Dr. Sabba Quidwai is the CEO of Designing Schools and a longtime educator and learning-design leader who helps schools shift from “content factories” to environments that grow human thinkers. With experience spanning the classroom, USC (as Director of Innovative Learning), and Apple (as an Education Leadership Executive), she focuses on human-centered change: using design thinking and AI to clarify purpose, streamline systems, and keep agency, empathy, and ethical decision-making at the center of innovation.
In this conversation, we dig into a core reframing: AI isn’t just a tool, it’s a teammate, and that distinction matters because it forces us to ask what makes teams work (norms, trust, psychological safety) before we “add AI” to already-broken classroom systems. We explore what students are actually asking for in the AI era (more coaching, mentorship, and side-by-side learning), how unintentional tech use can erode curiosity and thinking, and why relationships and feedback remain the non-negotiables for healthy learning, especially when students start treating AI feedback the same way they treat teacher feedback.
Quick “AI Readiness” audit (from the episode)
Use this as a starting checklist before rolling out more AI use:
Tech protocols: Do you already have clear expectations for devices and attention (phones, laptops, routines)?
Values → behaviors: What do you say you value (e.g., honesty, curiosity)? How do those values show up in AI use and disclosure by both adults and students?
Thinking + feedback: How is thinking recognized and protected, and how does feedback function as a relationship-builder in your classroom?
Where to find Dr. Quidwai
Designing Schools: designingschools.org
