment types into a draft you can adapt for your own classroom.

06

Export & share

Export your notes and draft assignments as markdown. Compare with colleagues. Iterate. The point is to keep talking — and teaching.

Eighteen Scenarios for Faculty Discussion

Each scenario takes a question raised in the source article and presents it as a provocation — a concrete situation, several plausible positions, and a path into deeper reading. Click any card to expand it into the full activity.

Filter:

Assignment Builder

Combine one or more scenarios with the learning outcomes and assessment type that fit your course. The builder generates a draft you can copy into your syllabus or share with colleagues.

Choose 1–3 scenarios. Multi-scenario assignments work well for synthesis tasks; single-scenario for focused analysis.
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