Where AI Research Meets Classroom Practice
Applied research on developing the human capacities that artificial intelligence cannot replicate.
As AI systems handle routine cognitive tasks, schools face an urgent question: what remains distinctly human?
Connected Classroom identifies these capacities and develops practical frameworks for cultivating them. Our research emerges from active K–12 practice tested in real classrooms, validated through over 40 publications, and refined through advisory work with schools and businesses navigating the AI transition.
RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS
Core Frameworks
The Unautomatable Framework
Ten human capacities that remain irreplaceable in an AI-mediated world: adaptive intelligence, moral and ethical judgment, and creative problem-solving and express.
Forthcoming — MIT Press
The Dialogic Learning Model
A methodology for using AI as a thinking catalyst rather than a thinking substitute. Positions technology as questioner, not answer-provider which keeps students in the cognitive driver's seat.
connectedclassroom.org
Cognitive Development & AI
How algorithmic environments affect attention, agency, and intellectual development. Research on cognitive offloading, analytic atrophy, and protecting developmental space.
Psychology Today — "The Algorithmic Mind"
ADVISORY SERVICES
School Leadership Advisory
Strategic planning for AI integration that protects developmental space and prioritizes human capacity over technological efficiency.
Curriculum Design
Competency-based learning frameworks that prioritize capability over compliance and develop the skills that become more valuable in an AI mediated world.
Professional Development
Training educators to use AI dialogically, not delegatively. Sessions grounded in classroom practice and the Dialogic Learning Model.
Speaking & Keynotes
Conference presentations on human-centered AI in education, cognitive development, cognitive privacy, and the need for education to become more human.
PUBLICATIONS
Unautomatable: The Human Capacities that Make Learning Meaningful
MIT Press In peer review
"The Algorithmic Mind" Column
Psychology Today, 30+ articles, 300K+ readers
Cognitive Privacy White Paper
The Cognitive Privacy Project, Forthcoming February 2026
In Training Educators to Use AI, We Must Not Outsource the Foundational Work of Teaching
Chalkbeat First Person
Teaching Students to Questions the Machine
Sage Social Sciences Publication
Connected Classroom
SPEAKING & MEDIA
Conferences
Pennsylvania School Board Association
AI Implementation Needs a Human-Centered Approach
Council for Independent Colleges
Design for Learning: AI Tools That Solve Problems
Council on Strategic Risk
The Risks of Cognitive Offloading for Decision-Making
Advisory clients include schools and education organizations navigating AI integration. Engagements are confidential.
Advisory
Workshops
21st Century AI Conference, Jakarta
How Creative AI Dialogue Can Restore Critical Thinking
Frankford Friends School
Thinking About AI and Learning
Jordan EdTech Conference, Amman
Multi-Modal Media Literacy
Featured on podcasts discussing AI and cognition, assessment design, cognitive security, and protecting critical thinking in education.
Podcasts
Timothy Cook
Timothy Cook is an educator, researcher, and strategic advisor working at the intersection of cognitive development, AI, and learning design. His work identifies the human capacities that remain essential in an AI-mediated world and advises on practical ideas for cultivating them in schools.
He is the author of The Algorithmic Mind Column for Psychology Today, Director of The Cognitive Privacy Project, and a founding team member of the CEF AI Open Source Ethics Collective.
RESEARCHER · EDUCATOR · ADVISOR