Nathan Lang-Raad, Ed.D

The Goal of AI in Education Isn’t Productivity, It’s Better Teaching As educators, we know that essential questions do more than launch a lesson; they cause us to think.

What kind of expertise are we trying to build? Are we creating tools that make teachers faster at tasks, or better at teaching? The answer will determine everything about how AI shapes education.
open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

My AI adoption advice to districts: start intentionally, move incrementally, lead with pedagogy, and “go slow to go fast.” Build teacher and leader capacity first, and let AI serve instruction; not the other way around. #edusky

Super excited to share that I will be a keynote speaker at the Curriculum x AI Summit 2025 – a free, virtual event designed for public school educators.
You can see the full agenda and register here: www.toddleapp.com/events/curri...

The 4A's text protocol for the AI age. #edusky

Assumption: What's one assumption the AI made?

Agreement: What did AI get right? How do you know?

Argument: What's wrong or missing? What expertise did you need to catch this?

Aspiration: How would you revise the AI response to be accurate?

The Instructional Triangle: Why AI Adoption Depends on Curriculum Coherence The gap between trying AI and trusting it comes down to one thing: Does it strengthen or break the instructional system teachers already use?

What moves AI from early adoption to systematic implementation?
#edusky
Read more here: open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

The Planner's Trap and the Wanderer's Risk: What AI Teaches Us About Living Between Certainty and Surprise We love our categories: planners versus risk-takers, strategists versus improvisers.

AI's evolution hasn’t been linear or predictable. Breakthroughs come where we least expect them, while “sure bets” stall. That jagged progress offers lessons for how we live, learn, and lead.

open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

I’d love to know how much cognitive work has shifted from creation to curation. We need research on how much time people spend polishing #AI outputs vs developing original thinking. How many of us are stuck in “design fixation,” trapped inside AI’s outputs instead of exploring our own perspectives?

What Educators Can Learn from Hollywood's Biggest AI Experiment The Wizard of Oz opened at the Sphere this weekend, and I was able to get glimpses from YouTube and other media coverage.

The $100M Wizard of Oz remake for the Las Vegas Sphere is not only an AI triumph but also a case study in how human creativity directs technology, raising urgent questions about authenticity, artistry, and the future of learning. #edusky #AI

Read more here: open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

Math learning needs both inspiration and discipline. Explicit instruction, practice, fluency, and consolidation are essential. But mindset, low anxiety, and valuing mistakes (error correction) matter too. Both are supported by cognitive science. #edusky #mtbos #iteachmath

Seemingly Conscious AI in Education: Building Tools, Not Digital People Responding to Mustafa Suleyman’s urgent warning about Seemingly Conscious AI (SCAI).

New research shows students form human-like trust with AI systems, sometimes treating them more like mentors than tools.
Where do we draw the line between helpful and misleading design?
How do we protect students from over-anthropomorphizing AI?
Read more here 👉 open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

I'm speaking at the @solutiontree.bsky.social Effective Coaching Institute in Orlando, September 22-24.

Transform how you coach individuals AND collaborative teams with proven tools and processes.
Register:
www.solutiontree.com/effective-co...

Hope to see you there!

When Speed Kills Connection (New Book!) The Case for Empathetic Coaching

The Empathetic Edge: A Mindful Approach to Instructional Coaching (now available for pre-order)

This book offers practices for staying centered amid chaos, for understanding resistance as communication, and for building trust with overwhelmed colleagues.

open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

Your Students Are Already Using AI, Is Your Policy Helping or Hurting? Your students are already using AI.

Your students are already using AI. Are your policies helping or holding them back?

Drawing lessons from global regulatory models, I explore how local leaders can craft policies that are both structured and adaptable, prioritizing learning over liability. #edusky

open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

YouTube video by Dr. Zach Groshell S4E38: Nathan Lang-Raad on Learning Science and Artificial Intelligence

Great conversation with Dr. Zach Groshell @mrzachg.bsky.social on his Progressively Incorrect podcast about AI and learning science in education.
Is AI really going to revolutionize teaching, or are we getting ahead of ourselves?

youtu.be/Wpew2dGMh0k?...

When AI Evaluates Its Own Work: Validating Learner-Initiated, AI-Generated Physics Practice Problems Large language models (LLMs) can now generate physics practice problems in real time, yet the educational value of these items hinges on rapid, reliable post-generation vetting. We investigated which ...

What do students think about AI practice problems?

Researchers tested 543 AI-generated physics problems.
Students consistently chose ones with strategic cues without giving away answers, clear formatting requirements, and complete instructions. #edusky

arxiv.org/abs/2508.03085

AI professional development should be designed for adults the way we’d design it for students. Build it as a process, not a presentation. Include space to test assumptions, model thinking, and grow confidence through supported practice.

Neuroscience shows that all novices (regardless of age) benefit from guided exploration, timely feedback, and opportunities to make sense of new ideas (Dehaene, 2020).

Educators are being asked to teach with AI before they’ve had time to truly learn how it works. We often assume adults are naturally self-directed. We offer tools, but not enough time. Resources, but not reflection.

The Quality of Engagement What these students Revealed About Learning AI

New Stanford study: Students who learned most didn't click most, they clicked better (showed longer pauses, fewer clicks, and more intentional navigation).

EdTech must cultivate critical thinking, pattern recognition, and reasoning through ambiguity.

Read more: open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

The AI Implementation Approach Every EdTech Company Needs Lessons from Academic Research on Deliberate Integration

Edtech companies building AI around proven pedagogical practices, maintaining educator agency, and demonstrating measurable learning outcomes are seeing stronger school partnerships and sustainable growth. #edusky

Read more here: drlangraad.substack.com/p/the-ai-imp...

When AI Makes You Work: The Counterintuitive AI Chatbot Design Choice That Improves Learning Picture two students working on the same challenging academic writing task.

New research revealed that students who struggled with "passive" AI chatbots (that only responded when prompted) significantly outperformed those who used "proactive" chatbots (that provided step-by-step guidance) when the AI was removed. #edusky

Post here 👉 open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

Students are using AI for emotional support, creative projects, and academic work, conducting real-time experiments in human-AI relationships. Their insights about what works and what doesn't absolutely must be a part of our framework for AI literacy.

Students aren't just learning to use AI tools, they're renegotiating their relationship with intellectual effort, creativity, and authenticity. They're figuring out peer dynamics around AI use, wrestling with what "my work" means, and developing their own informal ethics around AI.

Proud to endorse fellow Marzano Resources author Julia Simms powerful new book "Guide on the Side: Sequencing Instruction for Self-Regulated Learners."

Well done, Julia! 👏

Find her book here: www.amazon.com/Guide-Side-I...

The question isn't whether students can do better work with AI. It's whether they become better thinkers because of it. #edusky

The Next Phase of AI in Education: Moving from Performance to Learning Another study challenges our assumptions about AI tools in education.

Students using ChatGPT significantly outperformed others on basic tasks, but 3 weeks later? All advantages disappeared. For complex thinking tasks, AI provided zero benefit. AI implementation strategy matters more than the technology itself. #edusky Read more here: open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

What Teachers Disagree About When They Disagree About AI New Research Reveals the Hidden Complexity of Quality Feedback

New study: Teachers evaluating identical AI feedback showed significant variation in quality ratings.
We know feedback should be specific, timely, actionable. AI systems also need to account for: lesson context, student readiness, instructional goals.
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

Overreliance on AI What a New Study Reveals About Students and AI Overuse

New study on AI overreliance. We're not just dealing with AI dependency but accelerated erosion of thinking skills already under pressure. Learning is transformation, not transaction.

drlangraad.substack.com/p/overrelian...

The Cognitive Debt Study What the Research Really Says About AI and Learning

Study: ChatGPT users had lower brain activity and couldn't recall their writing. When we outsource cognitive work, we don't learn. We're not just grappling with AI overreliance but an accelerated erosion of intellectual habits already under pressure. Read more: open.substack.com/pub/drlangra...

Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2505.15410