2026 Early College Summit

Educators and instructional leaders are invited to reflect on Innovation Early College's journey of cultivating faculty capacity to create a school-wide culture of student-inquiry. In this session, participants will develop a shared understanding of high-level inquiry as sustained investigation with increased student agency, examine how intentional development of a common language and exemplars builds teacher capacity, apply a practical observation tool to support inquiry-based instructional growth, and examine how inquiry-based instruction advances core Early College outcomes, including student agency, persistence, postsecondary readiness, and credit attainment.

Presentation Slide Deck

Student performance rightfully consumes us, but as state tests have fallen away from certain subject areas (and the data that came with them), how do we measure and track growth?  What is a student's role in that processs?  I have done my best to investigate best practices and have started exploring ways to help students monitor their growth in the hopes of starting a cycle of empowerment and reflection. 

Future readiness requires more than academic proficiency. Students must be able to navigate diverse cultures, collaborate across differences, apply learning in authentic contexts, and lead with curiosity and confidence.

• MCP builds independence, mastery, and ownership.
• Global Education expands students’ perspectives and cultural competence.
• Experiential Learning connects classroom learning to real‑world challenges.
• A.C.T.I.O.N. provides the schoolwide culture and habits that sustain these practices.
• The Portrait of a Graduate defines the competencies students develop through this ecosystem.

This session helps educators envision how these elements work together to empower early college students academically, socially, and globally.

Teaching Critical Thinking in the Age of AI: Using AI Responsibly to Develop Critical Thinkers and Writers

Students can now generate an essay in seconds. So, how do we ensure they are still doing the thinking?

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly common in schools, educators face a new challenge: helping students use AI as a tool for learning instead of a shortcut around it. The question is no longer whether students will use AI, but how we can design learning that encourages them to think critically, write authentically, and maintain ownership of their ideas.

In this session, participants will explore practical, classroom-tested strategies for using AI to strengthen critical thinking, support meaningful revision, and amplify student voice. Through classroom examples, student work samples, and guided discussion, attendees will examine how AI can be used as a tool for inquiry, reflection, feedback, and analysis while keeping students at the center of the learning process.

Participants will discover ways to design assignments and writing experiences that require students to evaluate information, justify decisions, critique AI-generated responses, and engage in deep thinking that leads to stronger writing and deeper understanding. The session will also address responsible and ethical AI use, including academic integrity, bias awareness, transparency, and preserving student ownership of learning.

Attendees will leave with practical resources, classroom-ready strategies, and a framework for integrating AI in ways that maintain rigor, foster critical thinking, and empower students to become thoughtful, responsible communicators in an AI-rich world.