Introduction to Friction by Design – DigitalFluency@WestEd

When we think about artificial intelligence in education, the conversation often centers on a single concern: How do we stop students from cheating? We block websites, design AI-proof assignments, and debate detection tools. It's understandable. When a technology can instantly produce essays, solve problems, and answer questions, academic integrity feels under siege. But focusing solely on preventing misuse means we're missing a deeper question: What does it mean to learn in an age when information and even analysis can be generated instantly?

The Paradox of Productive Friction

Here's the thing: AI is designed to reduce effort. It accelerates, assists, organizes, and polishes, often making work feel easier. In many contexts, that's exactly what we want. But in learning, ease isn't always the goal.

The messy, effortful parts of the learning process—struggling with ideas, revising work, grappling with confusion, engaging in dialogue—are not inefficiencies to eliminate.

These are the places where growth happens. They are the forms of friction that are not barriers to learning. They are the learning. Think about the last time you truly learned something difficult. Maybe it was mastering a new skill, understanding a complex concept, or changing your mind about something important. Chances are, it wasn't easy. There was confusion, false starts, moments of frustration. You had to sit with uncertainty, work through problems, maybe even fail a few times before something clicked. That's productive friction at work. The kind of mental effort that makes learning stick.

Not All Friction Is Created Equal

Of course, not all friction supports learning. Some kinds get in the way entirely. Busywork, confusing instructions, dense language, rigid formatting, and unnecessary gatekeeping can stall momentum or shut students out completely. These are design flaws, not developmental opportunities, and they often fall hardest on students who already face barriers to access.

This distinction matters because AI has the power to reduce both kinds of friction. This is what makes its use in education so powerful, and also so risky. Without careful design, AI can just as easily remove the thinking as it can remove the noise.

Using AI in learning contexts requires more than permission or enthusiasm. It demands intentionality. We need frameworks that help us distinguish between the friction that fuels learning and the friction that obstructs it. That's where Friction by Design comes in.

Friction by Design is a framework for intentionality. It helps educators and leaders make thoughtful decisions about when and how to use AI in learning experiences. Instead of asking "Can we use AI here?" or even "Should we use AI here?" it invites us to ask: "How can we design learning experiences where AI deepens engagement rather than bypassing it?"

The goal is not to preserve all friction, but to preserve the mental, social, and emotional efforts that make learning meaningful while reducing or eliminating obstacles that get in the way. This requires us to think differently about student motivation. That kind of sustained effort doesn't just come from challenge, it comes from care.

Students persist not only when tasks are demanding, but when they feel worth doing.

Students engage deeply with tasks that spark curiosity, offer relevance, or invite exploration. Sometimes that's joy. Sometimes it's purpose. Good design doesn't just preserve friction. It helps students want to stay in it.

Moving Forward Together

Friction by Design doesn't argue against using AI—it argues for using it well. The goal isn't frictionless learning; it's learning that's worth the effort.

AI can scaffold or shortcut learning. The difference lies not in the tool, but in the way we design learning around it.

As AI tools become more powerful and more accessible every day, we have a choice. We can let these tools reshape learning by accident, or we can be intentional about how we integrate them into our educational practices. Friction by Design offers a path toward intentionality—a way to harness AI's power while keeping learning at the center. Because at the end of the day, the goal isn't to make learning effortless. It's to make the effort meaningful.