When AI Speeds Up Output, We Still Need Slow Ideas

Creative iteration as an essential human skill in the Age of AI

In a world that is changing faster than ever, one of the most valuable skills our students can develop is the ability to create, evaluate, and improve their own ideas, individually and collaboratively.

That’s why the next essential human skill we want to explore in this series is creative iteration, or the ability to generate and refine new ideas, collaboratively and adaptively.

In an age where generative AI can instantly produce first drafts, outlines, images, and ideas, the differentiator will not be who can prompt the fastest, but who can shape what’s created with imagination, judgment, and care. The leaders of tomorrow will be the ones who can enter into the process, stay with it, and keep creating until something meaningful emerges.

What is Creative Iteration?

Creative iteration is the discipline of returning to an idea, over and over, improving it with each pass. It’s the ability to adapt when the context shifts. And it’s the skill of building new ideas with others, not just for them. This can include working in teams to iterate and working with AI to iterate.

Ed Catmull talks about this idea in his book, Creativity, Inc, when he describes how we need to set aside time to nurture the “ugly baby.” The ugly baby is our idea that is imperfect, not well formed, but promising. It needs time and attention focused on it to allow it to grow and flourish into the beautiful concept that it can become. What I love about this idea is that it recognizes that our ideas don’t start out perfect, or sometimes even good! When we can help our students recognize that their initial ideas can be imperfect, we teach them that their job is to nurture that idea, to give it time and energy to keep becoming. The ugly baby probably needs some more deep thinking, some conversation with others, some feedback and critique from colleagues and maybe some discussion with AI to help it continue to grow into what it can be.

Designing for the Ugly Baby

As we are all coming to understand, in the age of AI, speed is easy. Iteration is hard. It is the deep, long work of creation that we all struggle with. And yet it’s in the slow, creative work of returning, of wrestling, refining, reimagining, that deeper learning takes place.

When we create space for students to try, to revise, to take risks, and to adapt, our goal is more than teaching them to complete assignments. Instead, we’re focused on forming people who can collaborate, problem-solve, and lead through uncertainty. We’re developing creative thinkers who are not afraid to stay in the tension of what’s not yet finished, who are able to, as Catmull says, linger in the place of the unmade future without panicking, just as we are doing in our own leadership in the liminal space.

I encourage you to think of creative iteration not as an “add-on” to a career-ready curriculum, but as a core human capacity. And, this capacity becomes even more essential when new technologies accelerate our ability to produce but not necessarily to understand.

If we want our students to be more than efficient, just coming up with ideas quickly, we must teach them how to be imaginative, taking time to make sure the ideas are good ones! If we want them to build a better world, we must teach them how to build better ideas together.

Nurturing the “Ugly Baby” in a World Obsessed with Efficiency

In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull writes that “early on, all ideas are ugly.” He describes the creative process not as a straight line, but as a vulnerable space where new ideas are fragile, awkward, incomplete, and easy to dismiss. I bet that sounds familiar to all of us! At some point, that great thing we’ve created was not so great, it was not fully formed, it needed to be nurtured to reach its potential.

In a world where AI can instantly produce polished content, the temptation is to rush to the finished product, to bypass the messy middle. But, if we always reach for the fastest draft or the most refined answer, we risk abandoning the very heart of creative thinking: the willingness to dwell in uncertainty long enough for something better to emerge.

As leaders, we must protect the slow work of imagination, especially when it’s uncomfortable. We must design environments that don’t just reward efficiency, but cultivate depth, humility, and courageous iteration.

Workforce Impact: As AI takes on more routine production, human creativity will become even more essential for problem solving, design thinking, innovation, and leadership. In fact, studies show that creativity, collaboration, and adaptability are among the most in-demand skills across sectors (Forbes, 2025; World Economic Forum, 2023). Employers are looking for people who can revise, rethink, and reshape ideas in conversation with others and with new tools. Rather than these being “soft skills,” they’re survival skills in a world of rapid change!

So how do we build this capacity in our students?

We start by creating space for the unfinished. And we design assignments that invite students into that iterative process, not just to get the “right answer,” but to grow through the work of creating something that matters.

K–12 Practices for Critical Thinking

Contributed by Julie Crum, M.Ed., Founder and Director, Summit Christian School

Practicing creative iteration teaches learners that the first try is not the final product. Students learn that growth happens through reflection, feedback, and purposeful revision and that asking, “How can this be improved?” is a mark of success.

Whether a child is building a tower in Kindergarten, creating an invention in 5th grade, or revising an essay in 9th grade, iteration develops a mindset of step by step progress and continual improvement. This process nurtures resilience, problem-solving, and confidence as students embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth. They learn to examine what worked, identify what didn’t work, and try again with thoughtful intention instead of focusing on just getting the work done quickly.

In a time when AI can produce quick answers, one of our students’ greatest advantages will be their ability to think creatively, revise thoughtfully, and improve ideas over time. Creative iteration teaches students to value the process of revision, embrace feedback, and refine their work with purpose, skills that will serve them well in all areas of life.

Lower Elementary Practices for Creative Iteration

When working with Kindergarten - 2nd Graders, we like to give students the opportunities to

Build ➡️ Test ➡️ Improve

For example, a teacher presents a challenge:

• Round 1: Build the tallest tower you can, but make sure it will remain standing!

Students are provided various materials to choose from, such as cups, craft sticks, blocks, etc. and given five minutes to build.

• Round 2: At the end of that time, the teacher gently blows or uses a piece of paper to fan and simulate wind. Does the tower remain standing?

• Round 3: Next, the students are given time to improve their design and create a second model based on what they learned before testing again.

• Round 4: Finally, the class has a debriefing session where students share what worked well, what they changed, and what they learned.

What it does: The challenge provides an opportunity for creativity and design thinking, while the test and improvement stages allow students to experience cause and effect relationships and draw out iteration.

Why it works: Young students love challenges, and most are naturally curious. Providing an opportunity to create, test, question, and improve builds the skill of creative iteration, along with resilience. Providing students choice of materials and how to interpret the challenge builds confidence as they take ownership of the design.

Upper Elementary Practices for Creative Iteration

For 3rd-6th Graders, our goals are to foster real-world creativity, collaborative iteration, and resilience with design constraints.

One way to do this is through a Prototype & Pitch Challenge. Students are asked to work with a group to create a tool to assist a character in a book or a historical figure the class is studying. This works best if all groups are assisting the same character or historical figure.

In groups, students work through four rounds:

• Round 1: The group is given a limited amount of time to determine what the character/historical figure needs and create a tool. They then create a quick sketch and build a basic model using classroom supplies, such as clay, cardboard, tape, etc.

• Round 2: Groups test their models, and each member gives one suggestion for improvement.

• Round 3: Students revise their prototype and test the upgraded version.

• Round 4: Students pitch their design through a presentation explaining and demonstrating their tool.

What it does: This type of challenge guides students through brainstorming, creating, assessing, revising, and presenting through a fast-moving, hands-on experience. Adding a collaborative element and time constraints extends creativity and fosters cooperation and resilience.

Why it works: Students see their ideas get better with each step! What starts as a “what if” transforms into a real model they can demonstrate, and the process builds creative iteration. Creating a quick prototype knowing they will have time to improve it lowers pressure and gets students started quickly. Rounds 2 and 3 allow them to make improvements, reinforcing that feedback and upgrading are part of the process. Finally, pitching their final version helps students articulate how and why their idea works. Experiencing each step of the process and taking their tool from idea through multiple versions demonstrates the power of improvements possible through creative iteration.

Secondary

When students have been using the creative iteration process since lower elementary years, it is easy to extend the process to more complex activities as they enter secondary school. Our 7th-12th graders use this in all subjects regularly whether they are reflecting on a science experiment and re-running with adjustments, baking a cookie recipe in Food Science and making adaptations to improve the next batch, or creating an invention to solve a problem in STEAM and walking through the same steps our upper elementary students did to improve the outcome.

An example of how this might look specifically involves a writing challenge where students “Level Up Your Claim.” English classes routinely work through various drafts and involve self, peer, and teacher feedback before the final draft is submitted. Presenting this process as a “Level Up” Challenge adds to the interest and engagement. Working on this in class can help ensure students are not being dependent on AI but are truly using their thinking skills.

• Round 1: First, students are given a writing prompt which calls them to choose a side and support it with evidence. For example, “Was Robin Hood wrong to steal? Present your argument using specific evidence.”

• Round 2: Students share their claim with a peer and receive feedback. How convincing was the argument? Was the evidence used strong enough to be persuasive? Providing students with questions to answer for their partners is key. We aren’t asking for grammatical help here since we can all use grammar and spell check for that. Instead, we want to look at the strength of the claim and share feedback. Students are then given an opportunity to “Level Up” by editing their claim.

• Round 3: In Round 3, students are challenged to present a counterclaim and a rebuttal.

• Round 4: Students engage in another round of peer feedback with a different partner, then create a final polished version to turn in.

What it does: This activity walks students step by step through building a strong argument, from writing a claim to supporting it with strong evidence, then adding a counterclaim and rebuttal. Each round adds a new layer of sophistication and depth as the students’ improve upon their argumentative essay to create their final version.

Why it works: Students can see their argument evolve through intentional improvements. Each round focuses on one “level up” skill upgrade, showing them how stronger evidence, opposing viewpoints, and purposeful writing techniques build a better, more effective argument. Revising the same piece multiple times allows students to experience the gradual refinement that creates a clear, powerful essay. To add another layer to this assignment, have students compare their first drafts with their final copies and share a reflection. How do they compare? Where do you see your growth as a writer through the comparison? What skills did you gain?

Teaching creative iteration in K-12 education is vital preparation for the world our students are stepping into upon graduation. As technology accelerates and information becomes instantly accessible, the skills that set people apart become more and more important. As students learn to embrace feedback and revision to progress, they develop resilience, adaptability, and confidence to create.

By weaving creative iteration into every grade level, we empower our students to become lifelong learners who can navigate complexity, embrace challenges, and turn ideas into innovations.

Higher Education Practices for Creative Iteration

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year and a half of working on integrating AI into higher education with faculty, students, academic staff, and leaders, it’s this: the future belongs to those who are not just fast, but flexible, not just efficient, but adaptive, and not just consumers of information, but creators of meaning. I’m sharing several assignment ideas today, starting with the concept of the free range assignment.

Creative Iteration in Practice: Free-Range Assignments

Free-Range Assignments

Used in: I’ve used free-range assignments in Upper-level Psychology courses, General Education, Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts and graduate courses and colleagues have used them across the curriculum.

What it does: Offers students a range of options for expressing their understanding through self-selected mediums, fostering experimentation, personal investment, and iterative refinement.

Why it works: By empowering students to design their own approach to demonstrating learning, this assignment style nurtures creative confidence, flexibility, and deep engagement.

In an era when creativity is an essential human skill, we need assignments that go beyond traditional essay or test formats. That’s where free-range assignments come in.

Originally developed by me while teaching Child Psychology at Abilene Christian University, the idea emerged from frustration with formulaic final papers. While students were writing about developmental theory, they weren’t truly engaging with it. Many struggled to connect abstract models to real-world application. (Fang, Shewmaker & Self, 2015).

Enter the free-range approach! Instead of giving students a single prescribed format, I invited them to choose how they would demonstrate their understanding of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. The assignment began with multiple exposures to the model and related materials. Then, students were given an open-ended prompt: share your understanding and application of this theory in a format of your choosing, with very specific concepts that must be addressed and applied. I shared a checklist and a rubric and we had multiple group and individual discussions to be sure that the students understood what knowledge they needed to demonstrate.

Some created videos. One student built a working “developmental clock” while another created a computer game. Others produced digital stories, podcasts, or visual art pieces.

This was a formative assignment, with multiple check points built in throughout the semester. Along the way, students proposed ideas, sought feedback, revised their projects, and reflected on their own learning process.

In contrast to what you might imagine, this wasn’t chaos, it was carefully guided freedom. Students were given rubrics, clear checkpoints with checklists and meetings with me, and exemplars. They were encouraged to start with messy drafts, iterate, and reimagine.

And it worked!

Student engagement soared. Not only did they demonstrate a deeper understanding of developmental theory, they also developed greater ownership over their learning. The quality of the work improved, and so did the creativity. More importantly, they practiced the very skill they’ll need in a rapidly evolving workforce: the ability to take an idea and bring it to life through adaptive iteration.

Free-range assignments are a mindset as much as a method. They embrace ambiguity and creativity, and they center the learner as a meaning-maker, not just a responder. They also mirror the real world, where the most innovative solutions rarely come from a prompt with only one right answer.

Assignment Example: Personal Development Reflection

Course: Undergraduate Child Psychology course, but you could use this with any course that focuses on teaching theory.

What it Does: Provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and ability to apply key theoretical concepts.

In my Child Psychology course, students complete a capstone project called the Personal Development Reflection, free range assignment designed to integrate psychological theory with their lived experience.

The foundation of the assignment is Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Systems Theory, which explores how various systems—family, peers, culture, institutions, and time—shape development. But the invitation goes beyond analysis. Students are asked to creatively reflect on how these systems have influenced their own physical, cognitive, emotional, moral, and social growth from childhood to early adulthood. Educators could use this type of assignment with any theoretical lens to help their students apply what their learning and demonstrate their knowledge of the theory through application.

And here’s the key to what makes it free range: they choose how to present it.

Some students write traditional essays. Others create videos, audio stories, artwork, or multimedia presentations. One student interviewed family members and built a digital scrapbook; another used visual storytelling and music to convey moments of moral conflict and growth. Students present their project to the class.

After presenting their artifacts to the class, they complete a reflection that asks:

• What did you learn about yourself through this process?

• What surprised you as you crafted your artifact?

• What parts did you revise, and why?

The project isn’t about showing off creativity, it’s about practicing it. Through drafting, revising, reflecting, and reworking, students refine both their ideas and their expression. They learn to choose format based on audience and purpose, and they adapt as they go.

Why it works

This assignment fosters creative iteration by:

• Allowing freedom of format, which invites students to stretch into unfamiliar tools and modes of expression.

• Encouraging layered reflection, requiring multiple stages of thought, feedback, and revision.

• Connecting theory with narrative, helping students develop insight not just about content, but about themselves.

In short, it models the kind of iterative, adaptive thinking our students will need to thrive in the age of AI, not just to use technology to come up with answers, but to shape their knowledge with insight, empathy, and vision.

This assignment does something powerful: it helps students see learning as a narrative arc rather than a list of facts. It invites them to reflect, create, revise, and take ownership. And because no two projects are alike, it fosters authentic engagement and self-expression.

In the context of AI, this kind of assignment is especially important. Anyone can ask a chatbot to summarize Piaget’s stages of development. But what a chatbot can’t do is make meaning from a student’s life, connect it to learning, and express that connection through their own creative lens. That’s what this assignment helps students practice.

Cumulative Digital Project

Used in: First-Year Seminar

What it does: Invites students to synthesize personal insights from their semester, either through their StrengthsQuest profile or their understanding of liberal arts education, by producing an original podcast, digital story, or short film.

Why it works: This assignment is a model of creative iteration. It allows students to move beyond written reflection into meaningful, self-directed storytelling that combines research, identity, and expression across mediums.

Students begin by choosing one of two thematic paths:

• Path 1: A deep dive into their top Strengths and how those shape their academic and personal life.

• Path 2: A reflective exploration of how one or more liberal arts domains which had been studied across the semester, including natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and global thinking, and intersect these with their own growth and goals.

In both options, students are invited to move beyond a formulaic essay and instead create a short, engaging digital product. That might take the form of a voice-recorded podcast, a scripted film using stills and audio, or a more artistic digital story. Students must respond to structured prompts but have full creative control over tone, format, and delivery.

This assignment works because it nurtures:

• Deep reflection on one’s identity, formation, and values

• Iterative production (drafting scripts, recording, editing, revising)

• Communication across multiple modalities (voice, visuals, narrative)

• Connection between liberal arts learning and lived experience
  

By working through multiple drafts and testing ideas through digital tools, students engage in a process of creative iteration, testing, refining, and presenting something personal and purposeful. For many students, this is their first opportunity to “tell their story” in a form that feels authentic, yet rigorous.

Instructor Tip: Make time for peer or AI feedback sessions before the final submission. Encourage students to reflect not just on their final product, but on how their thinking and their project evolved across the process. Consider collecting reflections on what they learned about both content and communication.

Ethical Dilemma Analysis with AI Chatbots

Created by Dr. Lance Forman, Assistant Dean Education Specialties and Director of the Educational Leadership Program

Used in: Graduate courses in the M.Ed., Ed.S., and Ed.D. Educational Leadership Programs

What it does: Challenges students to engage in deep, reflective, and iterative thinking through the exploration of a complex moral dilemma using multimedia inputs, AI character interaction, and a virtues-based decision-making framework.

Why it works: This assignment pushes beyond theoretical case analysis by inviting students into a dynamic, multi-stage learning experience. They gather context, analyze a situation, test assumptions, and evolve their thinking through dialogue with both AI tools and their own reflective writing.

Structure:

Delivered in week five of a six-week asynchronous graduate course, the assignment unfolds in four parts:

Context immersion: Students review policies, emails, data, and documents to establish the factual and procedural background of a complex moral dilemma.

Cinematic case study: Students watch a 10-minute short film that dramatizes the ethical issue from multiple angles.

AI chatbot interaction:

Character Bots: Students converse with chatbots modeled after characters in the film. They ask questions, uncover motives, explore emotions, and challenge assumptions.

MORAL Dilemma Coach Bot: Students are guided step-by-step through a virtues-based ethical decision-making framework. The bot probes their logic, prompts empathy, and offers a personalized summary based on their input, highlighting strengths and areas for growth.

Reflective synthesis: Students write a reflection on their process and the evolution of their thinking, integrating personal insights, values, and leadership identity.

Why it fosters creative iteration:

This assignment is powerful because it simulates the kind of ethical uncertainty that real leaders face. Instead of a binary right-or-wrong answer, students must explore many “right” paths, and consider how each aligns with their values, goals, and responsibilities. Through conversation with character bots and the MORAL Coach, students revise their understanding, weigh multiple perspectives, and begin to articulate new ways forward.

They iterate not only on a solution, but on their identity as ethical leaders.

What makes this assignment different:

Unlike traditional case studies, this approach allows students to sit in the complexity of a situation. The character bots invite emotional depth. The MORAL Coach guides logical structure. And the reflective writing asks students to integrate the whole experience into their ongoing development. Students have given the following feedback after completing this assignment:

“This changed my mind and allowed me to consider first, what was best for Josh, and second, how to compromise... I got to dig deeper into Principal Harris’s motivations... allowing me to find clarity and a reasonable resolution to the situation that benefited everyone.”

“The chatbot highlighted virtues like humility, empathy, and justice that shaped my thinking and responses. The most meaningful suggestion for refinement was the reminder to ‘practice naming and owning your emotional reactions early.’”

Instructor Insight: The instructor noted a significant increase in both the depth and nuance of students’ submissions after integrating AI tools. Students engaged in creative problem-solving that combined both policy adherence and personal empathy, which are hallmarks of adaptive, purpose-driven leadership.

Leadership Reflection

Creative iteration is a classroom strategy, AND it’s also a leadership mindset. When we create learning spaces that allow students to test ideas, receive feedback, and try again, we prepare them not just to navigate change, but to shape it. In a world of increasing automation, what sets human learners apart is not perfection on the first try, but the courage to keep creating, refining, and growing. This is the work that creates authentic change that makes the world a better place.

Questions for Leaders:

1. Where in our programs is it safe for products and thinking to be incomplete?

In what assignments, meetings, or strategy sessions do students (or faculty) feel free to explore the “ugly baby” idea: the early draft that isn’t yet polished, but might become something remarkable with care and time?

2. Are we building for fast answers or lasting growth?

How might AI be accelerating performance without deepening understanding? Where do we need to slow down in order to think more wisely and form more resilient learners?

3. What scaffolds are we providing to support creative courage?

Are we explicitly teaching students how to revise, to receive feedback, and to return to their work with new insight? Are our systems built to support this kind of iterative process, or are we unintentionally signaling that quick, correct answers are the goal?

The work of education in this season isn’t just to keep up with change. It’s also to slow down enough to shape how we respond to it with purpose, imagination, and care.

Let’s create spaces where students can become not just users of knowledge, but makers of meaning.

References

Catmull, E., & Wallace, A. (2014). Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration. Random House.

Fang, B., Shewmaker, J., & Self, S. (2015). Designing free-range assignments. In D. Preuveneers (Ed.), Workshop Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Intelligent Environments (pp. 120–129). IOS Press. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-530-2-120

Oses, A. (2024, October 30). Most in‑demand skills for employers as we enter 2025. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2024/10/30/most-in-demand-skills-for-employers-as-we-enter-2025/

World Economic Forum. (2023). The Future of Jobs Report 2023. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/