Learning Links Newsletter

Learning Forward New Jersey’s Day of Learning, held on March 25, 2026, brought together approximately 80 educators and leaders for an energizing day focused on the core of our work: making professional learning meaningful, engaging, and durable.

We were joined by Dr. Peter Carpenter, Founder of Leadwise Coaching and Consulting and a veteran educator with over 30 years of experience. Known as a "professional galvanizer," Peter shared his passion for creating joyful learning spaces that empower people to lead and love their own learning for a lifetime.

As a former principal and Director of Organizational Development, Peter’s insights as an International Coaching Federation and Gallup Certified Coach provided a powerful foundation for our session.

Session Takeaways

• Making Learning Stick: Grounded in adult learning principles, we explored how to elevate teacher voice and choice to transform everyday meetings into powerful learning opportunities.

• Effective Design: Participants discovered strategies to ensure professional learning has a lasting impact on both teaching and student outcomes.

• Measuring What Matters: Facilitated by Michelle Della Fortuna, this segment focused on practical protocols to assess if professional learning is working and how to use that data effectively.

• Building Collaboration: Attendees shared strategies to strengthen professional collaboration across their schools and districts.

Throughout every session and conversation, our focus remained clear: joyfully equipping and empowering educators to serve their students better. Whether discussing instructional vision or practical protocols, the goal was to ensure our leadership leads to victory in the classroom.

Join us for a discussion featuring the article,

"A Better Approach to Student Behavior"

by Greg Lane, Peter Nowak, Dominic Piacentini, & Joseph Jackson

from The Learning Professional, December 2025

(Article access and Zoom Invite upon registration)

Leave with new ideas for cultivating a more positive learning environment!

Cost: FREE

Date: Thursday, April 23, 2026

Time: 4:00-5:00 PM

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED!

"You Can’t Teach What You Don’t Know: AI Literacy Starts with You"

written by Lori Gracey March 17, 2026

The Research Is Clear: Educator Readiness Comes First

Brain research consistently tells us that learning is social, contextual, and modeled. Students don’t just absorb information. They watch what their teachers do, trust what their teachers know, and mirror the confidence, curiosity, or anxiety those teachers bring to new topics.

That’s why the most important thing you can do for AI literacy in your school or district isn’t to hand students a chatbot. It’s to become AI-literate yourself.

This protocol intends to raise a variety of perspectives about a topic, experience, or new learning. It is important to listen to understand and to look at the topic learning from different points of view. This protocol can be used to respond to a reading, a lesson, a workshop, an experience. etc.

1. Take a few minutes to review your notes and highlight ideas that were interesting, challenging and thought-provoking (2 minutes)
2. Select a facilitator for your table to monitor time and move the conversation through the 4A's (1 minute).
3. As a table group, focus your conversation on the underlying ASSUMPTIONS of what you learned. (5-10 minutes).
4. Move the conversation on to ideas that you AGREE with (5-10 minutes).
5. Shift the dialogue to ideas that you would ARGUE with (5 -10 minutes).
6. Bring closure to your group's dialogue by identifying ideas from the reading that you ASPIRE to APPLY (5-10 minutes).

• Learning Forward New Jersey newsletters and other communications
• Invitations to all Learning Forward New Jersey functions
• Discounted registration fees for all Learning Forward New Jersey professional learning opportunities

• Offer suggestions to the Board as may seem advisable for the good of the organization
• Influence state-level decisions regarding professional learning

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