(CANCELLED) The Future of Instructional Leadership: Reclaiming Time and Purpose with Artificial Intelligence

Outline

Session Outline

Title: Reclaiming Time for Instructional Leadership with AI
Length: 60 minutes

1. Welcome and Connection (0–5 min)

Content:
Brief introduction to the session’s purpose and relevance: the challenge of balancing leadership tasks and instructional priorities.

Reference key research (Leithwood, 2010; McGee, 2004) on how leadership style impacts school performance.

Share a personal story of the “domino effect” of overwork and how AI can help restore focus and joy.

Engagement:

Quick poll using devices: “Where do you lose the most time each week?” (choices: email, meetings, reports, feedback, etc.)

Table chat: 2-minute “pair and share” about a leadership task they’d love to streamline.

2. Exploring the Problem: The Time Crunch (10–15 min)

Content:

Review common challenges instructional leaders face: administrative overload, lack of visibility, and feedback delays.

Introduce the idea of AI as a time-saving thought partner, not a replacement for human connection.

Engagement:

Small group brainstorming: “What would you do with an extra hour each day?”

Whole-group word cloud created live from responses to visualize shared priorities.

3. Hands-On AI Applications (20–40 min)

Content:

Participants will experience guided demonstrations and apply practical prompts from AI for School Leaders (Echols, 2024)

Classroom Visit Scheduler: Create a realistic plan for short, frequent walkthroughs using AI.

Feedback Coach: Draft a personalized follow-up email using AI-generated language, then adapt it to their authentic tone.

SMARTIE Goal Builder: Generate and refine a goal that aligns with school improvement priorities.

Engagement:

Participants work on devices (laptops/tablets) using an AI tool such as ChatGPT or Gemini. OR observe demonstrations by the presenter.

Peer-to-peer collaboration: share results and provide quick feedback to refine each other’s prompts.

The presenter circulates to coach, troubleshoot, and highlight strong examples.

4. Reflection and Ethical Considerations (40–50 min)

Content:

Discuss the importance of ethical and responsible AI use, including bias, data privacy, and voice authenticity.

Reference Dr. Joy Buolamwini’s work on equity and ethics in AI.

Engagement:

“Think–Pair–Share” on the question: “How can I model safe and transparent AI use with my staff?”

Group share: collect top takeaways on digital whiteboard (Padlet or Jamboard).

5. Action Planning and Wrap-Up (50–60 min)

Content:

Review the five key takeaways: reclaim time, reconnect with teachers, refine goals, reflect with AI, and lead with empathy.

Invite participants to select one product they created (tracker, SMARTIE goal, or feedback template) as their “first step” implementation.

Engagement:

Participants share their next-step plan and share one word in chat or aloud describing how they feel leaving the session.

Closing encouragement: “You don’t need more time—you just need better tools to focus on what matters most.”

Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to…

Identify where AI can remove low-value tasks and prioritize time for classroom visibility and instructional leadership.

Design a realistic classroom-visit plan (frequency, duration, tracking) and adopt a simple template to monitor visits.

Generate a SMARTIE goal for their campus and refine it with AI to include strategies, timelines, and success metrics.

Draft a concise, strengths-based feedback email from observation notes and adapt it to their own voice.

Build a mini prompt bank (5–7 prompts) for meetings, data analysis, and active-listening cues to facilitate better coaching conversations.

Create one practical product to take home (choice of: observation tracker, PD agenda, or book-study outline) and plan first steps to implement it.

Supporting research

References
• Baeder, J. (2017). Now we’re talking! 21 days to high-performance instructional leadership. Solution Tree Press.

• Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender shades: Intersectional accuracy disparities in commercial gender classification. Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, 81, 1–15.

• Echols, V. (2024). AI for school leaders: 62 ways to lighten your workload and focus on what matters. ISTE.

• Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). Coherence: The right drivers in action for schools, districts, and systems. Corwin Press.

• Leithwood, K. (2010). Characteristics of school districts that are exceptionally effective in closing the achievement gap. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 9(3), 245–291.

• Marshall, K. (2013). Rethinking teacher supervision and evaluation: How to work smart, build collaboration, and close the achievement gap (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

• McGee, G. W. (2004). Closing the achievement gap: Lessons from Illinois’ golden spike high-poverty high-performing schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 9(2), 97–125.

• Rogelberg, S. G. (2024). Glad we met: The art and science of 1:1 meetings. Oxford University Press.

• Shah, P. (2023). AI and the Future of Education: Teaching in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Jossey-Bass.