We were back live this week in preparation for ISTE - this is a great one! Thinkering was joined by Lindsey Cannon, Lindsey C founder of Reify Educates and one of the sharpest systems thinkers we have had in this space. The conversation covered burnout, AI in the classroom, chronic absenteeism, and a handful of capstone projects from our spring cohort that you need to know about. Here is the quick version.
The Question of the Day: If We Have Known How Learning Works for 25 Years, Why Are We Still Ignoring It?
Our Thinkering Impact Board member and principal Dr. Kip Glazer put a question out on substack that stopped the room cold. The book How People Learn was published by the National Academies in 2000. Twenty-five years ago. The research on how human beings actually absorb and retain knowledge has been sitting there and yet schedules, assessments, and classroom design have largely not moved.
Lindsey put the problem as plainly as it can be put. The instinct in education is always to add. A new program, a new framework, a new initiative dropped into an already overloaded system. The better question is what can be tweaked in what is already happening, not what can be piled on top. Every yes, as she put it, is a no to something else. That was always true, not just when budgets get cut.
The Headlines: Burnout, AI, and Empty School Buildings
This week we hit three stories that are all really the same story. Fifty-seven percent of educators are chronically burned out according to a new RAND survey, AI is doing student work faster than schools can figure out how to respond, and chronic absenteeism is hollowing out buildings in districts across the country. Watch the episode for the full conversation.
Spring Capstones Worth Your Attention
The show ran through the final cohort presentations from this spring before the summer break. Here are a few that stood out.
Connie Stahl built a Book Creator resource that weaves phonics, morphology, and vocabulary directly into novel studies, piloted with Eagle Song. Upper grade teachers are rarely trained in phonics. Students past fourth grade still need it. Connie built the bridge and is now taking it to BOCES workshops across New York so other teachers can build their own versions.
Cassie Godio built a location-based field trip resource. A curated map connecting nearby community sites with books, project prompts, and past classroom experiences, all in one place for teachers to access by location. The team’s immediate reaction was that this is an app waiting to happen. Cassie is down. More on this soon.
Mary Kaiser from Ulster BOCES put students with emotional disabilities in charge of a podcast series on AI. Students designed the survey, collected data from their school community, analyzed it, built the podcast, branded it, and managed distribution. The survey spread organically through peer networks and sparked real conversations the students could watch happening in real time. Jim described her eyes twinkling every few minutes during the presentation. That is the spark.
Lindsey’s Plug: Win the First 20 Days
Lindsey closed with something worth knowing about. She has a new resource called Win the First 20 Days of the School Year. It is a plug-and-play PD guide for school-based leaders focused on building student confidence before anything else. Her point: we spend enormous energy on how to present standards and not nearly enough on whether students have the confidence to even enter the learning. Start there. Set up the year differently from day one.
Find her work through Reify Educates. She is very active on LinkedIn! Give her a subscribe - Lindsey C - you won’t regret it!
Where We Are Heading
ISTE in Orlando is June 28th through July 1st.
Join us at the Block Party
On Monday night at ISTE, Edmentum and Roadtrip Nation are hosting a block party event open to all conference attendees. And the Thinkering Collective team will be there! We’ll be on site recording interviews and connecting with educators – come join us! Look for Roadtrip Nation’s famed big green RV at The Pointe for an exclusive tour and then join the party in Taffer’s Tavern for refreshments and giveaways.
Where: Taffer’s Tavern – 9101 International Dr. #1204
When: 6:00 - 8:00 PM, June 29
Learn more and RSVP: https://www.edmentum.com/lp/edmentum-iste-2026
POST ISTE, the momentum grows! Deeper Learning New York in Kingston is July 14th and 15th. After that, a full fall conference tour across DC, Massachusetts, and beyond. Subscriber network launching soon with live show access, workshops, and content from over fifty partnering education media properties.
If you are not subscribed on Substack yet, now is a good time.
See you next week, LIVE FROM ISTE!!
Thinkering Weekly - Live! airs on Wednesdays - come participate in the chat on substack. Fellowship applications are open at Thinkeringcollective.org
