What Could Go Wrong
Implementation Reality Check
IDEEAS Lab
2026-05-20
Agenda
- Recap: From Rehearsal to Stress Test
- Structured Failure Analysis (20 min)
- Mitigation Strategies & Implementation Playbook (15 min)
- Individual Application (10 min)
Carrying Forward from This Morning
Where we just were
- Teaching with AI is a front-stage performance problem with instructors suddenly unrehearsed (Goffman)
- Deliberate practice requires backstage rehearsal: focused, feedback-rich, goal-oriented
- Your Teaching Plans are the rehearsal artifacts you’ve been building
Now we stress-test them
- You’ve assembled Teaching Plans and seen peers’ plans in the gallery walk
- The next step in deliberate practice: anticipate what breaks before it does
- Failure analysis is the most realistic form of preparation
The Stress Test
How It Works
Phase 1 — Failure Analysis
20 minutes
- Tables of 4–5 brainstorm failure modes in their assigned categories
- Cards rotate after 10 minutes so each table addresses two categories
Phase 2 — Mitigation Strategies
15 minutes
- Each table proposes their top 2–3 mitigation strategies
- Facilitator synthesizes into a shared Implementation Playbook to gather the group’s collective wisdom for everyone to reference when implementation begins
Phase 3 — Individual Application
10 minutes
- Add an “Anticipated Challenges and Mitigations” section to your Teaching Plan based on what resonated
The Failure Categories
Table A: Student Responses
How might students misuse, resist, or game the system?
Table B: Institutional Barriers
What could block implementation? (department politics, infrastructure, accreditation concerns, colleague resistance)
Table C: Technical Failures
What happens when tools change, break, become unavailable, or get blocked by the institution?
Table D: Unintended Consequences
Could AI integration inadvertently reduce learning, increase inequity, or create new ethical problems?
Table E: Assessment Gaming
How might students satisfy the rubric without actually learning?
Tables rotate cards after 10 minutes and each table addresses two categories
Building the Implementation Playbook
What each table contributes
- Review the failure modes your table identified across both categories
- Propose your top 2–3 mitigation strategies: concrete, actionable responses
- Post them to the shared board under your category heading
The Implementation Playbook
A visible shared artifact that captures the group’s collective wisdom as a reference for what to watch for when implementation begins
What good mitigations look like
- Not: “Be careful about AI misuse”
- Yes: “Add a required process reflection prompt so students must narrate their reasoning, not just submit output”
Uncertainty is data: If your table has no failure modes and no open questions, you haven’t gone deep enough
Adding to Your Teaching Plan
Add an “Anticipated Challenges and Mitigations” section to your Teaching Plan.
Identify the 2–3 failure modes most likely to affect your context and the mitigation strategies you plan to implement to address them
Thank You
Questions?
What Could Go Wrong