Curiosity over Mastery: A Half-Day Workshop for the Age of AI (Separate registration required.)

Curiosity is not a soft skill. It is the foundational human capacity AI cannot replicate—and the one most systematically suppressed by compliance-based education. This half-day workshop introduces the Curiosity Over Mastery framework (recognized as an emerging practice in the 2026 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report Teaching and Learning Edition) through hands-on activities, classroom research, and practical application. Participants experience the framework from the inside, including The Worst Possible Answer, a low-stakes improv activity that demonstrates what a Curiosity Reserve feels like, and then apply the Inhale/Exhale model and Curiosity Reserves diagnostic to their own courses, programs, and institutional policies. They leave with a replicable framework, a bot-design toolkit, and one concrete change to bring back to campus. Outcomes of this workshop: apply the Curiosity Over Mastery framework to redesign one assignment, policy, or program element to protect divergent thinking; use the Curiosity Reserves diagnostic to identify structural compliance drivers in your own institutional context; and implement a bot-facilitated discussion alternative that generates deeper student reasoning than traditional discussion posts. Upon successful completion of this preconference workshop, participants will be eligible to receive an EDUCAUSE microcredential. To earn this digital badge, participants must complete a brief workshop evaluation and share two key learning outcomes from their experience. On October 5, all registered participants will receive an email with instructions for completing these steps. Completion of both is required. To learn how to accept and make the most of the microcredential, visit the EDUCAUSE Microcredential website.