Practical Professional Development for Teaching and Learning
Education continues to change as new technologies, research, and approaches to learning become available. Teachers need opportunities to explore these changes, evaluate their relevance, and determine how they can be applied in the classroom.
I provide professional development for educators, schools, and educational organizations, focusing on teaching strategies, curriculum integration, assessment, AI literacy, and educational technology.
With over 20 years of experience in education, I understand the challenges of balancing curriculum expectations, student needs, available resources, and the realities of classroom teaching.
My approach focuses on practical strategies educators can adapt to their own teaching environments.
AI in Education
Generative AI has introduced new opportunities and challenges for teachers and students. Understanding how these tools work, what they can and cannot do, and how they affect learning is becoming increasingly important.
Professional development can explore how educators teach students about AI, teach them to use it effectively, and use AI themselves to support teaching and learning.
Topics may include:
- Understanding AI capabilities and limitations
- Teaching students to evaluate AI-generated information
- AI literacy and critical thinking
- Using AI to support lesson planning and instructional development
- Helping students develop effective AI use strategies
- Designing learning activities that incorporate AI
- Considering the role of AI in independent and self-directed learning
The focus is on understanding the technology and making informed decisions about its use rather than adopting or rejecting AI without considering its educational purpose.
Teaching Writing with AI
AI has changed the writing process by making it possible for students to generate, organize, revise, and evaluate text with technological assistance.
This raises important questions about how writing is taught, which skills students need to develop, and how teachers can evaluate learning.
Professional development in this area may address:
- Teaching foundational writing skills alongside AI use
- Using AI for brainstorming, outlining, revision, and feedback
- Evaluating AI-generated writing
- Designing writing assignments with clear learning objectives
- Helping students make informed decisions about AI assistance
- Distinguishing the writing process from the finished product
- Assessing student learning when AI is available
The goal is to help educators consider how AI can be incorporated into writing instruction while maintaining a clear focus on the skills students are expected to learn.
Curriculum Integration and Instructional Design
Technology integration should begin with the curriculum and the intended learning outcomes, not with the technology itself.
An activity may involve several curriculum outcomes without explicitly teaching or assessing all of them. Identifying that difference is an important part of instructional planning.
Professional development can support educators in:
- Identifying relevant curriculum outcomes
- Connecting learning activities to specific objectives
- Distinguishing between encountering a skill and explicitly teaching it
- Integrating technology into existing subjects and units
- Developing meaningful learning activities
- Aligning instruction, learning objectives, and assessment
- Adapting instruction for different student needs and experience levels
The emphasis is on designing learning experiences that meet educational goals while making appropriate use of available tools and resources.
Assessment and Evaluating Student Learning
Assessment becomes more complicated when students have access to tools that can generate answers, complete tasks, and produce finished work.
However, the availability of these tools also creates opportunities to reconsider what is being assessed and how students demonstrate their understanding.
Professional development may explore:
- Identifying what an assessment is intended to measure
- Designing assessments aligned with learning objectives
- Evaluating the process of learning as well as the final product
- Developing assessment criteria and rubrics
- Incorporating reflection, explanation, and revision
- Evaluating student work completed with technological assistance
- Recognizing the limitations of different assessment methods
The focus is on developing assessment practices that provide meaningful information about student learning.
Critical Thinking and Independent Learning
Access to information does not automatically mean people know how to interpret, evaluate, or use it.
Students need opportunities to ask questions, examine evidence, recognize gaps in their understanding, and develop strategies for finding additional information.
Professional development can explore ways to support:
- Critical evaluation of information and sources
- Questioning assumptions and examining evidence
- Recognizing gaps in knowledge and understanding
- Developing research and information literacy skills
- Student agency and informed decision-making
- Independent and self-directed learning
- Transferring learning strategies across subjects and situations
These skills extend beyond AI and educational technology. They are relevant throughout the curriculum and beyond the classroom.
Professional Development Designed Around Your Needs
Schools and educational organizations have different priorities, resources, and professional learning needs.
I work with clients to identify the topics, questions, and challenges they want to address and develop professional development that reflects those needs.
Sessions may include presentations, guided activities, demonstrations, discussion, and opportunities to apply new ideas to existing teaching practices.
Professional development can be offered through online workshops, small-group sessions, and customized training for schools and organizations.
Let’s Discuss Your Professional Development Needs
Whether your school is exploring AI literacy, reviewing assessment practices, integrating technology into the curriculum, or developing new approaches to teaching writing, I can help you identify practical professional learning opportunities.