Professional Development For Teachers

An innovative approach to teaching economics that puts student learning first! As an economics educator, I've redesigned my ECO 100-semester project to embrace Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, offering students multiple pathways to demonstrate their understanding of macroeconomics. I was encouraged by Jeni Al Bahrani and her summer project on UDL as part of her doctorate degree to bring back this project. Students can choose from three engaging options: * Create a physical art piece interpreting economic concepts through visual expression * Compile an "EconSelfie" diary connecting real-world observations to classroom theories * Write a critical book review analyzing contemporary economic literature. This semester’s choices were Kyla Scanlon’s “In this Economy?” or Scott Galloway‘ “Algebra of Wealth”. This flexible approach: * Accommodates different interests * Empowers student choice and engagement * Maintains academic rigor while fostering creativity * Makes economics accessible and relevant to everyday life The results? Students are more engaged, demonstrate deeper understanding, and develop unique perspectives on economic principles. Seeing how different creative approaches can unlock complex economic concepts is amazing! I'm particularly proud of how this project breaks down barriers in economics education while maintaining high academic standards. Each option requires critical thinking and authentic application of course concepts. I am appreciate the innovative business education environment we have created at NKU Haile College of Business What innovative teaching methods have you implemented in your classroom? Let's share best practices! You can read more about my research in this area in my newsletter. Link in comments. #TeachEcon #UniversalDesign #HigherEducation #TeachingInnovation #StudentSuccess #UDL #EconomicLiteracy

AI Educator Levels Over the past six months, I’ve trained thousands and thousands of educators around the world on how to integrate AI into their classrooms. Not just for saving time. Not just for shortcutting tasks. But to reimagine what teaching and learning can look like in this new era. Through surveys, collaborative design sessions, and watching teachers create in real time, a clear pattern has emerged. Many educators aren’t asking, “How do I prompt better?” They’re asking: How do I use AI to give students better feedback? How do I make learning more inclusive, more human, more student-driven? How do I design lessons that use AI to deepen and not distract from thinking? So I created this to think about and illustrate what I am seeing at these schools, many of which I have been working with over time. It’s not about who's tech-savvy or who’s “behind.” It’s about where we are in the journey to using AI as a teaching partner, one that supports curiosity, equity, creativity, and voice. From empowered lesson designers to thoughtful skeptics, every stage on this continuum is valid. But the goal isn’t to stay still, it’s to grow. Because the future of education isn’t AI-powered. It’s educator-powered and AI infused. I’d love to hear: where do you see yourself, or your colleagues, on this continuum? Have you noticed other patterns in how educators are approaching AI tools? I definitely have but these were the ones that showed themselves over and over. This continuum might not include you perfectly but I can tell you its a pretty researched product from my trainings. #AIinEducation #TeacherLeadership #ChatGPT #AIEducation #AIforGood #AITraining #Gemini #Claude

Learning flourishes when students are exposed to a rich tapestry of strategies that activate different parts of the brain and heart. Beyond memorization and review, innovative approaches like peer teaching, role-playing, project-based learning, and multisensory exploration allow learners to engage deeply and authentically. For example, when students teach a concept to classmates, they strengthen their communication, metacognition, and confidence. Role-playing historical events or scientific processes builds empathy, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Project-based learning such as designing a community garden or creating a presentation fosters collaboration, creativity, and real-world application. Multisensory strategies like using manipulatives, visuals, movement, and sound especially benefit neurodiverse learners, enhancing retention, focus, and emotional connection to content. These methods don’t just improve academic outcomes they cultivate lifelong skills like adaptability, initiative, and resilience. When teachers intentionally layer strategies that match students’ strengths and needs, they create classrooms that are inclusive, dynamic, and deeply empowering. #LearningInEveryWay

Something unexpected has emerged in my AI literacy research that's challenging conventional wisdom: the critical role of acculturation patterns in how AI literacy actually develops in educational settings. Most frameworks treat AI literacy as a structured set of skills to acquire - a checklist of competencies to master. But what I'm observing in classrooms and teacher workshops is something far more organic and culturally embedded. It mirrors how communities have historically adopted and adapted to new cultural tools. Let me share a pattern I've seen repeat across multiple schools: It begins with personal experimentation, often kept private. Teachers and students explore AI tools on their own, testing boundaries and building personal comfort. This phase is marked by curiosity but also hesitation - a natural part of engaging with any transformative technology. Then comes a pivotal shift: tentative sharing with trusted colleagues or peers. A teacher mentions using ChatGPT for lesson planning in the break room. A student shows a classmate how they're using AI to brainstorm essay topics. These small moments of vulnerability and exchange begin building a shared understanding. The most fascinating stage emerges next: collaborative exploration and systematic integration. Once enough individual comfort exists, communities begin collectively reimagining their practices. I watched one department move from individual experimentation to co-creating AI-enhanced curriculum units within a semester. The key wasn't just training - it was trust and shared experience. What's particularly striking is how this pattern mirrors historical educational technology adoption, from calculators to computers. Yet AI adds a unique dimension: the tool itself participates in and shapes this acculturation process. It's not just a static technology to master but an interactive partner in the learning process. This raises profound questions about how we support this cultural transition. Should we focus less on formal training and more on creating safe spaces for experimentation? How do we honor the organic nature of this process while ensuring equitable access and development? #AIResearch #EducationalChange #TeacherDevelopment #EdTech Dr. Sabba Quidwai France Q. Hoang Pat Yongpradit Mike Kentz Phillip Alcock Doan Winkel Jason Gulya Marc Watkins Sonia Kathuria MA. Ed

A blend is usually best. My approach to designing class sessions centers on designing for the learning, not the learner. Though this may be an unpopular instructional philosophy, I find it yields strong, lasting gains. Of course, learners must have adequate prior knowledge, which you can ensure through thoughtful placement and pre-training. This approach combines direct instruction with emotional, cognitive, and reinforcement strategies to maximize learning and retention. Each phase—from preparation to reinforcement—uses proven methods that reduce anxiety, build confidence, and sustain motivation while grounding knowledge in ways that lead to deeper understanding and real-world application. Direct instruction methods (such as Rosenshine and Gagné) offer a structured framework to capture attention, clarify objectives, and reduce initial anxiety. Emotional engagement—connecting material on a personal level—makes learning memorable and supports long-term retention. Reinforcement strategies like spaced repetition, interleaving, and retrieval practice transform new information into long-term memory. These methods help learners revisit and reinforce what they know, making retention easier and confidence stronger, with automaticity as the ultimate goal. Grounding learning in multiple contexts enhances recall and transfer. Teaching concepts across varied situations allows learners to apply knowledge beyond the classroom. Using multimedia principles also reduces cognitive load, supporting efficient encoding and schema-building for faster recall. Active engagement remains critical to meaningful learning. Learners need to “do” something significant with the information provided. Starting with concrete tasks and moving to abstract concepts strengthens understanding. Progressing from simple questions to complex, experience-rooted problems allows learners to apply their knowledge creatively. Reflection provides crucial insights. Requiring reflection in multiple forms—whether writing, discussion, or visual work—deepens understanding and broadens perspectives. Feedback, feedforward, and feedback cycles offer constructive guidance, equipping learners for future challenges and connecting immediate understanding with long-term growth. As learners build skills, gradually reduce guidance to foster independence. When ready, they practice in more unpredictable or “chaotic” scenarios, which strengthens their ability to apply knowledge under pressure. Controlled chaos builds resilience and adaptability—then we can apply more discovery-based methods. Apply: ✅Direct instruction ✅Emotional engagement ✅Reinforcement strategies ✅Multiple contexts ✅Multimedia learning principles ✅Active, meaningful tasks ✅Reflection in varied forms ✅Concrete-to-abstract ✅Questions-to-Problems ✅Feedback cycles ✅Decreasing guidance ✅Practice in chaos ✅Discovery-based methods (advanced learners) Hope this is helpful :) #instructionaldesign #teachingandlearning

I genuinely enjoy thinking of fun and unique activities to use in my workshops; it's one of the key ways that I express my creativity. But everything doesn't have to be super fun and unique all the time in order to be meaningful. Sometimes, a simple, yet timely workshop is just what is needed. Today, I facilitated a 30-minute workshop about mid-semester feedback. Here's the behind-the-scenes: 1. We started with an emoji check-in (an idea I got from Karen Costa) to see how everyone was feeling at this point in the semester. I then linked this brief check-in activity to the importance of checking in with students about how they are feeling about their courses. 2. I posed this question to instructors: Have you ever read student feedback in your SPOT evaluations (our end-of-term evaluations) that you wish you had known about sooner? As "yes" responses appeared in the chat, I shared a bit about my own experiences with this scenario when I was a professor and how mid-semester feedback can be helpful. I also shared a great quote from Allison Pingree about the many benefits of mid-semester feedback. 3. I shared a link to a Padlet board that contained six different examples of mid-semester feedback tools (like Pooja K. Agarwal's Start/Stop/Keep form). I gave instructors 5 minutes to explore a few tools of their choice, and then afterwards, we discussed what they noticed, questions they had, and ideas for how they might use/adapt the tools in their own work. 4. I shared some implementation tips (i.e., important things to consider before and after collecting mid-semester feedback). Afterwards, I invited instructors to share any additional tips they had. 5. We wrapped with a brief action plan activity where instructors completed this sentence in the chat: "My next step is to ____." There were no huge bells and whistles in this workshop– just time to explore and chat– and it was great to see comments from instructors who said that this was exactly what they needed at just the right time. Simple is good. #HigherEd #FacDev #EdDev #Facilitation #TeachingAndLearning #ProfessionalLearning #ProfessionalDevelopment #WorkshopShare #Academia

"2024 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition" = AI Section The report explores the current and emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in teaching and learning, focusing on the transformative role of AI in higher education. It highlights the social, technological, economic, environmental, and political impacts of AI: 1. Social Trends: AI influences communication, socioemotional skills, and social norms, offering opportunities for improved accessibility but also risks of loneliness and distorted self-perception.    2. Technological Trends: AI is reshaping pedagogy by facilitating personalized learning, boosting engagement, and enhancing assessments, but it also raises concerns about misuse and ethics. 3. Economic Trends: AI's impact on productivity and workforce skills is significant, creating both job opportunities and displacement risks. 4. Environmental Trends: While AI can combat climate change and promote sustainability, its adoption raises concerns about energy consumption and carbon emissions. 5. Political Trends: AI plays a growing role in governance and political processes, creating opportunities for efficiency but also risks such as misinformation and reduced trust in institutions. Key technologies and practices include finding appropriate uses for AI, supporting AI fluency, ensuring equitable learning environments, protecting data privacy, and addressing misinformation and mental health challenges. The report concludes with potential scenarios for the future of higher education: growth driven by workforce needs, collapse due to political challenges, constraint from data restrictions, and transformation through individualized learning approaches. ---  Tensions and Contradictions 1. Balancing Innovation and Equity: While AI can personalize learning and enhance accessibility, it risks widening the digital divide and leaving behind those without access to technology or digital literacy skills. 2. Productivity vs. Displacement: AI's potential to automate tasks and boost efficiency contrasts with concerns about job displacement and the need for workforce reskilling. 3. Sustainability Challenges: AI's promise in addressing climate change is contradicted by its own growing carbon footprint, raising questions about its environmental cost-benefit. 4. Autonomy vs. Control: The integration of AI in political and governance processes can enhance decision-making but also leads to concerns about misuse, misinformation, and reduced human agency. 5. Ethics and Regulation: The rapid pace of AI development often outstrips the creation of ethical guidelines and regulations, leading to uncertainty and risks of misuse in education and beyond. These tensions highlight the need for strategic planning and policy-making to ensure that AI's benefits are maximized while its challenges are mitigated. https://lnkd.in/eHhaGDVt

One of my biggest learnings from leading summer professional development for teachers? If you want a culture of feedback, you have to intentionally do so. The first step is to have short and sweet surveys (daily for summer PD, weekly thereafter). Most leaders do this. But to ensure the survey truly builds a culture of feedback and continuous improvement, I've learned three things: ✅ Ask focused questions. Simply, we get the data that we ask for. Ask both about the content and the general format of PD. For content, a few questions can be: What is one practice you are excited to try?; What is one thing you remain unclear on? What is one thing you know you will need further support on? For format, a simple Keep-Start-Stop can be super helpful. ✅ Review the data with your leadership team- This will allow you to process the feedback, add any additional color based on observations, and design a game plan. This can include differentiating groups, shifting a summer PD schedule or changing up future case studies and role plays to better address where the team is at. During the year, it will help you focus your observations. ✅ Respond to the feedback-It's not enough to make changes to the day based on the feedback. If you are giving people surveys, you must discuss the trends you saw and address these so that folks know they are being heard. Articulate how you are shifting things or if you can't, address where concerns or confusions will be addressed. When folks hear how their feedback is being heard they are more likely to be honest in the future. For concerns or feedback that only 1 or 2 folks have? Follow up individually. The time invested early on will pay dividends later. I know these tips don't only apply to school leaders, though Summer PD is definitely top of my mind. What are your tips and 1% solutions in building a culture of feedback and continuous improvement?

🤔 Ever wondered how you could fill an entire day with content without drowning in stress and anxiety? I recently gave a keynote and a daylong workshop in Sao Paolo, Brazil. It was 8 hours of original content. Only me. These were senior partners at the firm. No pressure, right? "Sounds stressful", is the response I get when I share this "adventure" with people. But like anything, becoming a good workshop instructor or seminar leader isn't some scary challenge. Frankly, worrying about the length of the presentation or workshop will stress ANYONE out. Here's how I prepare for any type of workshop. Start with your learning objectives. My rule is to begin preparing, looking for the one central 'unconventional insight' and work from there. This is the overarching takeaway. If they remember nothing else, they'll have one summary lesson. This is how I build it: Everyone thinks _____, But I'm going to show you ____. That is the first step. ONE main, unconventional takeaway. Then you just build a set of learning objectives to support it. For 8 hours of content, I usually break it down into chunks of 60 to 90 minutes... so that's 6 to 8 segments. Then I create learning objectives... each of which can be taught in around 30 to 45 minutes. Here, that meant I had about 12-15 learning objectives. Each learning objective had a story or two I could use as an example, some research, and a practical lesson or tactic we could execute on. Often there was some sort of activity or exercise. 3 tips you can use to improve: 1. Stick to ONE main idea per learning objective 2. Do NOT over practice 3. Tell LOTS of stories Speaking is just like writing. Takes a ton of practice, but it's the most valuable skill in my arsenal. It's not about crafting an epic all at once. What if you started with just the key points and built out from there? Dive into the method behind the magic! 🌱✨ #WorkshopWonders #BuildingBlocksToSuccess

🚨 A new kind of workforce pipeline just got seeded. Not by a tech company. Not by a university. But by a teachers’ union—with backing from OpenAI, Microsoft, and Anthropic. This week, the American Federation of Teachers announced the National Academy for AI Instruction—a $23M effort to train educators in ethical, empowering, and deeply human uses of AI. What does this really mean? ➡️ It’s the first industry-community partnership at scale that puts teachers at the heart of our AI transition. ➡️ It reframes teachers as the first responders—and first designers—of the AI future. ➡️ It signals a shift from “future of work” to future of workers—starting in K–12. Most “pipelines” start with college. This one starts with curriculum. With classroom trust. With educator fluency. Because the pipeline is broken if the people upstream are left behind. If you’re building AI strategy in education or workforce development, this is your cue: 👩🏫 Train the humans who train the humans. 🧠 Invest in fluency, not just functionality. 🤝 Design AI ecosystems that bridge schools, labor, and industry—not just institutions. If you’re launching a pilot or policy this fall, I’d love to collaborate—on AI ethics, educator toolkits, or workforce-aligned learning design. #FutureOfWork #HumanCenteredAI #AIinEducation #WorkforcePipeline #EducatorFluency #SystemsChange #EdGenerative #OpenAI #Microsoft #Anthropic #AFT #AIForGood