(125) From Empathize to Impact: An AI Framework for Civic-Powered Learning

8.30am – 9.30am MST, 4 March 2027 ‐ 1 hour

Room: Red Rock 6

Workshop Sessions

AI can be a powerful tool for student problem-solving—but responsible use should be built into the learning process, not added as an afterthought.

Developed through collaboration among CSTA Responsible AI Fellows working across three very different communities—a Colorado district, a rural Hawaiian public school, and a Title I Mississippi school— this session introduces a five-stage design-thinking framework: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.

See how students research real community problems, use AI as an optional—not required—tool to prototype solutions, and test those prototypes with the people directly affected. Explore how the framework keeps responsible AI use central to project-based learning and adapts to anything from a one-week activity to a semester-long unit.

Leave with the free framework, a responsible-AI starter checklist, and a list of free and discounted classroom AI credit programs you can put to use right away.