Teaching in the Age of AI: Reflections from the Krause Center for Innovation
Last summer, I took the AI Capstone course at the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College, and it completely reframed how I think about artificial intelligence in education. I’ve always been curious about new technology, but this course went well beyond learning how to “use” AI tools. We unpacked how large language models (LLMs)…
MERIT20
Meet four teachers who recently participated in MERIT20, KCI’s premier professional learning program. Find out how it has benefitted their students during this challenging year and provided valuable methods and tools for years to come.
Teaching Physics & Design Thinking: A Sample Lesson from Our NGSS Instructor
Our NGSS Program Instructor, Greg Brown, has prepared a video lesson that teaches Physics and Design Thinking concepts with a simple and fun project…
KCI’s NGSS Program Supports the New Standards for Science
Clunk! Swish! Tong… TONG! These are the sounds participants in the KCI NGSS Program hear as they bump ordinary clothes hangers, connected to short pieces of string, against different surfaces in the classroom. After two minutes of self-directed exploration, the students are “hooked” by this phenomenon! Questions begin to form: Why are the sounds so…
The New MERIT Program 2.0
The MERIT program launched with a new name this year: Making Education Relevant through Innovative Teaching. A total of 42 educators from all over the Bay Area, California, and beyond (coming from as far away as Hawaii and El Salvador) gathered together at KCI for a two-week summer intensive in July. This marked the beginning…
Microsoft Supports CS Program & Workshops
For the last three years, KCI’s Computer Science Crash Course for Educators has been a hit with educators who want to learn more about how to integrate CS into their curriculum and classrooms. And last September, the State Board of Education adopted California’s first-ever computer science standards. Although not mandatory, these standards are expected to…
Popular FAME Program Expands to East Bay
KCI is extending the reach of its math professional learning program, FAME (Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence), for middle and high school teachers. After nine years of recruiting teachers from Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, FAME will take place in Alameda at Saint Philip Nerit Catholic School with the intent of reaching more teachers…
New KCI Makerspace Initiative: Corporate Team Building
KCI was fortunate to receive a two-year grant from the state chancellor’s office through the California Community Colleges Maker Initiative. The grant is coming to an end, and KCI is actively pursuing ways to fund the makerspace moving forward. Luckily, KCI has an advisory board with creative members, and at the winter meeting, the idea…
CIO Program: A New Breed of Education Execs
KCI kicked off its first Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) program in summer 2018. Seventeen educators from across the state participated in this 27-unit program that trains educators to fill a real need at the school district level—a new breed of cabinet-level educational leaders who are also sufficiently trained in IT infrastructure. With appropriately trained leaders,…
Two Makerspace Coordinator Cohorts Graduate
Makerspaces are rapidly being implemented by schools, school districts, libraries, and community centers throughout the Bay Area, creating a need for trained staff to plan, implement, and run these spaces. KCI founded its own makerspace in 2017 and shortly after launched a new state-approved certificate—Makerspace Coordinator. This 10-month, 18-unit program is designed for people who…
Upping the Ante in Math PD
KCI doubled down on math professional development this summer. Not only was the FAME (Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence) program for middle and high school teachers offered for the ninth year, but KCI also launched EMPowered, a new math PD program specifically for 4th and 5th grade teachers. FAME is a blended program that consists…