Ben joins NEIA from The International Montessori School of Beijing in Beijing, China. Prior to that, he was the Dean of Students and Director of Leadership Education at the Webb Schools in California, worked in residential life at Bowdoin College, and earlier in his career worked in admission at the Thacher School in California. Ben received his M.A. in Higher and Post-Secondary Education from Teachers College-Columbia University in New York and completed Graduate Coursework in Cross Cultural Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation at the School for International Training in Vermont.
In this episode of Build Momentum, Sarah and Katie are joined by Ben Farrell, the Assistant Head of School and Director of the Upper School at the New England Innovation Academy. Prior to joining NEIA, Ben was the Principal and Head of School at The International Montessori School of Beijing.
Embracing generative AI in schools may give students valuable skills and insights into this rapidly evolving field.
In this episode, I interview Ben Farrell, who shares the counterintuitive approach his school took with ChatGPT. Farrell is the assistant head of school at New England Innovation Academy, the nation’s first human-centered design middle
Ben knew it wasn’t going to solve the problem to ban the use of AI at NEIA. The students’ openness and insight impressed him, and he became interested in helping them collaborate with kids at other schools to talk about the future of AI in education, develop a thoughtful approach to the way they wanted to use it in their own lives, and then share their concepts with the wider world. Essentially, NEIA wants to empower its students to become thought leaders in the rapidly developing conversation around AI in education.