In a time when Artificial Intelligence is filling our screens and making headlines, LHRIC’s Winter 2026 Technology Leadership Institute: The AI Imperative: Cognitive Development, Instructional Innovation and School Leadership, presented by Dr. Ellen McDonnell, Executive Director of the LHRIC, offered critical insights into AI's impact on education and sought-after guidance for district leaders.
“This is the most well-attended of all of LHRIC’s winter institutes,” said Leslie Accardo, Coordinator of the Instructional Technology department, in her welcome to the over 50 educators and leaders attending the virtual program.
Dr. McDonnell, shared research she’d presented earlier in the school year to Southern Westchester Superintendents, school boards, and the National Association of Educational Service Agencies. For TLI, whose participants include many directors of technology, district curriculum leaders and instructional coaches, she focused on four key areas:
Instructional Innovation in the Age of Al
Understanding Al's Impact on Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Development
Opportunities and Challenges for School Leadership
The Role of Teachers and Human Competencies in an Al World
“Districts recognize AI as a transformative force,” said Dr. McDonnell. “It requires thoughtful engagement to get it right, or as right as we can make it.”
The Institute was a conversation as well as a presentation. Dr. McDonnell shared the latest data and then posited actual challenges teachers are encountering.
One of the scenarios the educational leaders were given was from a high school English language arts class. Rather than asking students to summarize the first three chapters of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Dr. McDonnell challenged them to develop a task that was AI-rich and enhanced learning.
As educators proposed activities, one voice drew attention to the heart of the matter.
“I cheated!” said a participant. “I used Copilot to get some ideas.”
Was using AI cheating?
Dr. McDonnell used the moment to highlight the sea change that educators are in the midst of regarding how students learn and are assessed. “Al keeps students engaged and allows a shift in emphasis from content consumption to qualities including critical thinking,” she said. “Yet data indicates that excessive reliance on Al may hinder logical reasoning and reduce resilience in problem-solving.”
She reminded the participants that the quest for standards and best practices for AI in education is happening around the world, and introduced the international guidance offered by the AI Literacy Framework for Primary and Secondary Education prepared by the European Commission and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
She also shared an insight from personal experience.
“I realized that my college-aged son has been interacting with people by text for his entire life” she said, noting that the shift from chatting with a person to interfacing with a bot is invisible. “Al cannot fully replicate human relationships, which are crucial for developing empathy and attachment.”
Towards the end of the program, participants looked at Bloom’s Taxonomy, a structured method for categorizing educational goals and objectives that foster higher-order thinking skills among learners. The highest order thinking skill is “create.”
Dr. McDonnell stressed that students must always be the last creator of a product that has been handed to them by a bot.
“Instructional innovations must ensure that AI is always in service to learning,” said Dr. McDonnell. “Our focus is on helping students develop uniquely human abilities—skills that AI cannot replace.”
For those of you who could not attend our TLI Winter Keynote event last Friday with Dr. Ellen McDonnell, we have attached the resources and a link to the recording. Please take time to continue your learning as LHRIC TLI Members.
Want to Review the Resources or Missed the Event- See below!