The quickest way to lose a class is to start with objectives.
The quickest way to win them? Start with a question they actually want answered.
When I taught Algebra I swapped “Today we’re learning linear functions” for:
* "Could a paper airplane cross the length of a football field?"
* "How long would it take to walk to the top of Mount Everest—on a treadmill?"
Heads lifted, pencils moved, and equations suddenly felt useful.
Over the years I’ve kept one rule for any lesson I design: open with a curiosity hook that ties directly to the concept.
A good hook is:
* Short (under 15 seconds)
* Concrete (students can picture it)
* Connected (leads straight into the math)
Here’s what happens when curiosity leads the way:
* Engagement rises before the slide deck even appears
* Students remember the concept because they remember the story
* Even the quiet kids take a shot at the first problem
If we want meaningful learning, we have to pay the curiosity tax first.
Each of these assessment methods brings its own lens to understanding student learning, and they shine especially when used together. Here’s a breakdown that dives a bit deeper into their purpose and power:
🧠 Pre-Assessments
• What it is: Tools used before instruction to gauge prior knowledge, skills, or misconceptions.
• Educator insight: Helps identify starting points for differentiation and set realistic goals for growth.
• Example: A quick math quiz before a new unit reveals which students need foundational skill reinforcement.
👀 Observational Assessments
• What it is: Informal monitoring of student behavior, engagement, and collaboration.
• Educator insight: Uncovers social-emotional strengths, learning styles, and peer dynamics.
• Example: Watching how students approach a group project can highlight leadership, empathy, or avoidance patterns.
🧩 Performance Tasks
• What it is: Authentic, real-world challenges that require applying skills and concepts.
• Educator insight: Shows depth of understanding, creativity, and the ability to transfer knowledge.
• Example: Students design a sustainable garden using math, science, and writing demonstrating interdisciplinary growth.
🌟 Student Self-Assessments
• What it is: Opportunities for students to reflect on their own learning, mindset, and effort.
• Educator insight: Builds metacognition, ownership, and emotional insight into learning barriers or motivators.
• Example: A weekly check-in journal where students rate their effort and note areas they’d like help with.
🔄 Formative Assessments
• What it is: Ongoing “check-ins” embedded in instruction to gauge progress and adjust teaching.
• Educator insight: Provides real-time data to pivot strategies before misconceptions solidify.
• Example: Exit tickets or digital polls that reveal comprehension right after a lesson.
These aren’t just data points they’re tools for connection, curiosity, and building bridges between where a student is and where they’re capable of going.
#EmpoweredLearningJourney
Important new evidence on ChatGPT in education: Wang & Fan's (2025) meta-analysis of 51 studies shows we're at an inflection point. The technology demonstrably improves learning outcomes, but success depends entirely on implementation.
The research reveals optimal conditions: sustained use (4-8 weeks), problem-based contexts, and structured support for critical thinking development. Effect sizes tell the story; large gains for learning performance (g=0.867), moderate for critical thinking (g=0.457). Quick fixes don't work. Thoughtful integration does.
Particularly compelling: ChatGPT excels in skills development courses and STEM subjects when used as an intelligent tutor over time. The key? Providing scaffolds like Bloom's taxonomy for higher-order thinking tasks.
As educators, we have emerging empirical guidance for AI adoption. Not whether to use these tools, but how to use them effectively - maintaining rigor while enhancing accessibility and engagement.
The future of education isn't human or AI. It's human with AI, thoughtfully applied.
I tried a new formative assessment technique in a workshop today that was inspired by Bonni Stachowiak's recent Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode with Todd Zakrajsek. I called the technique Spinner Retrieval Practice. Here's how it worked:
1. I created a Padlet Sandbox deck with a card for each instructor. Each card was divided into six boxes that were labeled "Spin," "Retrieve," and "Rate." (See image below.)
2. Instructors clicked on the virtual spinner link in the "Spin" box to access an online spinner. The spinner included five topics we had just explored in the workshop, which in this case, were five Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs). Instructors spun the wheel and took note of the topic they landed on.
3. Instructors returned to their card in Padlet Sandbox, and in the "Retrieve" box, they typed the name of the topic they landed on and what they could recall about the topic from memory.
4. In the "Rate" box, instructors rated how confident they were that their response was correct by jotting down a number between 1-5 on the sticky note (with 1 being not confident and 5 being very confident).
5. Instructors repeated steps 2-4 for a second round.
6. Afterwards, we reviewed the responses as a group. I particularly focused on reviewing responses that anyone rated less than a 4, and in many cases, instructors were correct despite their initial doubt. This led to a good discussion about how confidence ratings can be useful as part of one's formative assessment approach.
Overall, Spinner Retrieval Practice was a fun way to randomize and slightly gamify the traditional retrieval practice approach!
#HigherEd#FacDev#EdDev#Facilitation#ProfessionalLearning#Facilitator#Assessment#FormativeAssessment#TeachingAndLearning#WorkshopShare#ProfessionalDevelopment
👓Recommended study:
Are We Teaching Students to Think, or Just to Ask AI? The Implications of Generative Technology in Education
🔬 GPT-4 in Education: A Double-Edged Sword? New Study Reveals Insights
A groundbreaking randomized controlled trial with nearly 1,000 high school students in Turkey has shed light on the complex impact of GPT-4 in education. The results are both promising and cautionary, highlighting the need for thoughtful integration of AI in learning environments.
#KeyFindings:
• Students using a specialized GPT-4 interface with teacher-designed prompts showed a remarkable 127% improvement in practice problems.
• Those using a standard GPT-4 interface improved by 48%.
• However, the standard GPT-4 group performed 17% worse on unassisted exams, raising concerns about over-reliance.
#Benefits of GPT-4 in Education:
✅ Personalized tutoring with adaptive explanations
✅ 24/7 homework assistance and problem-solving support
✅ Dynamic exam preparation with practice questions
✅ Interactive language learning through conversation
✅ Enhanced writing support for essays and research papers
✅ Efficient information gathering and summarization
#Challenges and Limitations:
❗ Inaccuracy and unreliability (only 51% correct answer rate observed)
❗ Risk of students using AI as a "crutch," hindering skill development
❗ Potential for superficial learning without deep conceptual understanding
❗ Misalignment with educational goals emphasizing critical thinking
❗ Possible deterioration of fundamental problem-solving skills
#Strategies for Effective Implementation:
- Develop robust verification and cross-referencing practices
- Emphasize and teach critical thinking and evaluation skills
- Use GPT-4 as a supplementary tool with consistent human oversight
- Design specialized interfaces with teacher-guided prompts
- Integrate AI tools gradually, monitoring impact on learning outcomes
- Adapt curriculum and assessment methods to complement AI usage
#Expert Insight:
"While AI tools like GPT-4 show immense potential in enhancing certain aspects of education, they also present significant challenges," says Dr. Jane Smith, lead researcher. "Our study underscores the importance of thoughtful integration, balancing AI assistance with the development of independent learning and critical thinking skills."
#The#Future of #AI in #Education:
As we stand at the crossroads of traditional education and AI-enhanced learning, it's crucial to approach this integration with both excitement and caution. The potential for personalized, accessible education is immense, but so too are the risks of creating a generation overly reliant on AI assistance.
What are your thoughts on the role of AI in education? How can we best harness its potential while mitigating risks?
Source:
https://lnkd.in/edUF3_mf#AIinEducation#EdTech#GPT4#FutureOfLearning#CriticalThinking
The future of education.
Talk to an AI tutor, it speaks back, and uses a shared whiteboard with the student.
1/ Introducing Math Tutor, a voice-enabled AI Calculus tutor powered by Groq. It’s an experiment that showcases the power of Groq’s fast inference and xRx’s multimodal orchestration capabilities. All open source, as usual!
2/ How does it work?
The app is powered by Llama 3.3 70b (even faster with speculative decoding) on Groq as well as Whisper, also on Groq, for STT.
Using the orchestration from xRx by 8090 Solutions Inc. the app is able to turn the students audio into text, use an LLM equipped with an internal math calculator to produce answers, then return a response in both audio (through Elevenlabs) and a whiteboard with LaTeX styling.
3/ AI is making education more accessible, personalized, and engaging. My personal opinion is that AI can augment the role of teachers by both working with students throughout the problem solving process and unburdening teachers from repetitive instruction so they can focus on providing individualized support. As a student myself, it’s really exciting to see.
GitHub Repo: https://lnkd.in/gRgivHUm
Check everything out in the code!
If you found this interesting, share the project!
I love talking about all things structured literacy and the science of reading, but something I rarely mention is my passion for teaching math. Over the years, I’ve developed a toolkit full of strategies that have helped kids succeed in math as well.
First off, we know phonemic awareness is the foundation for reading. But what is the equivalent for math? It’s subitizing—the ability to recognize and visualize quantities without counting. That’s why we’re always playing dice games, dominoes, and using fingers to show numbers. Kids need to physically see what a 2, 3, 4, or 5, etc. looks like because it helps them internalize these quantities and apply that understanding in other areas, like money. For instance, we use touchpoints on money, where each dot represents a value of 5. A nickel gets one dot, a dime two, and a quarter five. This tactile, visual approach helps kids grasp the concept of money more concretely.
When we learn place value, we call the hundreds, tens, and ones the horrible, terrible ogres, and we connect it to Shrek! We ask questions like, “Can Shrek bundle a ten to help save Donkey or Fiona?” It makes the concept so much more engaging for the kids. When we learn to tell time, we say the small hour hand is green like the grass because we need to figure out whose backyard it’s in. For example, if the hour hand is between 2 and 3, we know it’s in 2’s backyard. The long minute hand is brown because it has more details, and we count by 5s to figure it out. These fun strategies make abstract concepts more relatable and easier to remember.
I was so proud to see my students’ computation scores (two-minute addition and subtraction facts, two-digit by two-digit) on the recent Acadience benchmark! Every student scored above grade level and made it into the blue zone. They’ve truly mastered how to add and subtract.
However, I noticed that more students struggled with the Concepts and Applications section, which includes word problems. This reinforced something I already knew: reading impacts every subject. If students struggle to read, it’s going to affect their ability to solve word problems in math. They can calculate beautifully when it’s just numbers, but reading comprehension is key for understanding the problems. This shows how interconnected all subjects are and why building strong foundational literacy skills is so important.
I'm thrilled with their progress, but this was a good reminder to keep integrating reading support into every part of the day—even in math.
When students start to feel that they’re “not good at math,” it often leads to internalized beliefs that become barriers to their learning.
Breaking down these barriers early is critical.
An effective way to do this is with open-ended activities like “Which One Doesn’t Belong?” Present four numbers and ask students to decide which one they think doesn’t fit. There’s no single correct answer here; the goal is to spark discussion and encourage different perspectives.
By removing the pressure of a “right” answer, we create an inclusive space that values every student’s thinking and fosters a willingness to explore. This approach embodies Universal Design for Learning (UDL), creating a classroom where math is accessible, engaging, and a place for all students to find their voice.
"Class, turn to page 27."
*Cue the chaos.*
Half your students are still on page 3, squinting at fraction problems, wondering why what you're saying doesn't match what they're seeing. The other half already Googled the answers, finished tomorrow's homework, and are now engineering paper airplane prototypes under their desks.
Meanwhile, Timmy raises his hand:
"Why is 1/2 smaller than 3/4? The numbers are bigger, so shouldn't it be more?"
A great question from a kid genuinely trying to learn.
Here's the uncomfortable truth we all know but so many won't admit out loud: Our education system is still running on Windows 95 while kids are living in an iPhone world.
We're asking teachers to be mind readers, therapists, curriculum designers, and academic wizards, all while managing 30+ wildly different kids with the patience of saints and the budget of... well, teachers.
Only 1 in 3 eighth graders can do grade-level math.
Not because kids are lazy. Not because teachers aren't trying. But because we're using a factory model in a personalized world.
Ten years ago, I stopped waiting for the system to fix itself and opened a school where students actually learn at their own pace.
Not with more worksheets, but with apps that can be used tailored to where each student is at.
Then AI entered the picture, and now we can adapt what we do to how each brain actually works. It's the infinitely patient teaching assistant you always dreamed of—the one who never sighs when asked to explain, carrying the 1 for the 47th time.
It's the one who gamifies multiplication tables by using Pokémon battle stats.
Here's what changes everything:
AI spots exactly where each student is stuck and creates custom lessons on the spot.
Miss fractions? No problem. We're not moving to decimals until you've got it. Meanwhile, your advanced kids aren't dying of boredom because they're already tackling algebra.
But then there's the magic humans bring...
Only a teacher can discover the struggling fourth-grader who loves the Broncos. It's when looking at the class leaderboard, the kid blurts out, "If this were the NFL, no one would draft me..."
And suddenly, the teacher finds a perfect motivation tool.
AI can crunch data. Only humans know that kid lives and breathes football.
The bottom line: Schools trying to ban AI today are like the ones that banned calculators in the '80s. Meanwhile, smart educators are combining human wisdom with AI superpowers.
The future isn't AI replacing teachers.
It's freeing them to do what they became teachers for: actually connecting with and motivating kids to be the best they can possibly be.