Guide

AI 101 for K–12  Professional Development

A practical primer for navigating the AI conversation

Help your educators lead AI conversations with clarity—not confusion. Professional development (PD) leaders are under growing pressure to respond to the rise of AI in K–12. But most teams lack the guidance, tools, and shared language to lead implementation with confidence.This guide is designed for PD and instructional strategy teams looking to cut through the hype and get practical. It offers foundational AI fluency, real-world use cases, and a framework to lead meaningful, equity-aware conversations about how—and why—to use AI in schools.

What You’ll Learn

Clarify What AI Is (and Isn’t)

Break down essential concepts like generative AI and machine learning in plain terms—so your teams can move forward with confidence, not misconceptions.

Explore Instructionally Relevant Use Cases

See how AI can support lesson planning, assessments, and personalization without replacing the teacher.

Build a Responsible Use Mindset

Establish the policies, norms, and guardrails that protect equity and student trust as your district experiments with AI.

Who It’s For

K–12 professional development leaders, instructional coaches, and system-level teams building AI literacy across their districts.

Ready to equip your teams with the foundation they need to lead AI well?

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What’s inside?

Part I: Cohort-based courses 101

Discover why cohort-based learning is more effective and drives higher results. This model fosters a sense of community building, encourages collaboration, and provides a structured yet flexible learning environment.

Part II: Why create a cohort-based course with Disco?

Understand the key benefits of a cohort-based learning model thoughtfully integrated with AI. With Disco, online academies can offer cohort-based online courses featuring live classes, personalized learning pathways, enhanced student interaction, and much more.

Part III: Defining your social learning program

Step-by-step instructions to set your online course up for surefire success. Learn how to integrate social learning elements in your cohort courses and foster a sense of community among your learners.

Part IV: Create your course

Course creation 101, plus tools like events and AI to give your content a boost. Discover how to structure your online cohort-based courses effectively and leverage innovative tools to enrich the cohort learning experience.

Part V: Sign up and organize your members

Drive membership and designate groups for maximum organization and engagement. Learn how to manage your cohort-based programs to ensure smooth communication and collaboration.

Part VI: Set the stage for high engagement

Encourage collaboration with the power of AI gamification and multiple interactive tools. Create a dynamic learning environment in your online course cohort that keeps learners motivated and involved.

Part VII: Grow your learner base and results

Analyze key learnings to continuously improve and iterate on your learning experience. Utilize data-driven insights and student feedback to expand your reach and enhance educational outcomes.

Part VIII: Run, iterate, and scale

Learn productivity hacks to expand and grow – without extra effort. Implement strategies to scale your cohort-based online learning programs efficiently.