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NCBCE AI Fellows Capstone

Summary

The Capstone is your opportunity to lead and showcase what you are learning in this fellowship. It is open-ended and flexible, but you are tasked with completing two or three activities/products to show your inquiry into how AI can be thoughtfully integrated to transform teaching, learning, and leadership in schools. The year will culminate in a Capstone Showcase in June where Fellows will share both a product and the process used to lead AI integration in their schools. This allows each Fellow to come away with an arsenal of adaptable ideas and resources and continue their journey of thoughtful AI integration. Win-win!

Capstone Ideas

Below are suggested products and activities split into three categories. You do not necessarily have to pick one from each category. What is more important is that you do what works for you! This is only a small part of your job as an educator and is not meant to be burdensome but fruitful! Consider how you can design something that safely increases engagement and curiosity. What can you bring to the table? How will you measure impact?

Policy

  • Speak to your principal or PLC about why it is crucial to educate students on AI responsibility. Develop talking points that can be shared with the Fellows.
  • Create an AI policy for, or with, your students. Share your process and the policy produced.
  • If your district has not adopted an AI policy, establish your voice with the school board. Present on responsible AI and why AI is something we cannot ignore. As Dr. Hemphill put it, if you’re not at the table, you are on the menu! Share your presentation or talking points.

Practice

  • Integrate the Analog Inspiration activity cards in a lesson with students.
  • Take the curriculum map and meet with your assistant superintendent on the pacing guide. How can it integrate AI literacy?
  • Host a table/session on AI at a curriculum or parent night. Have parents do some of the activities from the Participant Guide from Emma Braaten’s workshop.
  • Host a panel of local employers (perhaps include some parents) to discuss how AI is impacting their jobs and industry. Have students come up with questions.

Pedagogy

  • Create a new lesson plan that integrates AI. Perhaps use the Guided Inquiry Design process!
  • Create a series of lessons that introduces AI responsibility.
  • Create an Intro to AI toolkit for beginning teachers or teachers who are overwhelmed by AI. What should be included?
  • Have you shifted from knowledge-based to skills-based learning? If so, what changes did you make? What were the challenges? Outcomes?

Coaching

In addition to having Dr. Mary Hemphill and Dr. Leslie Maniotes present at the Kick-Off Conference, we are fortunate to have them facilitate coaching check-ins throughout the fellowship as you work on the Capstone and lead with purpose. Through virtual coaching touch points in November and April, they will lead you in cultivating new mindsets, testing implementation strategies, and shaping leadership moves to advance AI integration within their unique local contexts.

Dr. Mary Hemphill's Bio

(Source: The Limitless Leader)
Dr. Mary Hemphill is a leadership expert, development coach, K-16 educator, administrator, author, and motivational speaker. With an extensive 20-year career spanning roles as a teacher, administrator, state director, and adjunct professor, she brings a wealth of experience to her work. Holding a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies, Mary has directly influenced and coached educational and corporate leaders worldwide, focusing on empowered wellness, innovative strategy, and leadership development.

As the proud CEO and Founder of The Limitless Leader LLC, Mary leads an organization dedicated to helping individuals unleash their leadership potential, enabling them to better serve their communities, companies, and personal careers through coaching, consulting, workshops, and keynotes tailored for corporate and educational leaders and organizations.

​Throughout her tenure as North Carolina’s first state director of Computer Science, Director of Academics, and Chief Academic Officer, Mary has been instrumental in driving strategic initiatives and programs and guiding leaders through change management. Her outstanding contributions were recognized when she was named Regional Principal of the Year for the Sandhills Region of North Carolina in 2017 and received the Model Schools Award for her transformative work in school turnaround and reform.

Mary's expertise was further acknowledged when she was selected as a 2021 School Ambassador Fellowship panelist by the US Department of Education, adding her voice and insights to the selection process for ambassadors under the Department’s current administration.

​In recognition of her impact in leadership in transforming the way leaders approach 21st-century challenges, Mary was honored as one of EdTech Digest’s Top 100 Influencers for 2023-2024 and is a 2024 EdTech Digest Finalist for Leadership as an edtech author/speaker or podcaster, standing alongside industry leaders who are making significant contributions across K-12, higher education, and workforce learning.

​Most recently, Mary has been chosen as one of the new Senior Fellows at The Center for Model Schools, where she will engage as an expert and thought leader, providing invaluable counsel on leadership development and contributing to the growth of education leaders and the Center as a whole. She will deliver engaging keynote speeches, extend the Center's outreach to the education community, and offer guidance and support in strategic planning, leadership coaching, organizational culture, equity, and policy development, aligning her expertise with the Center's mission.

Mary is the author of 'The One-Minute Meeting: Creating Student Stakeholders in Schools,' a compelling resource designed to inspire school and district leaders to fully engage with and empower their students. This book serves as an invaluable asset for courses in school leadership and administration.

​As a self-proclaimed edupreneur, Dr. Mary Hemphill seamlessly integrates her wealth of experience in education and entrepreneurship. Her unique fusion of these realms equips leaders across industries with innovative strategies and transformative leadership development. 

​Beyond her impactful work with schools, districts, and organizations nationwide, Mary also shares her expertise as a contributor to Forbes where she pins a monthly column on leadership strategy. Her pioneering efforts in leveraging technology to drive educational transformation underscore her professional presence and credibility in the edtech space. Driven by a philosophy centered on breaking through limiting beliefs to unleash one's authentic and powerful self, she fosters transformational leadership. Mary firmly believes that nurturing young adults, learning communities, and organizations to lead the movement is paramount in creating positive global shifts.

Dr. Leslie Maniotes’ Bio + Guided Inquiry Design®

Dr. Leslie Maniotes is an international author, consultant, and co-creator of the Guided Inquiry Design® (GID) framework. With more than two decades of experience leading schools and districts through instructional transformation, she empowers educators to design and facilitate learning that is research-based, collaborative, and student-centered.

Her current work sits at the intersection of inquiry learning and artificial intelligence. As one of the Leadership Development Facilitators for the North Carolina AI Fellows program (NCBCE + Google.org), Leslie helps educators navigate the fast-changing landscape of AI while staying grounded in proven pedagogy. She champions a human-centered approach: AI as a collaborator, teachers in the lead, and students empowered as critical thinkers and questioners.

Leslie’s thought leadership bridges cutting-edge technology with deep learning practices, equipping educators to prepare students for an AI-rich future where inquiry, creativity, and discernment are more essential than ever.

Links

About Guided Inquiry Design® in AI-Enhanced Education

Guided Inquiry Design® is a flexible, research-based framework that empowers educators to design and facilitate inquiry for the future of learning. In the context of AI-enhanced education, GID serves as a critical pedagogical anchor that ensures technology amplifies rather than replaces meaningful learning. By helping students ask better questions, evaluate AI-generated content critically, and use technology as a tool for deeper investigation, GID prepares learners to thrive in an AI-rich world.