Gain the tools necessary to engage faculty and administrators in redesigning teaching, learning, and assessment for human flourishing to respond to the pressures of emerging technologies, faculty and student wellbeing, and increasing academic complexity.
Independent schools are navigating a period of profound disruption. Rapid advances in technology are reshaping teaching, learning, and assessment and eroding trust in traditional academic practices. In addition, schools are experiencing rising concerns related to student wellbeing, faculty sustainability, neurodiversity, and academic coherence, leading to a growing sense of strategic drift
This hands-on workshop for academic leaders is grounded in educational psychology and learning sciences research and theory and applies design thinking, speculative design, learning engineering, and theory-of-change methodologies to help leaders rethink academic programming, faculty development, curriculum, and assessment. Participants will engage in structured sensemaking and collaborative design, leaving with adaptable plans and facilitation guides to lead meaningful academic conversations and outcomes within their own school contexts.
This Summer Institute workshop is for:
- Heads of School with primary responsibility for academic vision
- Assistant Heads of School
- Academic Deans and Deans of Teaching & Learning
- Division Heads
- Department Chairs
- Directors of Teaching & Learning or Innovation
This workshop is designed for current academic leaders rather than aspiring leaders.
Maximize your professional development dollars! Register by May 4, 2026, to take advantage of Early Bird pricing.
You will learn how to:
- Lead strategic academic planning that aligns curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy with student and faculty wellbeing.
- Respond to emerging technologies, including AI, in ways that strengthen learning, integrity, and human agency
- Conduct curriculum reviews and assessment audits that surface coherence, rigor, and developmental alignment.
- Design transdisciplinary and experiential learning opportunities grounded in disciplinary integrity.
- Use design thinking, speculative design, learning engineering, and theory of change as repeatable leadership processes.
- Facilitate faculty sensemaking and collaborative redesign without over-prescribing solutions.
Curious if this session is right for you? Ask us!
July 13–15, 2026
Marriott Downtown City Creek Salt Lake City, UT
Dr. Maggie Renken's calm and grounded presence brings much-needed clarity to a field often marked by anxiety and uncertainty. She has established herself as a trusted voice, combining solid research with the practical wisdom school leaders need to move forward with confidence."
Alexandra Sundman, Assistant Head of School for Academics
The Potomac School, VA