From content to context: dispositions, discernment, and productive inquiry as reflective practice

Considering rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the growing demand for the convergence of disciplinary knowledge, ideas, and expertise, a paradigm shift toward context-based learning is necessary. This paper introduces the key principles and the relevant pedagogical practices for transitioning from content-driven to context-driven learning: dispositions, discernment, and productive inquiry. By engaging in an iterative cycle of discernment, prompt, prototype, and iteration within real-world challenge spaces presented in various degrees and forms, students cultivate their unique dispositions while practicing discernment and productive inquiry as tools for learning. Drawing on a case study from a cross-disciplinary school that helps students explore challenges at the intersections of technology, arts and design, and business, we illustrate how the challenge-based reflective learning (CBRL) framework equips learners to navigate complex sociotechnical entanglements and develop reflective practice essential in the age of AI. This learning framework emphasizes associative learning over progressive learning, focusing on cultivating a mindset equipped to address the real-world complexities. This paper discusses the role of humanities education across disciplines as a vital domain for interrogating ethical, social, and cultural dimensions of complex problems of the future.