Designing Learning Environments That Prioritize Thinking

Enoch Hale, Director, Cal Poly Humboldt University

Enoch Hale is Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning at Cal Poly Humboldt. With a background in social studies education and a doctorate in critical thinking, he explores how learning environments shape thought. His work focuses on empowering faculty to design transformative, relevant, and engaging learning experiences across disciplines.

Reimagining Teaching through Thinking-Driven Design

Across all levels of teaching—from high school to graduate seminars— one principle holds: when we put thinking well first, we all grow. That’s why I encourage educators to let their pedagogical and technological decisions be driven by a simple but powerful question: What kind of thinking do I want students to do, and why?

It’s easy to be seduced by tips, tricks, and tools. But when we start with clear thinking goals, the role of technology becomes much more purposeful. My job isn’t to convince faculty to use more tech—it’s to help them clarify their educational intent. Once that clarity exists, the decision to use a discussion board, AI tutor, or no tech at all becomes a natural extension of that purpose.

Reimagining one’s role in a tech-enabled classroom isn’t about becoming a digital native. It’s about becoming a more precise designer of thinking environments. That approach respects the disciplinary expertise faculty already bring to the table.

Using EdTech to Deepen, Not Diminish, Thinking

We live in a time when information is abundant and cheap, but meaningful sense-making is hard work. That’s why critical and integrative thinking must be at the center of a meaningful education. Edtech tools can support this—but only when used with clear intention.

The best tools don’t just automate tasks or deliver content. They prompt reflection, scaffold complex reasoning, and create space for collaborative inquiry. A thoughtfully used annotation tool can deepen textual engagement; a digital whiteboard can reveal group thinking patterns; AI tools, when used reflectively, can become partners in critique and iteration.

“We're at a pivotal moment-not because of advancing tech, but because the purpose of education is being reexamined”

The key is purpose. If tech is used superficially or uncritically, it can flatten complexity and reduce thinking to transactions. I often ask, Is this the right tool for the thinking I want to support? If your goal is efficiency, many tools suffice. But if your goal is deep disciplinary thinking, then both pedagogy and technology must align strategically.

Turning Discomfort into Purposeful Pedagogical Growth

Discomfort often signals real learning—for students and educators alike. I try to reframe discomfort not as a barrier, but as a sign that we’re stretching our teaching habits, confronting assumptions, and moving toward clarity.

That said, psychological safety matters. Just as students need safe spaces to grow, faculty need environments where they can ask vulnerable questions, tinker, and fail forward. One of the most effective strategies I use is to keep returning to purpose. If an instructor is unsure about a new tool or method, I ask, “What kind of thinking are you trying to support?” This reframes the issue from fear of the new to clarity of intent.

Small, intentional changes often have more lasting impact than grand overhauls. I encourage educators to commit to one or two purposeful instructional shifts per year. Staying curious and grounded in one’s teaching values is more effective than chasing every new tool.

Shaping a Culture of Inquiry through Technology

Instructional technology can either amplify or diminish a course’s “thinking culture”—the intellectual habits and norms that shape how people engage with ideas. Many tools are designed for scale and simplicity, but real thinking often requires friction, ambiguity, and sustained inquiry. If we adopt tools that remove those elements, we’re not just changing the medium— we’re changing the epistemological proposition.

What if we selected tools that invited productive struggle? That slowed students down rather than sped them up?That supported evolving questions rather than quick answers?

For example, I used to pose discussion questions using an asynchronous video tool. The responses were predictable— students answered my question, and that was that. I shifted the format. Now, I begin with a prompt and ask the first student to end their post with a new, thought-provoking question. The next student must answer that question and pose another—and so on.

That small change transformed the space into a living dialogue of inquiry. Students became more intentional, took greater ownership, and began thinking with and through each other’s ideas. The tool didn’t create that—it was the design that mattered. Once thinking goals were clear, the technology supported—not replaced—the culture of inquiry.

Use Tech to Elevate, Not Replace, Thinking

Start with one question: What kind of thinking do I want to see students doing? Then ask: What experiences will make that kind of thinking necessary, visible, and meaningful? Only after exploring those questions should you bring technology into the conversation.

Don’t lead with the tool. Lead with the verbs: synthesize, compare, evaluate, connect, and create. Let the nouns—specific tools—follow from there. And remember, transformation doesn’t come from tools; it comes from shared cultures of thinking, from clarity of purpose, relevance, and reflection.

We’re at a pivotal moment—not because of advancing tech, but because the purpose of education is being reexamined. In an age of AI, search engines, and information overload, we must return to foundational questions: What does it mean to learn? To know? To think?

I hope that we move toward pedagogies that prize discernment over recall, relationships over transactions, and complexity over content delivery. The future of educational technology is not about replacing teachers or students—it’s about designing spaces where nuanced, creative, and ethical human thinking can thrive.

EdTech

Educational Technology