iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 29/09/2026

The best instructional coaches I know ask questions they do not have answers to yet. Coaching is not delivering feedback. It is thinking alongside a teacher until the next move becomes obvious. What is a question you could sit with this week?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 26/09/2026

The hardest part of instructional coaching is the first five minutes of the first classroom visit, when a teacher decides whether you are an evaluator in disguise. Trust is the work. On Kindle now: www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKTH4T65

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 26/09/2026

Co-teaching fails quietly when one partner becomes a permanent assistant. We wrote Co-Teaching Evolved because the model has to be intentional or it collapses into proximity. Presence is not partnership. What does intentional look like in your building?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 25/09/2026

The Kindle edition of Crush It from the Start: 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders is out today. For the coach who owns other adults' growth with no authority over them. Get it: www.amazon.com/Crush-Start-Instruct… #ad

Book cover of Crush It from the Start: 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders by Matthew Rhoads. Dark chalkboard background with pastel sticky notes and a large white 25.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 24/09/2026

The Kindle edition of my book, Crush It from the Start: 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders, is out today. A playbook for the coach responsible for adult growth without authority. www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKTH4T65

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 24/09/2026

Teachers tell me the same thing about AI tools: students finish faster and know less. That gap is the whole issue. Speed of completion and depth of learning are not the same outcome. What evidence would convince you a tool actually improved learning?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 22/09/2026

A district can log a million AI sessions and still not know a single thing about learning. Engagement metrics measure presence, not growth. Before you renew an AI contract this year, ask the vendor one question: what evidence shows students learned more? If they show you a dashboard, ask again.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 19/09/2026

The model is the access point. If your co-teaching model defaults to one teacher talking and the other managing, you are not co-teaching. You are staffing. The model you run decides what your students learn. What model is actually doing the teaching?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 17/09/2026

The question is not whether students use AI. It is when. Timed access beat unrestricted access in the study I keep citing. The norm you set in week one sets the year. When will you set the AI norm in your classroom?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 15/09/2026

New instructional coaches start the year with a portfolio full of frameworks and no clear first move. I keep telling them the framework is not the plan. The plan is the relationship, then the observation, then the feedback. What is your first move as a coach this year?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 12/09/2026

The most common co-teaching model in American schools is one teach, one observe. It is the safest model and the least useful one. We built Co-Teaching Evolved to move past it. The model you default to is the one that decides what your students learn. What model are you actually running?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 10/09/2026

A superintendent told me her AI dashboard showed login frequency up 40 percent this year. That is a good number. It is also the wrong number. I keep asking what the 40 percent bought in learning. The dashboard does not say. What would your district measure if it could only pick one learning outcome?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 10/09/2026

New post: one focus for instructional coaching this year. Four words, grounded in cognitive science: Cut. Match. Show. Again. Cut what students must hold. Match words to a visual that carries meaning. Show a fully worked example first. Return to it again, spaced and on purpose.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 09/09/2026

Before teachers pick up a new tool, they should ask: what does the science say this tool actually does for learning? The demo is not the evidence. What is the evidence behind your next tool?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 09/09/2026

Most school systems measure AI adoption by login counts. Logins tell you students are there. They do not tell you students are learning. I keep asking leaders for the learning evidence and keep getting the engagement dashboard. What would it look like to measure learning instead of access?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 05/09/2026

New coaches don't need more frameworks. They need a sequence: trust first, then instructional range, then systemic impact. My 25 Tips gives first-year coaches a 90-day plan from listening to leading change. amazon.com/dp/B0DZQRL7YC?tag=drrhoadseduca-20 #ad

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 04/09/2026

We wrote 50 Tips for New Teachers with Dr. Fecich, Dr. Jakubowski, and Dr. Leichtman because the first year needs a sequence, not more theory. First 50 days, first grading period, first parent conference. Five min to read, one class period to apply. amazon.com/dp/1737864347?tag=drrhoadseduca-20 #ad

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 29/08/2026

44% of new teachers leave within five years. The first year is the highest-risk period (Ingersoll et al., 2018). Our tips won't fix the structural problems behind that number. They help a new teacher stay long enough to benefit from the policy work above them. 50teachertips.com

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 28/08/2026

New paper: AI safety alignment is often superficial. Adversarial framing (creative writing, role play) bypasses refusal mechanisms by hiding harmful intent in benign contexts. For K-12: surface refusal is not a safety policy. arxiv.org/abs/2608.20378

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 28/08/2026

The first year of teaching is overwhelming because no one gives you a sequence. 50 Tips for New Teachers: 50 short, specific tips from four authors (Rhoads, Fecich, Jakubowski, Leichtman). Five minutes to read, apply the next day. 50teachertips.com

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 27/08/2026

New paper proposes 'Slow AI' design principles (slower, lower-throughput, more durable) as a counterweight to maximalist generative AI. For districts: slow AI is a defensible procurement category. Ask vendors per-task energy cost. arxiv.org/abs/2608.20398

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 26/08/2026

New paper: TTS dialogue lesson formats interact with learner style. No universally best format, concrete-experience and active-experimentation learners respond differently. AI as a portfolio of formats per lesson, not one format per learner. arxiv.org/abs/2608.20822

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 25/08/2026

New paper: a diagnostic taxonomy of six LLM misconceptions teachers carry into AI classrooms. Deflationary vs. anthropomorphic folk theories. Useful for AI professional development. arxiv.org/abs/2608.20421

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 22/08/2026

The transition from teacher to coach is harder than most districts admit. You move from a classroom where you control outcomes to a role where you influence them through other adults. If you are onboarding new coaches this fall, start with the relationship domain. Everything else depends on it.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 21/08/2026

New instructional coaches start the year with frameworks and no clear sequence for what to do first. 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders is organized into four domains: relationships, coaching cycle, technology integration, and professional learning. matthewrhoads.com/books

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 14/08/2026

Before August ends, every co-teaching pair should answer: which model are we using, and why? "One teach, one assist" underuses the second teacher (Friend & Cook, 2017). Dr. Karge and I lay out a three-stage progression matched to lesson type and student needs. coteachingevolved.com

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 13/08/2026

Cognitive offloading supports the teacher's thinking. Cognitive outsourcing replaces it. The tool is the same. The professional judgment is the difference. A four-check audit (cognitive science, curriculum, pacing, slop detection) is what separates the two. matthewrhoads.com

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 08/08/2026

134 bills in 31 states regulate AI in education because data leaves the device. Local inference changes that. Models can run on school laptops, free, with zero data transmission. The privacy compliance problem disappears. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/18/local-…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 06/08/2026

Katy ISD near Houston unveiled one of the most detailed grade-by-grade AI frameworks from any large US district. Nearly 100,000 students. K-6: AI chatbots banned. 7th: supervised district-approved tools only. 8th-12th: AI for specific purposes with teacher authorization, must cite AI use.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 30/07/2026

200 laptops. One afternoon. Zero vendor calls. LM Studio + an open-source model, pushed through MDM. No contracts, no licensing, no servers. The laptops are the infrastructure. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/18/local-…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 28/07/2026

Claude for Teachers can build personalized instruction overnight. But every AI-generated material should pass four checks before it reaches students: cognitive science, curriculum, pacing, and slop detection. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/24/the-of…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 26/07/2026

A school pays $14,400/year for AI tools. The open-weight equivalent is free, runs on laptops they already own, and offers better privacy by design. A 500-teacher district spends six figures for what's available at no cost. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/18/local-…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 25/07/2026

China has a binding K-9 AI curriculum standard and prescriptive classroom guardrails. The U.S. has a state patchwork and federal encouragement. Both bets are uncertain. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/20/two-ro…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 24/07/2026

Chinese policymakers settled whether AI belongs in schools in 2017. U.S. educators are still arguing. China is now asking how, at what scale, with what guardrails, and how to fund the rural gap. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/20/two-ro…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 22/07/2026

134 bills in 31 states regulate AI in education — all because data leaves the device. Local inference changes that. Models run on school laptops, free, zero data transmission. The privacy compliance problem disappears. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/18/local-…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 19/07/2026

California just shipped the first state-level model AI policy for K-12 schools. One state now has a template that 49 others can adopt, adapt, or ignore. The districts that move first will define the national pattern. cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr26ltr0706.asp

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 18/07/2026

25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders — coaching cycles, feedback conversations, teacher partnerships. Real growth, not checklists. 5/5 on Amazon. matthewrhoads.com/books

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 17/07/2026

Four steps for districts building AI literacy: 1. Start with the learning problem, not the technology 2. Does the tool offload or outsource cognition? 3. PD: cognitive science first, tool second 4. Demand impact evidence, not usage data

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 16/07/2026

"If a vendor cannot provide evidence of impact on student learning, that is the answer." Evidence-first AI literacy means demanding proof, not promises. matthewrhoads.com/2026/07/07/beyond-the-hype-an-evidence-first-framework-for-ai-literacy-in-education/

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 15/07/2026

10 books for educators this summer — organized by your role. Coaches, co-teachers, leaders, specialists. Every one rated 5/5 on Amazon. Plus 22 free coaching templates. matthewrhoads.com/books

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 13/07/2026

Cognitive offloading is not cognitive outsourcing. A tool that identifies a misconception and routes to a worked example = offloading. Supports the teacher. An AI that writes the answer = outsourcing. Replaces student thinking.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 06/07/2026

4 volumes of evidence-based teaching moves across reading, writing, math, science. All 5-star rated. The Amplify Learning series. Browse: www.amazon.com/stores/Matthew-Rhoad…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 06/07/2026

Three cognitive science principles most unit plans ignore: Retrieval. Spacing. Interleaving. AI removes design labor. Use it for the design, not against it. Read: matthewrhoads.com/2025/08/28/using-…

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 01/07/2026

New teachers + co-teachers, your summer stack: 50 Tips for New Teachers (5/5 ★) and Co-Teaching Evolved (5/5 ★). Real strategies, real partnerships. → matthewrhoads.com/books

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 28/06/2026

Week reflection: AI changes the math for leaders in three places. Unit planning. Edtech architecture. Teacher rollout. Same AI tool. Different leadership decisions downstream. The variable: edtech procurement or instructional leadership?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 27/06/2026

When students 'just don't remember,' the answer is almost never effort. It is design. Memory is not a muscle you train. It is a system you engineer. Retrieval. Spacing. Interleaving. Low-stakes recall. Three minutes at the end of class beats re-teaching the next day.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 26/06/2026

The future of edtech is local. Districts that own the layer where AI meets their curriculum stop renting everything. Owning nothing means you rent everything. Owning the wrong layer means you are still renting what matters most. Which layer should your district own?

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 25/06/2026

Three cognitive science principles most unit plans ignore: Retrieval. Spacing. Interleaving. AI removes the design labor. The deciding factor is whether teachers hold the line when retrieval feels slower than re-teaching. The science has been settled for 20 years. Most classrooms still skip it.

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 24/06/2026

Most AI rollouts in districts fail for one reason: they read like security briefings. Not the next edtech cycle. A leadership decision, not a tool rollout. Three shifts: 1. Teaching > tech 2. Evaluation > procurement 3. Vision > risk comms

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Dr. Matt Rhoads @matthewrhoads.com · 21/06/2026

Passive review builds familiarity. Active study builds fluency. The gap between the two is wider than most people think â and it applies to PD, not just test prep. matthewrhoads.com/2026/06/06/i-built-a-personalized-study-system-with-claude-here-is-the-science-behind-why-it-worked/

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