College of Education and Human Development

Access to Excellence podcast

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Northern Virginia

Podcast: The future classroom: Teaching and learning in age of AI

Sarah Holland — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:00:08 +0000

Podcast: The future classroom: Teaching and learning in age of AI Sarah Holland Mon, 03/23/2026 - 13:00

As society navigates rapid technological advancement and escalating challenges at home and abroad, it’s up to our educators to prepare students to meet the evolving needs of the state, the nation, and the world. We call this Advancing 21st Century Education for All: one of the key pillars of our Grand Challenge Initiative.

On today’s episode of Access to Excellence, Ingrid Guerra-López, dean of George �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Education and Human Development, joins President Gregory Washington to discuss the future of education in a rapidly changing world and why the irreplaceable human elements of teaching will define the profession's future even as technology transforms it.

We don't have the luxury of looking away and saying, well, I don't like technology and I don't like the AI thing, or whatever the technology might be. And just say, well, I'm not gonna engage. The world has moved on, right? So I think one of the critical things that is gonna be really important for educators and, and educational systems is to promote the ability for students to engage in lifelong learning and adaptability 'cause that is always going to be a constant requirement. — Ingrid Guerra-López

Read the transcript

Intro (00:04):
Trailblazers in research, innovators in technology, and those who simply have a good story: all make up the fabric that is �鶹��Ƶ, where taking on the grand challenges that face our students, graduates, and higher education is our mission and our passion. Hosted by �鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington, this is the Access to Excellence podcast.

President Gregory Washington (00:27):
The world is changing. Virginia and the nation require institutions that can rapidly align the next generation workforce with the evolving needs of the economy and our communities. More is already demanded of this generation than any before them. We have no choice but to prepare them for a task that is nothing short of saving the world. At George �鶹��Ƶ, we call it advancing 21st century education for all. It's one of the key pillars of our Grand Challenge initiative, and I can't think of a better person to talk to us about it than our guest. Dr. Ingrid Guerra-López, dean of George �鶹��Ƶ's College of Education and Human Development, Dean Guerra-López, welcome to the show.

Ingrid Guerra-López (01:22):
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.

President Gregory Washington (01:25):
Well, let me start high level here. Where does your passion for education come from?

Ingrid Guerra-López (01:32):
So, it, it actually, I would say maybe doesn't come quite from education, it comes from learning. I've always been really drawn to asking questions, to needing to understand how things connect, just overall general inquiry and curiosity, you know, how things fit together. And so learning to me is ultimately what the promise of education is. Learning in itself, it, it's intrinsically valuable. It expands us. It, it deepens our judgment. Uh, it fuels so many other things. And education is one of those means. It's one of the many pathways through which learning can occur. We can learn through so many ways: on our own, through reflection and experience, uh, informally in our communities, through family, through our work, vicariously by watching others, and through that formal educational system. So I think it's, it's really important to distinguish the education from the actual point of it, which is learning and growth.

President Gregory Washington (02:29):
You got teachers and you have learners, right?

Ingrid Guerra-López (02:31):
That's right.

President Gregory Washington (02:32):
So, before we talk a bit about the future in the 21st century, talk to me a little bit about the current status of the education system, right? What are our streams, what are our current challenges? And there are very few areas more maligned in, in my opinion, than education, especially, especially at the K-12 level in the country. And so, talk to me a little bit about where we are currently positioned.

Ingrid Guerra-López (02:58):
Yeah, I, I do think that we do have a deep commitment for equity and for access. And there's a, a genuine sustained effort across states and districts to expand access. And whether it's through early childhood programs or inclusive special education services or college access pathways, you know, even support for multilingual learners. We've expanded who education is for, and that matters enormously. Now, the next step is really ensuring that access translates into meaningful opportunity and high quality learning experiences for everybody, for every learner. So I think that's one really important strength that we, we have right now. I think that there are also extraordinary, uh, innovation pockets across the country. Uh, we know that educators are experimenting boldly, whether it's through problem-based learning or competency-based progression, industry partnerships, AI-assisted instruction. There's a lot of things that are going well in terms of innovation. The challenge isn't a lack of innovation, it's that innovation is often localized.

Ingrid Guerra-López (04:04):
It's isolated in pockets rather than scaled system-wide. So I would say that that's really important. I would also highlight that the research base is fairly strong. We know more than ever before, um, how children learn. We know about brain development, uh, motivation and engagement, effective feedback, et cetera. The learning sciences and human development research base is, it's pretty robust. That's part of the work that we do through our partnerships at the College of Education and Human Development. One of our really exciting initiatives is a research practice partnership ERA•NOVA, our Educational Research Alliance of Northern Virginia, where we engage with over 20 school divisions across the region and beyond connecting research directly to district level practice, especially this year around AI readiness.

President Gregory Washington (04:54):
So you gave me a lot of the strengths, and you talked about scalability. I see that as being a challenge. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But if we know how to do this right, if our research has given us more insight than ever before, we, we have all of this positive, why do we not have better educational outcomes, especially at the K-12 level?

Ingrid Guerra-López (05:18):
So there's, there's a couple of things. I think our educators are represent an interesting variable, because on the one hand, the resiliency of those educators are, um, it's a strength, right? They've shown us that they can navigate a, a, a global pandemic, um, rapid technological change, et cetera. But at the same time, we're seeing more teacher burnout and issues with retention than ever before. We're asking them to be all things to all people, instructional designers, and data analysts, and technology integrators, and social workers. All the things without systematically redesigning workload, support structures, compensation. And preparation alone is not enough, right? You need that induction and that support and the mentorship and the professional growth systems that, that have to evolve with it. So that's why modernizing educator preparation and building stronger support pipelines is so central. So what I'm getting at is really that, that we have a structural mismatch. Our current system was largely optimized for predictable career pathways and content transmission and standardized pacing, like all of the things of the industrial area workforce required. Today's economy though, requires more, uh, adaptability and continuous learning. It requires comfort with a certain level of ambiguity, and it also requires us to think across different disciplines. So we're still organized around seat time and subject silos, while the world rewards problem solvers right across different boundaries. So, um, I don't know if it's a, a failure as much as it's a structural lag.

President Gregory Washington (07:02):
Structural lags unimplemented manifest themselves to the broader public as failures, right?

Ingrid Guerra-López (07:09):
Yeah.

President Gregory Washington (07:09):
Yeah. So let's back up for a second. You, you hear these calls of reform, you hear these calls of rethinking college education. Where does the call come from the loudest?

Ingrid Guerra-López (07:21):
I think it comes from, uh, different people, from everybody, really, but for different reasons, right? So you have employers who want graduates who can navigate complexity and technology and, and, and change. Understandably, families want return on investment and a good quality of life for their graduates. Governments want workforce alignment and economic competitiveness, right? They want our educational systems to be aligned with that. Students just want relevance. You, you go into a classroom at any level and you hear students asking you like, how does this connect to the real world? You know, what will I do with this? They don't reject rigor. They reject irrelevance. Right? And then you have industries like healthcare and technology sectors who want interdisciplinary thinkers, because those fields are evolving so quickly that narrow specializations aren't enough. They want engineers who understand ethics. They want healthcare professionals who understand data. They want leadership who can translate between disciplines, you know, and technologists who understand human behavior.

President Gregory Washington (08:29):
If I were to now ask the real question, the big question, you know, we're sitting in the 21st century, right? We largely have a 20th century educational framework. Uh, classes today aren't taught that much differently than what they were taught in 1999. Uh, we, we had electronic means of delivering content, and that was incorporated into our world. Fast forward, we have the most disruptive technology of our generation. Artificial intelligence has now moved beyond the laboratory, beyond the application of a few people who are on the bleeding edge to really being mainstream. Right? Right. Now, 50% of American households use AI in some form. It's about as mainstream as you can get. So what should 21st century education look like at different levels? So from early childhood through doctoral programs, what should it look like? Put your crystal ball on.

Ingrid Guerra-López (09:34):
Yes. Yes. Love to bring out my crystal ball. So, I, I think at those, uh, very early years and early childhood, it's really critical to cultivate curiosity, play-based problem solving. And of course, you, you wanna integrate with early digital literacy, right? Not just screen time, but digital understanding.

President Gregory Washington (09:55):
So, unpack that. It sounds intriguing. What does that actually look like?

Ingrid Guerra-López (10:00):
It's really, um, understanding what the technology is, right? Where, how algorithms work and, and again, at a developmentally appropriate way, you know, making a distinction between, you know, real world connection and what you might get out of the, the technology. It, it's a, it's a lot of different things. They're born into a generation where, um, technology all around them. So understanding what it does well, what it doesn't do well, that early discernment about how technology can help, but what the limitations are as well. I think that there are other things, right? So we, we, we tend to talk about technology and technology being such a disruptor, but, but there are also those uniquely human skills that are just as critical. Uh, and so as you think of the progression through K 12, the project-based learning is really important because it builds in that relevance, and it really does create an environment where you have to integrate knowledge, different subject matters into a coherent project that's tied to a, a real world authentic environment.

Ingrid Guerra-López (11:13):
So, you know, even in stem, it, it needs to be applied, right? Like, what community problem are you solving? Uh, and again, that AI literacy that's appropriate at, at every level. And, and really critically, again, I would have emphasize that it's that real world problem solving tied to community challenges. That's something that, you know, is so integral to what, what �鶹��Ƶ does. And I think that that's really critical. As we move through undergraduate, again, the interdisciplinary learning is really critical. Industry connected experience is one of the things that we try to do at our college is, you know, engage our students in sometimes as many as, as two different kinds of internships or applied learning experiences in workplaces or in those kind of environments, because it's so critical. The data literacy, you know, whether they're gonna go on to work in a classroom or any other setting, we live in these highly technology-integrated, uh, data-rich environments.

Ingrid Guerra-López (12:15):
And the, the data literacy is, is really critical. And just like the technology piece is important, the ethical reasoning is important, right? It's, it's not just the use of technology. It's ethical reasoning around technology. And, and we know from, there's a really interesting survey that is deployed every three years by the World Economic Forum, and they survey employers across the globe, um, every three years or so. And, you know, those, the skills that they consistently have at the top as desirable for global employers continues to be those transferable skills, right? So adaptability, critical thinking, communication, systems thinking. So that has to be embedded, uh, in our undergraduate curriculum all the way through our, our graduate, um, stages with systems thinking and research to impact pipelines. Again, I think one of the things that's unique and a great strength of George �鶹��Ƶ is that we really focus on research of consequence. That there is an immediate sort of transdisciplinary approach to what we do in that we work closely with the community. We work on societal challenges that matter to our communities. And so that has to be a critical environment through which we, we teach at the graduate level or at the doctoral level, those research skills that are, you know, really tied in that, uh, problem of practice.

President Gregory Washington (13:40):
But you walk in the classroom of today, and those young people are living in a half virtual half real environment, right? They're on their phones when they go home, they're on their iPads, they're on their laptops, and the like. They're literally interfacing with ai. AI is a helper for them. They're asking it questions, they're engaged with it. They are already there, right? And so what does educating this next generation of educators look like so that they can actually engage with young people at that level? Because it can't be traditional, it cannot be the way you and I learned, because the young people, aren't they, we didn't have the tools. We didn't have the tools that they had. I remember hours in stacks, right, in the library. Or I remember getting online and spending hours with Google searches, and they're not using Google searches anymore. They go right to the answer and to the references in a very quick way just by knowing how to properly prompt or do they, right? So these are the kinds of things that I'm trying to see where we are in terms of educating the next generation of educators who have to teach to students who have these tools.

Ingrid Guerra-López (15:06):
Yeah, no, absolutely. Right? If, if we're serious about preparing students for a rapidly changing world, then that means we have to start with the adults who guide them, and, and that's our teachers. So modernizing education begins with modernizing the teaching profession in a lot of ways. And, you know, today's teachers are not, they're not just content experts or deliverers. It's a complex professional operating and dynamic environment. So I think, you know, education today and for the next, uh, generation of educators, uh, they're, you know, clearly instructional designers because the content isn't enough and a textbook is not really enough. They're designing learning experiences that are integrating many of those elements that I, I, I talked about, right? Whether it's project-based learning and then technology tools in a purposeful way, or interdisciplinary content applied right in real world problems. They have to understand how to scaffold learning how to potentially use those technology tools to differentiate instruction, how to potentially use those AI tools to develop meaningful performance based assessments.

Ingrid Guerra-López (16:19):
So that's one component of, you know, what they're now having to do in this next generation. But again, going back to the data-rich environments that also have to be data interpreters, right? We know that classrooms are increasingly data-rich environments, and teachers have to be able to interpret assessment results, identify learning patterns, and adjust instruction in real times in many ways. So that, that data fluency, it's not just about spreadsheets, it's about instructional decision making. The technology component, right? They have to be technology integrators. It's not as an add-on. It's embedded in, as you were saying, in describing how students learn and how they work and how they live. So teachers need to understand when technology enhances learning and when it distracts from it, you know, there have been many instances where in some cases, technologies were integrated in the classroom. I'm thinking of the, the smart board, for example. And then they sat there as symbols of progress, but there wasn't any support in many cases provided to teachers to take advantage of the technology, not only to enhance teaching practices, but to enhance learning outcomes and to model for students how to use technology effectively. So, so they have to now know how to integrate AI tools responsibly and how to help maintain academic integrity while at the same time embracing innovation. And, and that's a balance.

President Gregory Washington (17:51):
This is where I, I want to have a, a more lengthy discussion, right? Should our teachers educate our students in how to effectively develop and utilize prompts so that they can properly interface and engage with a large language model.

Ingrid Guerra-López (18:12):
So AI is, is a lot of things, right? There's a, certainly a, a literacy component to it, just as far as understanding what it is. And it, it, it's also a tool in that it helps them apply learning sciences.

President Gregory Washington (18:27):
Yeah. But it, but it has a language. And that's the thing. So, so, you know, I tell people all the time, if you get on your computer, you give it a PDF of a paper or of a book, and you say, review this book for me, and give me, and give me your summary of it. I would contend to them that that is an improper way to use AI, right? But it's the way in which people engage and interact with it, right? But they're not really speaking the language of how the computer, which AI is really giving you your answers based on associations. It associates the, the words that you write with specific sets of other words and other outcomes that it knows. So if you don't want it to hallucinate or give you things that are really, shouldn't be part of the question in which you ask it, you actually need to take care of that in how you ask it, right?

President Gregory Washington (19:26):
You need to start to focus the large language model to a general framework, a general area that's involved with the document or that, that you've given it. You need to tell it who it is, so it knows where to pull prerequisite information to help it do the identifications that are necessary to get your answer, right. So one example is you have a person do a general prompt. You give them a, the same book, you have them do a general prompt where they ask it, summarize this for me, blah, blah, blah. And let's say it's on physics, you know, it's on electromagnetics. I'm, I'm sorry, I'm giving you an engineering scenario.

Ingrid Guerra-López (20:10):
It's, it's okay.

President Gregory Washington (20:10):
But let's say it's on electromagnetics and you say, summarize this book on electromagnetics. That's one way, another way to say is, you are the foremost electromagnetics physicists in the world. Your research is on blank relative to electromagnetics. Take this book, summarize it. Give me relative feedback with emphasis on A, D, C, D and E. I'm gonna get a very different set of outcomes that I've gotten with just a straight summarize this. Yeah. Right? And because our young people are gonna be interfacing in dealing with young people who are gonna be interfacing with this technology, to me, it's critical that they know how to do it. People are gonna use it. So you, you better learn, they better know how to use it in the most efficient way, in the most efficient mechanism possible. Right? And so we're still debating whether it's cheating or not, and we really should be about how do you best employ it to give you an advantage over the other folk who are still debating whether it should even be used or not. Right? Because to me, that ship is kind of sailed.

Ingrid Guerra-López (21:24):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. What you are describing, so I mentioned earlier, AI is a lot of different things, right? It can be seen as a tool, as a career pathway, uh, as a disruptor. But to me, you're describing AI as a literacy, right? It's something that students must understand. We teach reading and writing because literacy empowers agency and AI literacy is gonna serve a similar function. Um, students and educators both need to understand how AI systems are trained, where bias can enter, what hallucinations are, how to verify an AI generated output, or what ethical boundaries really matter as you create your prompt or as you think about how to engage with AI and how data privacy works as well. So without that kind of literacy, I definitely agree. Like we risk creating passive consumers of, of technology instead of informed critical users.

President Gregory Washington (22:27):
You know, we have very, very highly regarded education programs here at George �鶹��Ƶ from special ed to education leadership. And so what makes �鶹��Ƶ stand out as an education institution in your mind?

Ingrid Guerra-López (22:41):
Yeah, I think, um, and I mentioned this a little bit earlier, I think the fact that we have such strong ties to our community and our educational partners, we're working in real problems of practice that our school partners see as, as priorities. One of the, the really exciting initiatives that I mentioned our ERA•NOVA partnership. We're really approaching, even AI, for example, not, not from a high perspective, but working directly with our, uh, school division leaders to define what readiness actually means. Whatever your subject matter is, it's gonna be relevant a across the different, uh, content areas of teaching. So we're asking things like, you know, what competencies should teachers have in an AI enabled classroom? Um, and, and, you know, responsible classroom integration look like. What, what is that? How do we balance innovation with student safety? Um, how do we actually even know whether AI is improving learning?

Ingrid Guerra-López (23:46):
So one of the things that, um, we are doing as a result of that collaboration is identifying very specifically the kind of skills that we should be embedding across all of our educational programs across all of our teacher preparation programs, whether it's in special education or early childhood education, or secondary education, because that's just going to be part of the job. I've heard some alarmist kind of warnings that, you know, AI is going to, uh, eliminate teachers, and that just simply isn't true. We've been hearing those concerns for a long time. We heard it, you know, with the radio and the television and the internet and the cell phones <laugh>, what it's going to do is elevate the teaching profession, right? Because if you look at not just the teaching profession, but all professions, it is fundamentally changing the way in which you work, the actual critical tasks that are required, how well you do it. So it is, uh, in my opinion, going to elevate. So I think that's one of the things that's really unique about us. It's that integration between research and practice. It, we don't just stay at the theory of things, but we're using research and, uh, research capacity and theory to work with our educational partners and the educational community to, to address real challenges.

President Gregory Washington (25:13):
So if I were to ask you who's actually successfully making this change and adapting as you've highlighted here, who, who's doing that at George �鶹��Ƶ?

Ingrid Guerra-López (25:25):
You mean across our educational programs or?

President Gregory Washington (25:27):
Yeah.

Ingrid Guerra-López (25:27):
Yeah. I, I think I, like I said, I think we're, we're all doing it that ERA•NOVA that research practice partnership, we have faculty across many programs, including educational leadership who are really vested in working. We have, uh, a couple of faculty right now. We, we were successful in, uh, obtaining a global data sharing agreement with a couple of our school divisions. And what we did is we prioritized the areas of interest of those school partners. So we already have faculty in the college testing out AI tools to enhance math instruction and literacy instruction. And that's huge because it, it, you know, it requires for the school division to have a lot of trust in us. And so we're, that's just the, the kind of, I think, work that we're doing in partnership with our school divisions to, to modernize the teaching profession.

President Gregory Washington (26:25):
These technologies are gonna solve some significant problems for us. I, I do believe, as you highlighted that the teaching profession isn't going away. What I caution is stating that it's not going to have to radically change, right? You can interface with a teacher who understands many of the great works of Shakespeare, right? Or you can interface with a bot that has read every great work on any subject and can correlate it, right? And so how does that professor engage with a student that has access to that tool, right? Because in some instances, the, the, the, the, the tool, the technology actually has a greater knowledge base and is able to synthesize that knowledge base better than the professor. The tool itself has the ability to synthesize and bring information together. And, and, and for lack of a better way of saying this, and almost like a human-like manner. So we have to teach people how to find their place in that environment. And I think that that's critical and non-trivial, right? I know we have people thinking about this and working on this here. Do you have some examples of any programs that are utilizing that?

Ingrid Guerra-López (28:01):
I guess I would kind of take us a little further back. It's not about content, right? The role of an educator. It requires that human judgment. We can't compete with the knowledge generation, the analysis, in some cases, the synthesis, but that's not the value of an educator, right? It's really that human connection. It's that mentorship, it's discernment. It's very subtle art of recognizing when a student is struggling. It's the human connection. It is the helping to love to learn, to engage with learning on an ongoing basis. That's the challenge is right now, we're, and you know, lots of folks are, are talking about this. We're, we're educating students for a world that we probably can't even imagine.

President Gregory Washington (28:53):
No, that's right. Right? But, but I contend to you that we've always educated young people for worlds that they could not imagine. Right? I remember we were educating people in the early and mid-2000s for an explosion of wireless and internet of things based technologies that hit long before these young, we didn't know what those technologies were gonna look like, right? But we graduated young people who can interface and, and engage with them. And so I think you're hitting the nail right on the head with this whole piece of leaning into that human connectedness part, right? My, the best teachers, uh, the best teachers that I've had throughout my career have been people who could do that, right? Who could look at you and see your strengths in your development cycle, who could see your weaknesses, right? And they didn't do that by, uh, a test per se. They did this by discerning, they did this by watching you engage and seeing, you know, it could be where you stopped your pencil as you were writing. It could be the look that was on your face as you were engaging, right? It could just be the feeling that they got from engaging with you on a specific issue or on a specific problem, right? Those pieces are, in my opinion, uniquely human.

Ingrid Guerra-López (30:30):
That's right.

President Gregory Washington (30:31):
And we have to figure out how to emphasize them and lean into the tools.

Ingrid Guerra-López (30:39):
That's right.

President Gregory Washington (30:40):
You, you, you get what I mean.

Ingrid Guerra-López (30:41):
Absolutely.

President Gregory Washington (30:42):
That is the solution. That's, that is, or at least, that's the solution right now, <laugh>,

Ingrid Guerra-López (30:47):
Right? That that's right. We, because don't be because we

President Gregory Washington (30:49):
Don't know what the future's gonna look like.

Ingrid Guerra-López (30:49):
That's right. We, we don't know what the new thing will be. And so regardless of the change and the, regardless of, of the tools that come along, right? What we're really trying to promote is adaptability. And again, change is always, it, it's only accelerating, right? So we don't have the luxury of looking away and saying, well, I don't like technology and I don't like the AI thing, or whatever the technology might be. And just say, well, I'm not gonna engage. The world has moved on, right? So I think one of the critical things that is gonna be really important for educators and, and educational systems is to promote the ability for students to engage in lifelong learning and adaptability 'cause that is always going to be a constant requirement.

President Gregory Washington (31:37):
So let me ask you this, because you, you clearly are, uh, as an educator, you're gonna have to deal with humanist on the, the ethical values of what you teach and what you don't teach, right? And so how can classical liberal arts education evolve to meet the needs of these 21st century students and workers and employees and employers, right? How do we evolve the classical liberal arts framework in order to meet that need?

Ingrid Guerra-López (32:09):
Yeah. I, I think, you know, it's just as important as it's, as it has always been. Um, I think, you know, we want to, um, leverage, you know, the logic, the logical reasoning that comes from, from philosophy and, you know, the history, uh, patterns right across history. So I, I think they're just as relevant as before, but I think like everything else, it has to evolve and we have to do, uh, a better job of applying those insights, right? Like to me, liberal arts as, as someone who navigated philosophy and English and psychology, uh, in my undergrad, I have found those skills to be so critical to everything I do. And so I, I think it's just making sure that we're taking it a step further and that we are using the liberal arts in a way that's applied, and that is clearly relevant. I, I think it's relevant, but as educators, I think we need to do a better job of, of making that connection. But, you know, as I said, again, this whole idea of, uh, critical thinking, um, and, uh, collaboration and insight, those are all things that I think our liberal arts are, are really good at helping us develop.

President Gregory Washington (33:30):
If you were talking to a young person right now, somebody just graduating out of high school and entering into the profession, you say, I want to be a teacher. Teachers really impacted me my entire life. And that's where I see myself having the greatest impact as a human. And that young person was looking at you, what are three things you would tell that person to make sure you do now while you're going through your educational framework in order to make you a, an effective teacher going forward?

Ingrid Guerra-López (34:08):
I definitely think that I would ask them to model adaptability, right? To make sure that as you enter the teaching profession, that you're aware that students are also looking at you and how well you embrace change. So I think that's one critical thing. Also, this idea that, that I mentioned before around problem-based learning is really critical. The world needs problem solvers, right? Ethical problem solvers that regardless of the workplace or context can work with others to solve complex problems. And so embedding that in the learning environment and in the learning experiences is, is really critical. So I, I think those are some of the critical things that I would make sure that they know is, is essential for an effective teacher.

President Gregory Washington (34:59):
Given where you sit as a leader and an administrator, right? And you're leading now cohorts of faculty, what do you tell them about how this disruption that's coming from AI, this, this change that's coming to the profession, what do you tell them about what they should be doing right now to adapt and to coexist with these technologies as they evolve?

Ingrid Guerra-López (35:29):
Experiment, right? I think one of the things that, that we're working on in the college is to have, or to develop an AI and other kind of emerging technologies tinkering lab where people are in an environment where they can explore and they can tinker and they can try out tools, whether it's with, uh, with fellow educators or, you know, a space for other, for educational leaders as well. There's on both ends of the spectrum in some, in some cases, a lot of fear about safety and the implications of using it. And then the other hand, very eager, uh, folk who want to use it and think it's the tool for all the, the problems. And so I think just having that community space for educators to explore, to experiment, to ask questions, to break things, to say, well, what happens if we do this? And, and to make that part of the learning experience, I think that's only going to reduce the fear and anxiety of the unknown.

President Gregory Washington (36:29):
Well, this is all good stuff, and the kind of thing that positions us well for the future. What do you tell your fellow deans, you know, some of which are really struggling with this technology, and you are kind of at the forefront of it, because outside of computer science, it probably affects your discipline more than any other.

Ingrid Guerra-López (36:50):
Yeah. I mean, we certainly talk, uh, I think as leaders often about, you know, how the implications of AI in the university and, and of course the workplace as well. I, I think, you know, what I would reiterate with my colleagues is that there is no one area that isn't impacted by the shifts in technology, whether it's AI or whatever comes after every single career, every single sector, every single space and community is being impacted by technology in one way or the other. And so we have a responsibility to understand if that's already changed our communities, and it's gonna change it even further. How do we adapt the preparation that we provide those students during the time they're with us to make sure that they're capable and ready to shape and contribute in that kind of world?

President Gregory Washington (37:47):
That's it. Well, we're gonna have to leave it there. Ingrid, thank you for sharing your vision and leadership with the educators of our future. I'm George �鶹��Ƶ president Gregory Washington. Thanks for listening. And tune in next time for more conversations that show why we are all together different.

Outro (38:16):
If you like what you heard on this podcast, go to podcast.gmu.edu for more of Gregory Washington's conversations with the thought leaders, experts, and educators who take on the grand challenges facing our students, graduates, and higher education. That's podcast gmu.edu.

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This initiative supports the Advancing 21st-Century Education for All solution of George �鶹��Ƶ's Grand Challenge Initiative

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Alumni athletic trainers give back to George �鶹��Ƶ

Katarina Benson — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:12:09 +0000

Alumni athletic trainers give back to George �鶹��Ƶ Katarina Benson Fri, 03/20/2026 - 15:12

For athletic trainers, every day begins with a simple mission: protect the health and safety of the athletes in their care. It is a role that demands clinical expertise, trust, communication, and an unwavering commitment to student well-being.

At �鶹��Ƶ, two alumni of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) are living that mission every day. Cheryl Hairston, BS Athletic Training ’15, and Jaylen Simmons, BS Kinesiology ’21, MS Athletic Training ’23, now serve George �鶹��Ƶ student-athletes as athletic trainers. Their journeys into the profession began with personal curiosity, mentorship, and formative experiences that ultimately shaped their careers.

Cheryl Hairston. Photo by George �鶹��Ƶ Athletics

Hairston’s path to athletic training began while she was exploring health care careers in high school. “I thought I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon,” she said. “But I didn’t want to be in school until I was 30. In my search for related professions, I found athletic training, and I thought it was really cool to be able to work directly with sports teams on the sidelines as a health care provider.”

Simmons’s inspiration came from firsthand experience with injury during his own athletic career. “What first drew me to athletic training was an injury I sustained while playing high school football,” he said. “During that time, I worked closely with my high school athletic trainer, which sparked my interest in the profession.”

Those early experiences eventually led both of them to George �鶹��Ƶ’s Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) Program within CEHD, where they developed the skills and mindset required to thrive in high-pressure athletic environments.

Hairston credits the program’s rigorous clinical experiences for preparing her to work in the high-pressure Division I athletics environment. “The experience in a variety of clinical settings prepared me well for the realities of working in DI athletics,” she said.

She recalls learning early on that the work of athletic trainers often requires creativity and adaptability. “I feel like the perception of DI athletics is that we have unlimited resources,” Hairston said. “Though we are fortunate to have many resources, we still have to be innovative and resourceful, especially when we’re on the road.”

Jaylen Simmons. Photo by George �鶹��Ƶ Athletics

Simmons agrees that the program demanded resilience and adaptability. “My experience in CEHD’s MSAT program taught me how to be more selfless than I had previously been,” said Simmons, who competed on George �鶹��Ƶ’s men’s track and field team while a student. “The faculty mentored and guided me through a challenging program while I was still competing as a Division I athlete myself. That experience prepared me to be flexible, adaptable, and ready to adjust to whatever environment I entered professionally.”

Today, their work supporting George �鶹��Ƶ athletes is both demanding and deeply rewarding. Athletic trainers provide care that spans injury evaluation, rehabilitation, prevention programs, emergency response, and coordination with physicians and specialists.

Hairston describes her days as a constant balance of responsibilities. “I spend the majority of my weekdays on patient care,” she said, “assessing injuries, treating and rehabbing injuries, creating preventative programs, responding to urgent situations, sitting in on doctor’s appointments, and documenting patient interactions. When we’re traveling, we might be at the track for 12 hours or more.”

But the profession is about far more than physical care.

“I try to get to know student-athletes as people, not just athletes,” Hairston said. “I see these athletes more than they see their family when they’re on campus, and I become part of that support system away from home.”

Simmons shares a similar philosophy.

“Honesty and showing athletes that you genuinely care goes a long way,” he said. “When athletes know you are honest with them and truly invested in their well-being, it helps build strong trust and lasting relationships.”

The role of athletic trainers is especially visible during the competitive season. Simmons works with the men’s soccer and wrestling teams. He begins his day preparing George �鶹��Ƶ’s men’s soccer team for practice, including “treatment, rehabilitation exercises, taping, stretching, and hydration,” he said. In the afternoon, he transitions to working with George �鶹��Ƶ’s men’s wrestling team, where he often manages more intensive post-operative care and wound management.

“Athletic trainers are truly the frontline of collegiate athletics,” Simmons said. “Our training allows us to recognize, evaluate, and treat injuries and guide athletes safely through the return-to-play process.”

For Hairston, the impact of athletic trainers extends across nearly every aspect of student-athlete health.

“We serve so many roles in the collegiate athletic space because of our varied skillset and proximity to our patients,” she said. “On any given day, we’re evaluating injuries, creating prevention programs, and responding to urgent situations.”

Despite the demanding schedule, both alumni say the relationships they build with student-athletes make the profession incredibly meaningful.

Working at George �鶹��Ƶ has added another layer of meaning to their careers. “Working at George �鶹��Ƶ was always my dream as an athletic trainer,” Hairston said. “My first clinical experience as a student was with George �鶹��Ƶ track and field, and now I’m the athletic trainer for that program. It’s really full circle for me.”

Simmons describes a similar sense of gratitude for his long affiliation with George �鶹��Ƶ. “This is my ninth year at �鶹��Ƶ, from being a student-athlete, to an MSAT student, and now a full-time professional.”

As National Athletic Training Month highlights the profession’s critical role in athlete health and safety, both alumni encourage students interested in the field to embrace the learning process.

“Learn the foundational stuff really well before you try to add glitter to what you’re doing,” Hairston said. “A great foundation will set you up for success and confidence.”

Together, their stories illustrate the powerful impact of CEHD’s Athletic Training Education Program, and the dedication required to support the health, safety, and success of student-athletes.

As Hairston reflects on her journey, one thing remains clear. “To be part of the student-athlete experience at George �鶹��Ƶ,” she said, “is everything.”

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Cross-college collaboration helps George �鶹��Ƶ dancers stay ready for the stage

Sarah Holland — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:44:40 +0000

Cross-college collaboration helps George �鶹��Ƶ dancers stay ready for the stage Sarah Holland Thu, 03/12/2026 - 13:44

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

As the athletic trainer for the George �鶹��Ƶ School of Dance, Jena Hansen-Honeycutt is one of the first to notice when something’s not quite right. So when she started seeing an influx in injuries among dance students, she approached College of Education and Human Development professor of athletic training Jatin Ambegaonkar and then-student Kelley Wiese, PhD Kinesiology ’25, hoping to find a solution.

Dancers are “aesthetic athletes,” meaning they have the high workloads and high injury rates like traditional athletes. “They dance for at least three hours a day in classroom practice alone,” said Hansen-Honeycutt. “And that doesn’t account for their extracurricular work: rehearsals, choreography, or additional practice.”

And like athletes, the dancers are also trying to balance heavy physical demands with their classes, sleep schedules, dietary needs, and social lives.

Despite this, dancers are often medically underserved.

“The blend of artistry and athleticism separates them from traditional athletes, yet they have the same physical demands often without a dedicated medical team to support them,” explained Ambegaonkar.

In exploring data collection opportunities to help answer Hansen-Honeycutt's inquiry, Wiese found that workload monitoring—common for traditional athletes—was underutilized in dance. And because fatigue is the number one self-reported cause of injury in dancers, she thought this would be the best place to start.

“We can recognize there’s a correlation between fatigue and injury, but you need data in order to make a stronger case for implementing cultural and systemic changes,” said Wiese. Wiese, a trained dancer and now an assistant professor of athletic training at Shenandoah University, worked with Ambegaonkar during her doctoral program at George �鶹��Ƶ on various studies at the intersection of kinesiology and dance.

Dancers were given wrist-worn biosensors to wear 24 hours a day for seven days. They repeated the study four times throughout the semester. “We wanted to understand the cycles of the body breaking down and recovering as workload increased and decreased throughout their semester,” explained Ambegaonkar.

Participating students were also given surveys to provide subjective perceptions of their workload, sleep habits, and energy levels.

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Reviewing the data, Wiese found that at peak times throughout the semester, students were spending more than seven hours a day completing moderate to vigorous physical activity between class, rehearsals, practice, and choreographing. As a result, energy levels decreased and fatigue increased, indicating a need for integrated recovery times and programs.

Another key finding from this study was the dissonance between students’ perceived sleep and the biosensor data. While students self-reported great and sufficient sleep, the biosensors reported insufficient sleep.

“Over time, insufficient sleep can lead to difficulty recovering and therefore higher rates of injury,” said Wiese. “Particularly when they’re already struggling to recover.”

As a result, the research team worked together to develop what Ambegaonkar calls “micro-interventions” through improved sleep health education programs to help students become aware of the issue and develop better sleep habits. Hansen-Honeycutt has created sleep health resources for students around the impacts of good sleep on their academic and physical performance and is working with the faculty to incorporate this messaging into their classrooms.

“It’s so important to have this collaborative, teamwork approach with dance faculty, because they’re setting the culture in their program or in their studio. They will be the ones imparting these changes,” said Wiese.

“This study proved to me that us dance majors are extremely active, more than I often realize!” said senior dance major Sanaa Fairley. “I learned that I could develop a much more consistent sleep schedule to set up my space and therefore my mind, in a healthy way each day to prepare for rest.” Fairley has implemented other recovery techniques, such as cold showers, into her routine as well because of the study.

Senior dance major T’aja Williams also reported improved sleep hygiene through a consistent bedtime, as well as making her more aware of how academic, socio-emotional, and physical activities impact her schedule and technology use. “This study allowed me to see where potential pockets of homework, rest, social media engagement, and phone calls can take place and making active decisions regarding where and when is healthiest for each activity,” she said.

Building good habits now will help George �鶹��Ƶ dance students have long and fulfilling careers in dance. And Ambegaonkar and Wiese think this study might help pave the way for further research into the physical demands and impacts of dance.

“I think George �鶹��Ƶ is a pioneer in the field of dance medicine,” said Ambegaonkar. “We’re broadening the scope of what kinesiology is in the public health domain and what it can do in the public health domain.”

Jena Hansen-Honeycutt (top left), Kelley Wiese (top center), and Jatin Ambegaonkar (top left) with dance students. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

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George �鶹��Ƶ researchers put firefighter fitness to the test

Katarina Benson — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:25:07 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ researchers put firefighter fitness to the test Katarina Benson Thu, 03/12/2026 - 12:25

With a new grant from Prince William County, �鶹��Ƶ kinesiology professor Joel Martin is leading a comprehensive yearlong study to uncover whether the Fire and Rescue Department’s Work Performance Exam (WPE) truly mirrors the grueling realities of firefighting. By tracking everything from metabolic strain to air consumption, the project aims to refine the test and strengthen the scientific foundation behind firefighter readiness standards.

The WPE is an occupational test to evaluate the fitness of an individual to the level required in firefighting. These functions include donning and securing a complete set of personal protective equipment; carrying, lifting, and extending a ladder; forcibly entering a structure with a sledgehammer; moving and lifting heavy loads from one location to another; and performing other essential occupational tasks in firefighting.

Firefighting tasks will be re-evaluated with the WPE study. Photo provided

The goal of the study is to determine whether the WPE accurately reflects the demands of real-world firefighting. Martin’s team also wants to see if they can predict the aerobic capacity of firefighters performing each task. They will generate evidence-based recommendations to refine the WPE while preserving its operational authenticity.

“We hope to support firefighter health and ensure that fitness standards are scientifically defensible and aligned with job demands,” said Martin, an associate professor in the Kinesiology Program of George �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Education and Human Development.

The WPE’s tasks are administered in a certain order and must be completed within specific time limits. These requirements were adopted as part of a previous validation based on interviews, conducted by a third-party research group, and an assessment of their test performance to determine acceptable time limits.

Martin’s project will expand on this work and evaluate the intensity of the physiological and metabolic requirements involved in performing each task to determine if the test accurately reflects demands.

Joel Martin leads the study. Photo provided

“While physical fitness does play a major factor in the time it takes to complete the test, it is not a physical fitness test per se,” Martin said. “There is a skill component to performing many of the tasks on the WPE.”

Also, while performing the WPE, firefighters are in full firefighting gear and breathing through a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), a specialized respirator worn in hazardous environments. “This adds additional challenges,” he said.

Approximately 100 medically cleared career firefighters will participate in the project, during which they will complete the tasks of the WPE and undergo laboratory-based fitness testing. These include calculating VO2max (amount of oxygen consumed), and strength and power assessments. During the administration of the test, wearable technology will be used to quantify the physiological responses of the firefighters, such as heart rate and estimated metabolic demand. In addition, VO2max levels will be assessed based on the amount of air firefighters consume wearing their SCBA.

The project team is also exploring a metric called “work efficiency,” which is computed based on the time needed to complete the WPE and how much air is consumed from the SCBA. Martin says this will provide further insight as to how capable firefighters are at their occupational duties.

“Understanding the overall levels of physical fitness that support safe and effective performance of firefighter tasks is essential,” Martin said. “Often the role of physical fitness components is studied from the perspective of individual fitness components. We are taking a more holistic approach in terms of considering all components of fitness in our analyses.”

Funding for this project is supporting the participation of Ramsey Zaytoun, a graduate student working with Martin who is pursuing a master of science in kinesiology through George �鶹��Ƶ’s accelerated bachelor’s/master’s program. Zaytoun will be using the data collected in this project as part of his MS thesis.

“This experience really helped me grow because it gave me hands-on exposure to the entire research process,” said Zaytoun.

This project will build upon the university’s prior collaborations with PWC Fire and Rescue and facilitate the implementation of an embedded research model in the future to support firefighter health and safety.

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Patriot Performance Lab helps athletes stay in the game

Sarah Holland — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:52:28 +0000

Patriot Performance Lab helps athletes stay in the game Sarah Holland Tue, 03/03/2026 - 12:52

To be an NCAA Division 1 student-athlete, you need a village. From dieticians to strength trainers to physical therapists, developing and maintaining fitness for elite competition is a collaborative effort. One way that �鶹��Ƶ Intercollegiate Athletics and the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) keep our athletes in top form is through evidence-based practices and science. That's where the Patriot Performance Lab comes in.

Erica King, right, works with a student-athlete. Photo by John Boal Photography.

The Patriot Performance Lab’s role is twofold: They monitor and measure athletes’ health as well as conduct research studies on athlete performance. Over the years, they’ve conducted numerous studies with various D1 teams—such as testing vitamin D levels in basketball players and knee joint adaptations in volleyball players—while providing athletes with critical data on their health metrics like body composition, VO2 Max, strength measurements, and more.

Margaret Jones. Photo by John Boal Photography.

“We’re not just a research lab,” emphasized Margaret Jones, professor in CEHD’s Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management Division and director of the Patriot Performance Lab. “Providing health services to athletes is also critical. It’s what makes the partnership work.”

Strong science communication skills are essential in this field. Researchers need to be able to translate data and results to coaches and student-athletes so they can adjust and improve. Chris Green, professor of sport management and director of the Center for Sport Management, works with the lab to help staff develop research communication skills.

“It’s relatively new to consider sports management in sports science,” she said. “The field as a whole is starting to ask how we can make good management decisions around athlete health and performance data. But the Patriot Performance Lab is already doing this work. It’s one of the things that makes us unique, and it’s what makes our work impactful.”

Green has been essential, Jones said, in helping lab members develop their communication skills and better understand how information is being shared from researchers to coaches to athletes.

“When they understand why I’m asking them to wear or do something and understand how this will benefit them, they’re more likely to perform at the level required in order for us to get good data,” said Noelle Saine, BS Kinesiology ’22, MS Kinesiology ’23, and a third-year PhD student. Saine, who was herself a student-athlete in track and field, understands the importance of strong communication between sport scientists and athletes.

“It’s establishing trust that what we’re doing will improve their health and performance,” said Jones.

Noelle Saine, right, runs a strength test with a student-athlete. Photo by John Boal Photography.

Collaboration with the coaches and athletic trainers is also critical. “We couldn’t do what we do without them,” said Saine. “They see the benefits and importance of what we do.”

Postdoctoral research fellow Erica King, BS in Bioengineering ’21, PhD Bioengineering ’25 and a former student athlete in swim and dive, has been leading the work on knee joint adaptations since she was a graduate student. She led a recent 9-month study using wearable sensors for tracking load during practice, counter-movement jump testing, wearable and clinical ultrasound, MRIs, and surveys to assess the load demands on volleyball players’ knees.

“At the end of the season, we were able to show the coaching staff the average number of jumps athletes complete in a 15-16 week period and the direct effects of that from a joint adaptation standpoint,” she said. “They found that data really helpful, and now they can tailor practice sessions to better support the players and help alleviate strain that could lead to injury.”

Athletes, coaches, and athletic trainers often come to the lab with questions for study and ideas. A blood lactate study with the swim team last spring was requested by the swimmers, who applied for and received an Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) grant to fund the study. The team collected data from blood draws, heart-rate monitors, DEXA scans, and jump testing. Early review suggests athlete stroke specialization and maximal power generation capabilities significantly impact accumulation in blood lactate levels during all-out swim bouts.

Noelle Saine leads a VO2 Max test on a student-athlete. Photo by John Boal Photography.

And as Saine and King can attest, the Patriot Performance Lab offers George �鶹��Ƶ students the opportunity to do hands-on research in a wide range of fields. There are opportunities for all levels of research, from postdocs like King to high school students interested in exploring this world of research for the first time.

“Having that R1 designation really gives us the extra push to be able to dive deep into research,” said Saine. “Faculty have always encouraged me to find what I’m passionate about and pursue it. And my experience has been that instead of being competitive, everyone wants to work together to push forward and improve.”

Green noted that Jones’ experience as both researcher and practitioner is also an important piece of the puzzle that makes the Patriot Performance Lab work. “[Jones’] capacity to connect all these parts and have both credibility and an understanding of what the needs are sets us apart,” she said.

Jones said she appreciates the openness and willingness of people at George �鶹��Ƶ to work together.“We’re supported on both sides by CEHD and Athletics.”

“The Patriot Performance Lab reflects what George �鶹��Ƶ does best, bringing research and practice together in service of people,” said Ingrid Guerra-López, dean of CEHD. “Our student-athletes are performing at the highest levels, and they deserve evidence-based support that protects their health and enhances their performance. This partnership between CEHD and Athletics ensures that science goes beyond the lab, to directly improve lives.”

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Trail improvements coming to Ben Brenman Park through George �鶹��Ƶ partnership

ckearney — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:43:53 +0000

Trail improvements coming to Ben Brenman Park through George �鶹��Ƶ partnership ckearney Mon, 02/23/2026 - 12:43

Iulia Fratila is quoted and student Bryce Neuman is mentioned. Read more at ALX Now.

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College of Education and Human Development launches initiative to strengthen Virginia’s educator workforce

Katarina Benson — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:04:24 +0000

College of Education and Human Development launches initiative to strengthen Virginia’s educator workforce Katarina Benson Mon, 02/23/2026 - 11:04

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at �鶹��Ƶ is kicking off Future Ready Teachers, a new initiative designed to strengthen Virginia’s educator workforce by removing financial barriers, innovating and elevating teacher preparation, and supporting teachers from entry through their early years in the classroom.

Future Ready Teachers responds to a growing challenge in Virginia and across the nation: Too many aspiring educators step away from the profession—or leave it early—due to cost, limited early-career support, and salaries that often do not align with the cost of living. The result is a teacher shortage that disproportionately affects high-poverty, rural, and high-need schools, limiting PK–12 students’ access to stable, high-quality learning environments. With deep regional partnerships and a strong track record of preparing effective educators, George �鶹��Ƶ is positioned to deliver a scalable, high-impact solution.

Future Ready Teachers supports future educators. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

“At �鶹��Ƶ, we believe every aspiring educator deserves the opportunity to succeed, regardless of financial barriers or the realities of sustaining a career in teaching today,” said Ingrid Guerra-López, dean of CEHD. “Future Ready Teachers reflects our responsibility to address the nation’s teacher shortage by investing not only in access, but in forward-looking innovative preparation, sustained support, and long-term success in the profession.”

The urgency is clear. Eighty-six percent of U.S. public schools report hiring challenges due to a lack of qualified applicants, with Virginia reporting more than 3,600 teacher vacancies in 2024-25. Each Future Ready Teachers scholar represents a stable classroom and hundreds of students reached over a career, strengthening schools and communities across the commonwealth.

“Teacher preparation is the cornerstone of educational excellence,” said Audra Parker, director of CEHD’s Office of Teacher Preparation. “When we invest in teachers and teacher preparation, we’re investing in the lives of students who will shape tomorrow’s future.”

The initiative focuses on three priorities: removing financial barriers, advancing teacher preparation for evolving classrooms demands, and supporting educators beyond graduation. Funds raised will provide full-ride and cost-of-living scholarships and sustain a rigorous model that integrates structured mentorship, a three-year induction program, and preparation for technology-enabled, data-rich learning environments, positioning teaching as a rigorous, future-ready profession designed to attract and retain top talent.

This comprehensive approach positions Future Ready Teachers as more than a scholarship effort; It is a workforce strategy designed to increase teacher retention, reduce preventable turnover, and strengthen long-term classroom stability.

“Future Ready Teachers represents a bold commitment to every child, every classroom, and every future,” said Guerra-López. “It is an investment in people and in the long-term strength and stability of our education system.”

This initiative supports the Advancing 21st-Century Education for All solution of George �鶹��Ƶ's Grand Challenge Initiative

Future Ready Teachers is part of the �鶹��Ƶ Now campaign.

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Project PATRIOTS helps fund a pathway to special education teacher licensure for community college transfers

Sarah Holland — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:57:58 +0000

Project PATRIOTS helps fund a pathway to special education teacher licensure for community college transfers Sarah Holland Mon, 02/09/2026 - 10:57

Education advocates and experts have worked for decades to increase the number of special education teachers. Over the past 10 years, the workforce shortage has reached critical status, leading the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs to increase funding for special education teacher training.

Margaret Weiss. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

One such program is the College of Education and Human Development’s newly funded Project PATRIOTS: Pathways to Accessible Teacher prepaRation with InnOvations for Transfer Students. Led by Associate Professor Margaret Weiss with support from Assistant Professor Alexandra Raines, Associate Professor Kristen O'Brien, and Professor Kelley Regan, Project PATRIOTS will fund two cohorts of seven students each, transferring to George �鶹��Ƶ from a community college, whether through the ADVANCE Program or otherwise. Funding covers tuition, housing, transportation stipends, book stipends, licensure testing stipends, and more.

The cost of a degree compared to median salaries for special education teachers makes it difficult for some students to pursue the field. By removing financial barriers, Project PATRIOTS will increase access for potential teachers and improve their likelihood of staying in the field.

“The grant is intended to provide the support necessary for nontraditional students to get that special education teacher licensure and to increase access to this career pathway,” explained Weiss. “It provides our George �鶹��Ƶ special education program with an opportunity to graduate a greater number of highly qualified, well-trained special educators who will remain in the field."

Another key to retention is preparedness. Through CEHD and the Department of Special Education’s strong connections to local networks of support, the incoming cohorts of PATRIOTS students will have the opportunity to work with and learn from experts. The faculty of George �鶹��Ƶ’s highly ranked special education program will provide the coursework and Weiss plans to integrate the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) Parent Resource Center, so students can hear the parent perspective on special education and learn how to best support students and their families. The cohorts will also attend the VDOE/Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC)'s Content Teaching Academies over the summer, learning alongside practicing teachers.

“These connections will really provide a unique opportunity for these students,” Weiss said.

Students in George �鶹��Ƶ’s special education teacher licensure programs may also have the opportunity to work directly with participants in the four-year �鶹��Ƶ LIFE program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who want to go to college and earn a certificate of completion. Working for �鶹��Ƶ LIFE provides direct access to hands-on learning experiences right on campus.

Currently, the grant provides funding for two cohorts of students. Weiss hopes that the partnerships formed between community college divisions, VDOE, TTAC, and George �鶹��Ƶ will persist post-funding as an important pathway for prospective special education teachers.

“Every day, all of us in special education come to work because we want to put great teachers out there,” she said, “and we hope that our students will become leaders in this space because of their knowledge and preparation in high-quality instruction. We’re all excited to see where this program will lead.”

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George �鶹��Ƶ's College of Education and Human Development is advancing responsible AI in education

ckearney — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 20:39:13 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ's College of Education and Human Development is advancing responsible AI in education ckearney Wed, 01/28/2026 - 15:39

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape education, �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is helping chart a path for schools to adapt AI responsibly, equitably, and effectively. Through the Educational Research Alliance of Northern Virginia (ERA.NOVA), a research and practice partnership that connects CEHD and other George �鶹��Ƶ faculty with K–12 and state leaders, the college is convening some of the region’s most forward-thinking voices to define what readiness for AI in education truly means.

ERA.NOVA Fall Convening brought together state policymakers, division technology officers, superintendents, and faculty researchers to explore how AI is changing the K-12 landscape across Virginia. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

This year’s focus on AI in education within ERA.NOVA reflects the vision of CEHD Dean Ingrid Guerra-López and ERA.NOVA’s school superintendent partners. It positions the alliance as a catalyst for forward-looking, research-informed solutions for school districts across the region and will strengthen educational opportunity and readiness for the future.

That necessity of the shared vision was evident at the ERA.NOVA Fall Convening in late October, which brought together state policymakers, division technology officers, superintendents, and faculty researchers to explore how AI is changing the K-12 landscape across Virginia. Participants shared a common understanding: The question is no longer whether AI belongs in education, but how to implement it in ways that strengthen instruction, prepare students, and ensure safety.

Superintendent Dan Hornick of Orange County Public Schools described his district’s efforts to balance innovation with responsibility. “We cannot pretend the future does not exist,” he said. “If we do not teach students to use AI responsibly, we are not preparing them for the world they are entering.”

Hornick’s division created flexible guidelines and integrated conversations about AI into curriculum planning and professional learning communities. Success, he said, depends on taking time to address privacy, safety, and teacher preparation before expanding implementation.

At the state level, Calypso Gilstrap, executive director of the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Innovation, outlined the commonwealth’s Guidelines for AI Integration Throughout Education (PDF), which emphasize age-appropriate use of AI, careful tool selection, family engagement, and collaborative policy development.

“AI readiness is no longer optional,” Gilstrap said. “There are 32,000 jobs in the United States right now with AI in the title. Our students need these skills today, not 10 years from now.”

By 2029, she added, the department expects AI to be part of problem-based learning across grade levels, beginning with early exposure in kindergarten.

Gilstrap stressed that AI should not be seen as a shortcut to learning. Students must learn to question AI-generated content, verify information, and maintain human connection as they use digital tools. “Well-trained teachers can use AI to enhance their work, not replace it,” she said.

From George �鶹��Ƶ CEHD’s research perspective, Elizabeth Davis, postdoctoral fellow with EdPolicyForward, shared findings from the AI for Responsive Inclusive School Enhancement (ARISE) project. The project examines how school districts can use AI to identify and interpret research, such as to expand evidence-based interventions used to support school improvement planning.

Davis coauthored AI in K-12 Education: What School Divisions May Consider in Preparing for the Future and the companion PDF resource AI in K-12 Education: Preparing for the Future . Both publications were shared with convening participants and highlight emerging research on effective and ethical implementation.

“Efficiency must never come at the cost of human judgment,” Davis said.

Her team’s findings, focused on AI literacy, ethical design, and data governance, reflected many of the same priorities discussed by district leaders. She also noted that Northern Virginia’s position as the world’s largest data center hub gives the region an opportunity to lead in sustainable and ethical AI use.

District technology leaders Aaron Smith of Loudoun County Public Schools and Sharon Shewbridge of Stafford County Public Schools shared how their divisions are turning policy and research into local action. Smith emphasized the importance of protecting students and ensuring that the tools brought into classrooms are safe and developmentally appropriate. “Our focus has to be on protecting students and understanding what K–12 really needs from AI before we bring it into classrooms,” he said.

Audra Parker, director of George �鶹��Ƶ’s Office of Teacher Preparation, underscored that preparing educators is essential to any successful AI strategy. “AI readiness is ultimately about people,” Parker said. “Teachers need structured opportunities to build confidence, deepen their understanding, and practice using these tools in ways that elevate the irreplaceable human work of teaching. When we invest in educator preparation, we ensure that AI supports learning rather than driving it.”

Participants agreed that responsible integration of AI requires more than access to new tools. It calls for a shared framework grounded in educator expertise, ethical design, and a commitment to equity. Several divisions are also involving students directly in AI policy discussions, forming advisory committees and encouraging young people to provide feedback on how these technologies are used in classrooms.

“Students are already using these tools,” Gilstrap noted. “The question is how we guide them to use it well.”

The convening also reflected CEHD’s growing role as a thought leader, particularly in defining how institutions can prepare students and educators for a future shaped by intelligent systems. Under Dean Guerra-López’s direction, ERA.NOVA is intentionally bridging scholarly expertise with the urgent, practical needs of school divisions navigating AI’s rapid evolution.

Guerra-López emphasized that this kind of collaboration reflects CEHD’s mission to bridge research, policy, and practice for the public good. “Artificial intelligence is accelerating the evolution of work and learning.” Guerra-López said. “We launched this year’s ERA.NOVA focus on AI because our partners told us they needed guidance grounded in both research and real-world practice. As we prepare future educators, we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to lead—to ensure AI strengthens human development, expands opportunity, and supports ethical, future-ready learning across our schools.”

The Fall Convening was the first in ERA.NOVA’s 2025–26 series on Artificial Intelligence in Education. Upcoming sessions will continue to explore readiness, capacity building, and ethical implementation across all levels of the education system.

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