Easy EdTech Podcast with Monica Burns · Monica Burns

Rethinking Professional Development in the Age of AI with Allison Rodman - Bonus Episode with Jotform

·28 min·2 clips

Alison Rodman explains how AI analyzes survey data to craft targeted professional development sessions.

Monica Burns hosts this bonus episode of the Easy EdTech Podcast in partnership with JotForm. She is joined by guest Alison Rodman, an educator, founder of The Learning Loop, and ASCD author with experience as a teacher, school board member, and director of professional learning. They explore how to redesign professional development for educators using artificial intelligence. Rodman argues that professional learning often remains a one-size-fits-all, "sit-and-get" model despite widespread knowledge about adult learning principles. She emphasizes using pre-session surveys to gather educator expectations and tailor content before facilitators even enter the room. AI tools can analyze this pre-assessment data to help design more targeted and personalized professional learning sessions. Rodman identifies two primary areas where AI adds practical value: aiding facilitators in session design and helping educators within sessions use chatbots effectively. She notes many educators view AI as a supercharged search engine without understanding the power of precise, intentional prompting. A significant part of her current work involves coaching educators on how to craft better prompts to leverage AI for instructional planning. She provides an example of designing a 90-minute professional learning community session, where a generic AI prompt yields basic ideas like "think-pair-shares." Rodman stresses the need to train AI models with specific protocols and thinking routines to generate more powerful, collaborative session designs. A key guardrail is ensuring AI integration does not replace the vital social construction and relationship-building that happens when educators collaborate in person. She shares an anecdote about a teacher sharing a strategy in a workshop and others later reporting successful implementation, highlighting organic collaboration AI cannot replicate. Instructional coaches and school leaders are using AI to help generate or refine observation notes and coaching feedback. Rodman cautions that without an authentic voice, AI-generated feedback can feel impersonal and stall teacher growth. She distinguishes between the "science" of learning, which AI can analyze, and the "art" of teaching, which involves nuance and relationships the technology currently lacks. The tone is conversational and advisory, blending practical examples with strategic recommendations for educational leaders. Listeners interested in modernizing teacher training with technology will find actionable ideas. School administrators or professional development facilitators seeking to personalize learning for staff will gain valuable insights. Educators wary of AI or who prioritize only in-person, discussion-based learning might find less relevance.

As heard by us

AI is presented as a tool for more intentional professional learning.

Monica Burns uses this bonus episode to consider professional learning in the age of AI, keeping the focus on how educators can bring precision and intentionality into chatbot-supported work.

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Why you'd press play

A professional-learning way to think about AI, rooted in helping educators use chatbots and other tools to make their work easier.

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