[I realized that I am way behind on posting recent podcast episodes, so I am catching up!]
Recently I had the opportunity to appear on the Education Matters podcast with Jason Buccheri. Jason was an awesome host and we talked for a long time about deeper learning, models of organizational change, reclaiming joy in school, empowering students through technology, and … surprise, AI! … among other topics. Also, Jason has superb production skills if you ever need podcasting assistance or training. I hope that the episode is useful to you.
[I realized that I am way behind on posting recent podcast episodes, so I am catching up!]
Adam Phyall and Carl Hooker were kind (brave? dumb?) enough to invite me onto their Future Ready Schools UnDisrupted podcast last month. In addition to lots of laughs (per usual) and a conversation about what technology tools schools should break up with immediately, we spent most of our time talking about the needs for more courageous leaders and more risk-taking in P-12 education.
Spring 2025 Commencement was a good one. I was selected to be a Faculty Marshal again, which was super fun. And I got to say a final farewell to three amazing doctoral students and an awesome principal licensure cohort. Congratulations, Drs. Lychock, Manley, and Rivera and our Northern Metro 6 students!
Colorado educators! (and anyone else within reasonable driving distance… looking at you, Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas, New Mexico, and maybe Utah and Oklahoma!)
We hope that you will join us for our June 2025 Teacher Leader Summit in Denver. On Thursday, June 5, we will be leaning into instructional redesign for deeper learning. On Friday, June 6, we will fold artificial intelligence into the mix. Individuals are invited but teams are encouraged. Register soon!
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THURSDAY, JUNE 5. Redesigning Lessons for Deeper Learning and Student Engagement
As much as we’re worried about ‘learning loss,’ our students aren’t going to learn if they’re not first engaged. Let’s create reasons for students to come to school and opportunities to do things that are interesting! In our Day 1 workshop, we will use the free 4 Shifts Protocol to redesign lessons, units, and other instructional activities for critical thinking and problem solving, greater student agency, more real-world authentic work, and robust technology infusion. In the afternoon we will connect a number of blended learning and ‘science of learning’ strategies to this redesign work. We also will peek inside some deeper learning schools around the country to see how they’re approaching this instructional design work.
Participant Outcomes
Participants will walk away with the following knowledge, skills, and resources (based on empirical research from 90+ deeper learning schools, not just anecdotes, and design work with tens of thousands of educators):
The ability to use the 4 Shifts Protocol to redesign lessons and units for higher student engagement and deeper learning
The ability to use the 4 Shifts Protocol as a curriculum planning resource, not just an instructional design tool
Numerous exemplars of deeper learning in action
On-ramp strategies to help schools and design teams get started on their new learner profiles or graduate portraits
Techniques and suggestions for navigating instructional, curricular, and organizational speed bumps and roadblocks
Key instructional mindsets and design behaviors
Discussion questions for teaching staff, leadership teams, and families
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FRIDAY, JUNE 6. AI, Schools, and Deeper Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) – particularly generative AI – is rapidly transforming how we learn, work, and create, while simultaneously sparking grave concerns about the ongoing balance between humans and machines. In our Day 2 workshop, we will explore a multitude of instructional, productivity, and ethical considerations related to AI and teaching, and we will connect everything back to what we did in Day 1.Â
Through a series of practice-based scenarios, we will explore day-to-day implementation considerations, and see if we also can maybe make the lives of students and teachers a little easier and more productive. There will be ample opportunities to explore and share together throughout the day. Let’s roll up our sleeves and pe into both the possibilities and pitfalls of these powerful digital tools. Participants will walk away with a number of useful resources and ideas for sparking conversations in their local communities. Please bring your own examples and use cases of how you’re using AI!
Participant Outcomes
Participants will walk away with the following knowledge, skills, and resources (based on extensive technology integration and leadership work with schools and educators):
The ability to use AI to enhance our teaching efficiency and productivity
Creative pedagogical uses of AI across all grade levels
The ability to think about instructional and ethical concerns such as attribution, plagiarism, cheating, lack of transparency, privacy, bias, and erosion of critical thinking
Understanding how AI works and expected advancements in the future
Exposure to numerous AI tools and their potential capabilities, possibilities, limitations, and biases
Strategies and suggestions for talking about AI with fellow educators, students, and families
On March 28 there is going to be an awesome participant-led discussion in Denver that I hope some of you can attend. The all-day event is titled Reimagining AI in Education: Asking the Right Questions and is being facilitated by some incredibly innovative educators in the metro area.Â
Here is a little more about the host, RootedChange:
RootedChange is dedicated to transforming education by empowering teachers and students to create real world, community driven learning experiences. We provide coaching, resources, and support to help schools, especially those in underserved Black and rural communities, implement hands on, student centered projects that connect learning to life beyond the classroom. By shifting education from passive instruction to active engagement, we ensure students develop the critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills needed to succeed.
We believe meaningful education happens when students take ownership of their learning and apply knowledge in ways that matter to them and their communities. Through collaboration with educators, schools, and local partners, RootedChange helps build sustainable models of learning that inspire curiosity, strengthen communities, and create lasting impact. Our approach combines hands on learning with technology, including AI powered tools that support teachers in designing engaging, individualized lessons while keeping students at the center of their education.
Below is a little more about the event itself. Hope you can make it!
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Overview
AI is reshaping education in ways we are only beginning to understand. This event invites educators, parents, students, and key decision-makers to engage in deep, participant-driven conversations about AI’s evolving role in learning. Rather than focusing on fear or hype, we aim to elevate the most meaningful and pressing questions that must be asked to ensure AI enhances – rather than diminishes – learning, creativity, and human connection.
Using Open Space Technology, we will create an interactive, collaborative forum where participants set the agenda, bringing forward their own insights, experiences, and questions. This structure ensures discussions are relevant, meaningful, and emergent, capturing what matters most to those in the room.
Framing the Dialogue
AI in Learning and Teaching – How are students and educators using AI?
Beyond the Classroom – What does AI in education mean for the future workforce?
Ethics & Equity – What are the opportunities and challenges in ensuring that AI serves every learner and community, with benefits reaching all parts of society?
Human-Centered AI – How do we keep education focused on relationships, creativity, and curiosity?
Rounding for Home is a friendly competitive, weekly head-to-head, fantasy baseball league heading into its fourth year. We use Yahoo! to manage the league and use traditional fantasy baseball statistics (R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG | W, S, K, ERA, WHIP). All managers to date have been P-20 educators. We are looking for baseball fans who hopefully are willing to commit to the league for a few years. The league is free. We play for bragging rights and the friendly banter!
Teams hang on to four keepers at the end of each year and those players constitute the first four rounds of the next year’s live draft. Managers also can choose fewer keepers and get concurrent extra picks at the beginning of the draft (e.g., if you only kept Juan Soto, you’d have three extra picks at the start of the draft in addition to your pick in Round 5). During the offseason you also can trade anyone on last season’s final roster for another player or draft picks.
Our online serpentine live draft is at 2:00pm Eastern on March 9, 2025, with the ability to play with Yahoo’s auto draft settings if you can’t be there live.
Questions can be addressed to the league commissioner, Scott McLeod.
![Social-emotional learning in middle school [NAESP]](http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NAESP-Logo-Square-1-1080x675.jpg){kind=logo}
![Project-based learning in early childhood [NAESP]](http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NAESP-Logo-Square-1080x675.jpg){kind=logo}
![Reimagining AI in education [EVENT]](http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Reimagining-AI-in-Education-1080x675.png)
