At this year鈥檚 Nevada Association of School Superintendents conference, 快播视频鈥� Katie King, Jeanine Collins and Mike Lang from the teamed up to lead a fascinating session on AI in education.
This wasn鈥檛 your typical tech-forward keynote. Instead of promises of magical tech-based solutions, participants were invited to journey through the whimsical yet wisdom-filled story of The Little Prince. Using Antoine de Saint-Exup茅ry鈥檚 timeless tale as a narrative device, King, Collins and Lang explored the role of artificial intelligence (AI) through the values embedded in the . At the heart of the discussion was the importance of thoughtful, human-centered AI integration, adapting AI researcher Ethan Mollick鈥檚 Four Co-Intelligence Principles:
- Maintain human oversight and critical thinking
- Engage regularly to understand AI鈥檚 strengths and limits
- Provide clear context; AI lacks true understanding
- Focus on adaptable skills, not current tools
The Prince-ly Learning Design Framework
At a time when AI tools threaten to make learning transactional and technology-focused, educators and leaders must design learning experiences and environments that nurture student agency and aspirations. It鈥檚 not just about maintaining human oversight but ensuring that humanity is infused into all learning experiences. To ground educators and leaders in how to think about AI, Lang presented the group with the 鈥淧rince-ly Learning Design Framework,鈥� connecting the Portrait of a Nevada Learner attributes to the prince鈥檚 dispositions and childhood qualities.
- Wonder-driven > Empowering
AI should spark curiosity, not replace exploration. The prince has an insatiable curiosity about the world. He questions everything and wishes to understand the nature of things more deeply. - Choice-rich > Connecting
AI has the power to scale access and interaction, but it must be used intentionally to strengthen community, not replace it. The prince longs for meaningful relationships and refuses to accept superficial connections. He chooses where to go, who to speak to and how to respond with care. - Voice-honoring > Impacting
Student agency should remain at the center, even when co-creating with AI.聽 The Litte Prince values and listens to others. Whether it鈥檚 a fox, a rose or a pilot, the story reminds us that every voice matters. - Growth-focused > Thriving
AI should support learners in navigating challenges, not by removing obstacles, but by helping them build the confidence to overcome them. Throughout the story, the prince demonstrates resilience and ongoing learning. Through each encounter he evolves and learns more about how to love and to lead with empathy.
Planet-hopping with a purpose
Just as the little prince traveled from planet to planet meeting curious characters, Collins offered three fictional education 鈥減lanets鈥� to explore how AI is currently showing up in schools and how current uses sometimes miss the mark:
- Planet 1: The School (The Vain Man) 鈥� 鈥淲e鈥檝e won awards for our AI integration!鈥� boasts Innovation Elementary. Yet beneath the spotlight, student needs are eclipsed by image management.
- Planet 2: The District (The Businessman) 鈥� 鈥淲e track 47 licenses and usage metrics,鈥� says the district leader. But behind the numbers, teachers feel isolated and under-supported.
- Planet 3: The Classroom (The Lamplighter) 鈥� A loyal teacher follows every policy and AI mandate to the letter, but the pace is overwhelming. Innovation feels more like obligation.
These scenarios capture the tension between performative innovation and authentic learner-centered transformation. Participants were asked to consider how education leaders might move beyond awards and efficiency to reimagine these scenarios to be truly learner-centered and Portrait-aligned.
Rewriting the script: from Snake to Fox
To help attendees reframe their thinking about AI and its uses, King introduced another compelling analogy from The Little Prince: Snake versus Fox. In the story, the fox represents wisdom, connection and the intentional work of building relationships. The snake, on the other hand, offers a tempting shortcut home.
Applied to the use of AI, King showed that the snake symbolizes the appeal of using technology for surface-level efficiency and replacing human insight with automated ease. But the fox invites us to see AI as a tool, that can enhance, not replace, creativity and human connection. When used thoughtfully, AI becomes a partner in expanding curiosity, supporting agency and creating meaningful experiences. The distinction can be seen in how we frame a prompt for generative AI.
A 鈥沦苍补办别鈥� prompt might say: “Make fractions fun.” It鈥檚 a generic, context-free command aimed at automation. It asks little of the educator or AI.
A 鈥淔辞虫鈥� prompt, in contrast, might follow the CARE Framework 鈥� Context, Action, Role, Example:
I’m a 3rd grade teacher (Role) and you are a Hollywood script writer (Role). We are designing for learners who struggle with math confidence, but who love comic-themed films (Context). Let鈥檚 design activities that will allow learners to demonstrate their understanding of the relationship between the numerator and denominator (Action). We have used mobile devices to film YouTube shorts in the past about the parts of speech and the history of our neighborhoods (Example).
This kind of co-design request invites creative thought from the educator and augments their expertise and relational knowledge of their learners.聽 It鈥檚 not just asking AI to do something, it鈥檚 asking AI to think with them. One prompt aims for automation, the other invites creative collaboration. As humans, we are in the position to teach and tame AI through the ways we interact with it. The prompts we give AI shapes its outputs. Ultimately, AI should open doors for growth, not foster dependency. It鈥檚 up to us to guide it with intention and choosing to be more like Fox.
A human-centered path in an AI-driven future
This is a transformative moment in education. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has created an urgent need to decide how we respond. While the challenges are real, they also represent powerful opportunities. The choice before us is not whether to use AI, but how to do so in ways that deepen, rather than diminish, what makes learning meaningful. If we approach AI as a tool to amplify human curiosity, connection and creativity, we can shape a future where our learners remain firmly at the center. As The Little Prince reminds us, 鈥淚t is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.鈥�
