John Sammon

🚀 Exciting News! 🚀 We are so proud of Beyond the Algorithm which is officially available on Amazon today! a.co/d/0iFYAaw5 We are incredibly grateful to @jmattmiller for writing the foreword and helping set the stage for the ideas and possibilities explored throughout the book. In a world where the future is increasingly unknown, Project-Based Learning + AI (PBL-AI) isn’t just an approach, it’s the path forward for keeping humans meaningfully in the loop.@TKtalksSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers @drbonkwcsd

From the classroom to the hospital ward, this is learning in action.  Project-based learning is fundamentally shifting how students interact with their knowledge. Fifth graders at @MyersTigersRoar drew on their food web knowledge to draft fidget board designs and create videos, sending both to @KetchamNation, where manufacturing students fabricated the boards and added QR codes linking to those videos. Today, they returned to Myers for testing, ensuring everything is ready for donation to the pediatric ward at Mid Hudson Regional Hospital, where the boards will comfort kids during treatment.  Previous years’ tabletop games and musical instruments were also on hand for students to explore. This is what it looks like when students use their knowledge to create something meaningful for someone else, bridging the gap between elementary and high school, and showing what #PBL can truly be. @TKtalksSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers @drbonkwcsd #ProjectBasedLearning #BridgingTheGap #StudentMakers #MidHudson

Authenticity changes everything. Students work differently when: • The audience is real • The stakes are real • The problem is real Authenticity is not a PBL add-on. It’s a design principle. Today, our 4th and 6th grade students presented their learning experiences and final products to Central Hudson and WCSD personnel. Students taught adults about the role energy concepts play in a utility company and how those ideas connect to the real world. This wasn’t students completing an assignment. This was students using their voices, their thinking, and their learning to contribute something meaningful. @SammonSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers @drbonkwcsd @CentralHudson @j_sammon

5 years of partnership with @CentralHudson, and it keeps getting better! Today 160 students from 6th grade at Evans Elementary, 4th grade @FishkillFrogs & Brinkerhoff Elementary built virtual breakout rooms to present their PBL work. CH’s VP said: “It’s been a wonderful community partnership.” Our Superintendent noted students came in with index cards, nervous at first, then relaxed and owned the room. One student admitted nerves presenting to adults, but loved the chance to show what he created. Their work is now housed on Central Hudson’s Kids Corner for all to see! 🙌 This is the power of Innovative School Boards, Superintendents, and Community Partners committed to making a difference in students’ lives in the age of AI through PBL. @TKtalksSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers @drbonkwcsd #PBL #CentralHudson #StudentSuccess #FutureReady #AIinEducation

Wonderful morning celebrating our continued partnership with @CentralHudson! As part of our project-based learning curriculum, elementary students used science knowledge to design virtual escape rooms that illustrate energy concepts; they will be shared on the Central Hudson Kid’s Corner webpage. WCSD Superintendent Dr. Bonk and Central Hudson’s Senior VP of Engineering and Operations, Eric Kiszkiel, thanked the all of those who play a part in making this happen: staff, the WCSD Board of Ed, and most of all, our students. They were able to share their projects at today’s celebration, and their pride was obvious! Fantastic work by all. @drbonkwcsd @SammonSTEAM @TKtalksSTEAM

Lubricating switches the safest way possible! Paintball guns using paintballs filled with lube ?

Today I became an editor. A sixth grader is the reason why. Full story → linkedin.com/posts/john-sam… @TKtalksSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers @drbonkwcsd

There’s more to this including what teachers who navigate it well actually do differently linkedin.com/posts/john-sam…

Productive struggle isn’t a technique. It’s a relationship between a teacher who holds the difficulty and a student who learns they can tolerate more than they thought. @TKtalksSTEAM @DitchThatTxtbk

Longer version with some other practical ways through it here linkedin.com/posts/john-sam…

Coverage pressure doesn’t win because teachers are lazy or resistant. It wins because choosing depth over coverage is a professional risk most teachers can’t afford. The system isn’t irrational. It’s optimizing for the wrong thing. That’s a harder truth than most PBL advocates want to sit with. Start with one unit, not a whole course. Find the standards that cluster naturally around a real problem worth solving. You’re not abandoning coverage,  you’re being strategic about where depth earns its keep. @TKtalksSTEAM @steammachinepd

As AI continues entering classrooms, one thing feels more important than ever: Keeping sound pedagogy and humans at the forefront of learning. Technology should support great teaching, not replace the thinking, collaboration, creativity, reflection, and productive struggle that make learning meaningful. We are very fortunate @WCSDEmpowers to have opportunities to practically explore and apply these ideas daily alongside students, teachers, administrators, and community partners in real classrooms. That ongoing work continues shaping these resources and pushing our thinking forward. hearourwords.com/pbl-ai-toolkit These new free PBL+AI resources were designed to help educators thoughtfully integrate AI while keeping students meaningfully in the loop. These newest resources focus on: 1. Human-centered decision making 2. Human-AI collaboration 4. Authentic audiences and real-world impact 5. Productive struggle and deeper thinking 6. Purpose-driven learning before prompting Included:
• Humans Meaningfully in the Loop Checklist
• Authentic Audience Planning Map
• Human-AI Teaming Spectrum
• Productive Struggle Decision Guide
• Purpose Before Prompting Framework In a world where AI can generate information instantly, these tools are designed to help students remain thinkers, creators, collaborators, and decision-makers, not passive consumers of outputs. Free resources for educators to use as anchor charts, notebook supports, planning tools, or LMS resources.@TKtalksSTEAM @DitchThatTxtbk @drbonkwcsd

Kindergarteners aren’t too young for real PBL. When students design pinball machines to demonstrate pushes, pulls, and collisions… that’s learning transfer in action. 🎯 Content knowledge matters. Transfer matters more. The real question isn’t: “What facts did students memorize?” It’s: “What can they do with what they know?” Kindergarten students applied their science learning by designing and testing pinball machines. They used their understanding of pushes, pulls, and collisions to build, revise, and explain how motion changed during their designs. That’s authentic PBL in action — even with our youngest learners. @SammonSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers @steammachinepd @dailystem @levelupsophie #PBL #PBLtapas #NGSS

Coverage is not the same as learning. Traditional instruction often prioritizes exposure. PBL prioritizes application. Today, energy concepts are coming to life as Central Hudson visits Brinckerhoff and Fishkill to connect with students and see the learning in action. Students are preparing for the upcoming big reveal of their digital escape rooms—student-created experiences designed to teach the community about energy concepts and how they connect directly to the Central Hudson community. Students didn’t just “cover” energy. They used it. Applied it. Designed with it. Created for an authentic audience with it. Students remember what they use. @SammonSTEAM @j_sammon @WCSDEmpowers @drbonkwcsd @CentralHudson @FishkillFrogs @steammachinepd #PBL #PBLAI

We are just 3 days away!! We have limited copies available the day of the event. Get your copy from Amazon TODAY 😁 We appreciate all of the support!!!! @SammonSTEAM @steammachinepd

@erickoester @WCSDEmpowers Thank you, I really appreciate that. That’s why PBL+AI feels so important. students using AI with purpose, not surrendering the thinking to it.

@SammonSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers AI literacy focused on thinking, reflection, and human-centered decision making is such a powerful direction for classrooms! 🤖

What if AI literacy in schools started with thinking? Over time, a set of free PBL+AI classroom resources has been taking shape to help educators move beyond:
“Write a better prompt.” hearourwords.com/pbl-ai-toolkit So incredibly lucky to explore this work within @WCSDEmpowers alongside innovative educators, students, administrators, and community partners who continue to push thinking forward in meaningful and human-centered ways. Making these resources free is important because this conversation belongs in as many classrooms as possible. These tools focus on:
• Critical evaluation
• Revision cycles
• Human-centered decision making
• Reflection and reasoning
• Keeping students meaningfully in the loop Included in the toolkit: 1AI Prompting Progression Ladder (Students) 2Traffic Light Evaluation (Students) 3Keep–Fix–Question Revision Protocol (Students) 4PBL + AI Planning Placemat (Teachers) 5“Should AI Be Used Here?” Decision Path (Teachers) The goal is not to make AI the thinker. The goal is to help students:
ask better questions, think deeper, evaluate critically, and make human-centered decisions. Because in PBL+AI classrooms, AI should support learning, not replace the thinking that matters the most. @TKtalksSTEAM @drbonkwcsd @DitchThatTxtbk @steammachinepd

This weekend, I found myself reflecting on how grateful I am to experience these moments in education. Watching students from @FishkillFrogs and Brinckerhoff Elementary learn alongside professionals from @CentralHudson on Friday brought so much joy. You could feel the excitement, curiosity, and energy as students asked questions, explored ideas, and connected classroom learning to the real world. In PBL+AI classrooms, teachers are not just answer keys. They become:
 • Designers
 • Coaches
 • Facilitators
 • Curators
 • Critical thinking partners  And community partners help make that transformation possible. In a world where AI can provide information instantly, the human side of teaching matters even more. The relationships. The experiences. The guidance. The moments that help students make sense of the world around them. PBL+AI is about students using knowledge with people, for people, in authentic ways that truly matter. @TKtalksSTEAM @WCSDEmpowers @drbonkwcsd @jmattmiller #PBL #PBLAI

Writing together taught us something important. Collaboration is messy. It requires: • Trust • Honest feedback • Revisions • Ego management Exactly the same skills we ask of students during PBL collaboration. That’s why we share our own collaboration stories with students too — the disagreements, revisions, feedback, and problem-solving that happen behind the scenes while creating real work together. Students need to see that productive collaboration isn’t perfect. It’s a process. Join us May 15th at Sloop Brewing Co. as we continue the conversation around PBL-AI, collaboration, and designing meaningful learning experiences for students. #PBLtapas #Beyondthealgorithm #PBLAI @SammonSTEAM @steammachinepd @WCSDEmpowers

AI literacy is not prompt engineering. Today, during our rocket company PBL, a student was using AI to create an infographic explaining why investors should support his company. The first output looked polished—but he immediately recognized it didn’t truly match his vision or audience. Instead of simply accepting it, he gave the AI specific feedback about what wasn’t working and pushed the design in a stronger direction. That moment mattered. Students need more than: “Write a better prompt.” They need: • Critical evaluation • Ethical reasoning • Strategic use • Reflection on process • The confidence to critique AI outputs and improve them intentionally That’s AI literacy @SammonSTEAM @GayheadWCSD @WCSDEmpowers @steammachinepd @jmattmiller @DitchThatTxtbk @GeminiApp @drbonkwcsd @levelupsophie