Technology Will Not FIX Education—Teachers Will.
Technology is not the golden key that will FIX education. Over the past 100 years, new innovations have come into the education sector and promised to transform education and student learning. Each innovation promised to free teachers from tasks, individualize instruction, or automate feedback. With each new innovation came fear and excitement for the future of education, but it left students and teachers still feeling like something was missing. Here we are in 2026 asking the same questions that we hoped previous innovations would have solved:
How can we engage students so that they will take ownership of their learning?
How can we teach students the most important skills of collaboration, critical thinking, and communication?
How do we balance the outside influences on our students with what we know they need in order to learn?
The problem with education is that we are constantly seeking an object to solve the problem. New curriculum, manipulatives, flexible seating, technology, etc.
“In reality, all we really need is US . . . teachers who work as architects of learning, make personal connections with students, and collectively believe that they can make a difference. ”
Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) is the unified confidence educators have in their shared power to improve student outcomes. According to the research of John Hattie, this factor carries the highest effect size of 1.57, making it one of the most significant predictors of academic success.
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In other words, the key to improving student outcomes is OUR BELIEF THAT WE CAN!
I was recently working with a grade-level team, and they were so excited about a new approach to teaching math that they were buzzing with ideas. They reported that they had never enjoyed math before and struggled to teach it, and now it is their favorite time of their day! This tool was not the magic pill that would change outcomes for students; it is the team's collective belief that they can make a difference. This tool simply assisted them in getting excited about teaching. Their student outcomes will improve.
Don't be disillusioned with the debate of how, when, and where to use technology or AI to improve student outcomes. There is much to figure out on this journey, but no new tool will improve students' outcomes more than US! Working together and believing that we make a difference.
