LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 14, 2026--
For 2026, it’s time to say goodbye to the rote memorization in school – repetition-based learning of facts like historical dates, spelling words, state capitals and science terms. Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay in classrooms and will affect two-thirds of all jobs. 1 Rather than avoiding AI, schools like Learn4Life emphasize the mastery of subjects and look for ways to creatively use AI to engage young people.
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“Students are already pretty savvy with AI, so we must be careful to not simply assign a book report which can be easily done with AI and nothing is learned,” said John Dugan, who heads up Instructional Technology for Learn4Life public schools. “Teens are more engaged if they can advance quickly in subjects they’re good at, while taking more time to get extra help when they need it. It doesn’t make sense to teach a classroom of 30+ students at the same pace.”
He points out that more than ever, students need to learn best practices for AI and how to use it as a creative partner for brainstorming, bouncing ideas, quick research and even as an after-hours tutor – not as a replacement for learning.
Dugan said that teachers at Learn4Life have been undergoing AI training with best practices and ways to use the technology to promote learning and the development of critical thinking in students.
As an example, Dugan said one history teacher has his students roleplay, such as being a German citizen during World War II and having to understand the choices they must make. An English teacher uses AI to create mini podcasts for each chapter of a book the students are reading. The audio summaries complement their reading which results in better comprehension.
Career Technical Education (CTE) programs are burgeoning in high school and Learn4Life uses AI for real-life role playing. In its certified nursing and dental assistant programs, students take on the role of the patient to better understand the questions and fears they have. For business and retail classes, teachers use AI roleplaying where students must face disgruntled customers and learn to diffuse situations in the workplace.
“For students, we’re adding an AI component to our digital skills classes and later this year will offer an AI literacy course,” said Dugan. “Some schools are using detection programs to catch students using AI, but rather than accuse students of cheating, we’re showing them how their learning can be enhanced with the technology as a tool.”
Are schools reluctant to change their teaching models? According to Dugan, some are, but education is undergoing massive change.
“It’s inevitable and the sooner we embrace it, the faster we can maximize its benefits and avoid the pitfalls,” he said. “We stopped teaching how to use slide rulers once everyone had calculators. Online search engines replaced microfiche, and thankfully, digitized library catalogs have eliminated the study of the Dewey Decimal System. It’s time to focus on helping students learn with all the emerging tools available.”
Mastery of subject matter and teaching students in the way each learns best are core tenants of Learn4life’s personalized learning model. To find out more, please visit learn4life.org.
About Learn4Life
Learn4Life is a network of nonprofit public high schools that provide students personalized learning, career training and life skills. Each school is locally controlled, tuition free and gives students the flexibility and one-on-one attention they need to succeed. Serving more than 64,000 students through a year-round program, we help them prepare for a future beyond high school. For more information, please visit www.learn4life.org.
1Goldman Sachs Global Economics Research (2023)
Learn4Life High Schools leverages AI for personalized tutoring, lesson planning and new ways to engage students
NEW YORK (AP) — A rebound for several influential Big Tech stocks is helping to lift the U.S. market on Tuesday despite a fall for Apple and mixed trading elsewhere on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, even though more stocks fell within the index than rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 247 points, or 0.5%, as of 12:21 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.
The stock market has been shaky recently as technology and artificial-intelligence stocks have swung on worries their prices shot too high in the frenzy around AI. Several of the most influential AI-related stocks held firmer Tuesday, which supported the market, after flipping from gains in the morning to losses in the afternoon a day earlier.
Nvidia rose 3.2% and was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 Tuesday. Close behind were gains of 3.2% for Broadcom 5.5% for Advanced Micro Devices and 2.6% for Micron Technology.
Apple was long seen on Wall Street as a Big Tech company that’s less dependent on AI. But it’s still feeling the effects of the AI boom.
Memory chips for computers have become more expensive because of the demand created by the rush to build AI data centers. Those additional expenses are hitting Apple, which said it expects to make less profit from each $1 of its revenue during the final three months of this year.
That helped send Apple’s stock down 2%, even though the seller of iPhones and Mac computers reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Palantir Technologies fell 2.1% even though it likewise reported a better profit than expected. The software company said it made more money working with U.S. companies than from the U.S. government for the first time, as U.S. commercial revenue soared 148% from a year earlier.
Tuesday’s midterm elections may also be keeping financial markets unsteady, but history suggests they may not matter much for the broad market. Going back to 1970, the S&P 500 has had a positive return in the six months following a midterm election every time, according to Brock Weimer, an analyst at Edward Jones.
Some on Wall Street speculate that a Democratic sweep of Congress this time around could lead to more regulations and restrictions on AI development. But Donald Trump would still be president and have the power to veto. And Wall Street generally prefers split control of Washington, which it sees as offering less risk of transformative policies that could reshape the economy.
On the winning side of Wall Street Tuesday were stocks of several companies that reported stronger profits for the summer than analysts expected.
Celanese climbed 4.7%, and DuPont added 8.8%.
Revvity jumped 11.7% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after the life sciences company topped analysts’ expectations and CEO Prahlad Singh said end market conditions are continuing to improve.
Expectations are high for all kinds of companies to continue to deliver big gains in profits as the U.S. economy keeps chugging along, even with high inflation and elevated interest rates. That helped send the S&P 500 to a record high last month.
An encouraging report on the U.S. job market said Tuesday that employers were advertising more job openings at the end of September than economists expected. That helped push the yield on the 10-year Treasury up to 4.96% from 4.91% late Monday.
In the oil market, prices continued to swing. Brent climbed above $107 per barrel overnight before briefly dropping below $101 in the morning amid continued uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran. It was most recently down 1.4% at $103.27.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were lower across Europe and mixed in Asia. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.6% for one of the world’s sharpest moves following losses for its two tech giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Stocks rose 0.3% in Australia after the country’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the fifth time this year.
AP Writers Elaine Lai, David McHugh and Rod McGuirk contributed to this report.
FILE - Traders Jonathan Mueller, left, and Michael Capolino work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
A screen displays a news conference by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - Trader Michael Capolino, left, and Specialist Thomas McArdle work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
A dealer watches computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and SK Hynix stock price at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
An employee works at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A TV cameraman films the screen displaying the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) in a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
