The future is now in education. AI is here. Technology is integrated into the fabric of our lives. Inclusionary practices are no longer an option. We must adapt. The good thing is that our educators are incredible and ready for the challenge. I have a unique role of spending about of my time working in classrooms teaching or coaching teachers, of my time working on building systems with principals, and of my time at the district office working on district systems. The best part of my job is that I get to see all the amazing things happening in all corners of education; but, what I also see everywhere is a feeling of crisis. Educators are incredible, and in response to this crisis we’ve tried so hard to find relief and to support our students and each other. We’ve tried implementing new curriculums, technology, programs, collected mountains of student data, etc, and none of these things have created noticeable change; in fact, all the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional/belonging data I’ve seen all seems to be slowly trending down. An unintended consequence of this is that, in our attempts to find a solution, we’ve created disjointed or chaotic systems.
Our education system in America is NOT failing because of our resilient educators, but it undeniably feels like a crisis for many. Yet for too long, teachers have been told that changing their mindset, adopting new theories, or chasing the latest “shiny object” such as a curriculum, tool, or initiative, will solve everything. This cycle of initiative fatigue leaves teachers frustrated, burnt out, and even hopeless when these promises inevitably fall short. Our system is redeemable because teachers are incredible and they care desperately about our students and communities. To support them, we must move on from quick fixes and do the hard work of building and maintaining systems.
Every teacher deserves the support of a coherent instructional system and coaching for growth; in fact, the diverse learners in our community are demanding it. AI implementation can offer amazing lesson plans, resources and programs, but teachers must still guide the human element of instructional interactions in a classroom. A significant injustice in education is that many educators don’t have a coherent instructional system defined for them. And too often, the time and financial investment in professional learning and coaching are only available to a select few.
I will use an educational analogy, from a story about my kids, to emphasize the importance of instructional practices. One of the best parts of being a dad and working in education is that I get to spend winter break, spring break, and summer with my kids. We have so much fun. Each vacation we make a bucket list and keep a journal of our shenanigans. One year, one of my students gave me the idea of making a “secret lemonade recipe” as a summer activity. My kids loved it, and we put it at the top of our bucket list.
One of the first days of summer we got to work. We started the day planning; we searched Pinterest looking for lemonade recipes and ideas for how we wanted to personalize our secret recipe. We came up with some pretty standard ideas; lemonade concentrate, fresh raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, Gatorade to replace water, and of course sour patch kids and Kool-Aid powder packets. We took this grocery list and went shopping.
People may not realize the PRACTICE that goes into making lemonade. Blending, adding ingredients, straining, dissolving the sugar are all critical steps. Professionals spend time mixing and trying different amounts of ingredients, blending at different speeds, using different temperatures of liquid, etc. Being unpracticed, when we got all the ingredients we just threw them in our blender and mixed them up. When my kids took a drink the results were evident on their faces. It was too sour, the sour patch kids didn’t dissolve in the cold Gatorade, and we blended everything too fast making it too frothy. The initial puckering and uncomfortable face of my kids made it evident that we had failed, and I definitely felt a level of frustration when I dumped out $50 worth of ingredients. In my after action analysis I learned that we put in too much concentrate, we needed to dissolve the sour patch kids in hot water and then strain the leftover chunks of candy, and blend barely above a stir. Our practice as mixologists made this experience frustrating, uncomfortable, and left a bad taste in our mouth.
Kids are resilient and some sour lemonade doesn’t have any lasting impact; and, as you can see, the 2nd round of lemonade turned out pretty good. The educational analogy to this story may be sad. Our practice in classrooms can sometimes have the same effect on students, leaving them uncomfortable, frustrated and with a “bad taste in their mouth”. This is by no means a judgment of teachers. Educators are among the most incredible people on the planet.
Teachers pour their hearts into their students, just as I do into my kids. We must build a system that gives educators the practice and support they deserve. Teachers who care so deeply about their students and communities rarely have access to a system and opportunities to practice that most professionals get, just like my lemonade story.
The first step is building this system of effective practices. The practices outlined below are backed by years of research, analysis of multiple instructional frameworks, and insight from AI. Like any coherent system, they work together to create optimal learning conditions. For example, a classroom with strong routines and expectations but lacking community may be orderly, but include feelings of uncertainty or even tension.
On the other hand, a strong community that lacks routines and expectations can be fun, but may also be unproductive. Each practice is essential in creating a balanced and effective learning environment.
- Community & Relationships
- Intentionally Planning Routines
- Teaching Expectations
- Informed Supervision
- Opportunities to Respond
- Positive Feedback
- Corrective Feedback
- Targeted Support Strategies
The second step in this process is creating an environment for practice. This process advocates for an approach that integrates data, analytics, and high-quality resources to support teachers in creating their instructional growth. Each practice listed can be associated with data points directly cited in studies or informed by research.
For example, many organizations emphasize that all students should receive Tier I support. It is widely regarded that 80-90% of students must respond to Tier I, creating a percentage of students who should engage in routines, meet expectations, and receive and respond to error correction. PBIS recommends a 4:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions. For opportunities to respond, MacSuga-Gage and Simonsen suggest 3-5 per minute for new material. A skilled observer can monitor these data points and provide that information to teachers. Receiving the data with high-quality resources allows teachers to analyze their instruction and decide what refinements their students need. If they are monitored at a 1:1 positive to negative interaction ratio they may look at resources that explain how to increase positive feedback, and increase their ratio to 3 or 4 to 1. They will then experience how it feels when they eventually meet those data points and see the impact on their students. This process leads to profound growth; it enables teachers to be agents of their learning while being recognized as the experts of their community, and they experience what optimal teaching feels like.
As teachers analyze the resources and try different teaching moves within each practice this increases their instructional agility, and increases their capacity to teach to the diverse learners in an inclusionary model. This process also supports teachers in the instructional agility to implement all the great lessons, resources, and programs that AI generate; the human ability to decide to offer students positive feedback, corrective feedback, an opportunity to respond; being able to pinpoint what new routines or expectations to install; identifying whether relationships need repair or if students need some sort of targeted support are critical to implementing all the AI supports available to teachers. Teachers analyzing the resources and trying different teaching moves within each practice increases their capacity to teach the diverse learners in an inclusionary model. This process also supports teachers in building the instructional agility needed to implement all the great lessons, resources, and programs that AI generates: the human ability to decide to offer students positive feedback, corrective feedback, an opportunity to respond; to pinpoint what new routines or expectations to install; to identify whether relationships need repair or if students need some sort of targeted support are critical to implementing all the AI supports available to teachers.
We no longer need to rely on disjointed, inefficient, or subjective measures to support teacher growth. Traditional coaching, consulting, and professional learning can be helpful, but it can also unintentionally strip away a teacher’s personality and creativity, may not apply to their students or is often only available to a select few. Some evaluation systems include 20 or more indicators, each having a 4 point scale with lengthy descriptions, where most teachers barely even know what they say. We can provide all teachers with clear, actionable data paired with targeted resources on key performance indicators, allowing them to refine their practice based on their students’ needs. Educators are incredible. Their dedication and hard work make real system change possible. With the right foundational system, they can better support the students and communities they care deeply about. It’s time to move beyond quick fixes and initiative fatigue and focus on building lasting support systems; in fact, the diverse needs of inclusionary classrooms and AI implementation are demanding it. By providing teachers with data, analytics, and high-quality resources, we empower them to be agents of their learning because they are the experts on what their students need. It’s time we give them the tools they deserve.
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