In this episode of The TechEd Clubhouse, I sit down with Rae Hughart—teacher, speaker, author, and founder of the Teachers Deserve It movement—to get brutally honest about professional development, time-saving hacks, and what teachers really need to thrive in today’s classrooms.

Rae isn’t sugarcoating anything. She’s talking about howeducators are overworked, under-supported, and often stuck with outdated PD models that just don't cut it anymore. Together, we dig into how to flip that script—offering teachers choice, agency, and time back in their day.

We talk about:

• Why PD needs to work like real teaching—differentiated, practical, and personalized
• The power of micro-learning and teacher-driven goal setting
• How Rae and her team support over 21 states (and counting) with hands-on coaching and a fully loaded Learning Hub
• Why paraprofessionals, new teachers, and special areateachers can’t be left out anymore
• Her mission to help 1 million teachers by the end of 2025
• And why it’s OK to ask for help, even if you don’t know the solution yet

Whether you're a new teacher, a seasoned vet, or an admintrying to make PD not suck—you’ll get something out of this.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• “Stop surviving. Start thriving.”
• PD shouldn’t be a 6-hour sit-and-get. It should look likegreat teaching.
• Give teachers TIME. Thirty seconds saved here and fiveminutes there add up fast.
• Let teachers set their own learning goals—and then support the hell out of them.
• It’s not just about student data. It’s about teacherretention and sustainability.
• Rae’s team is basically your on-demand assistant. Got a pain point? They’ll solve it.

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

💻 TeachersDeserveIt.com

🔑 The Learning Hub (with Free Trial)

📘 Teachers Deserve It Book by Rae Hughart & Adam Welcome – Get it here

📌 Free Digital Downloads

📣 Join the Facebook Community

📱 Follow Rae on TikTok & Instagram: @RaeHughart

👋 Connect with Rae Hughart:

Website: https://www.teachersdeserveit.com

Twitter/X: @RaeHughart

Instagram: @RaeHughart

Facebook: Teachers Deserve It Group

🧰 Tech Ed Clubhouse Tools of the Week:

🎯 Rae’s top PD tip: Try standing while conferencing with students—boosts efficiency by 33%

🧠 Pro Move: Don’t hoard tools. Share them. Nothing’s behind a paywall that shouldn’t be.

🗣️ Call to Action:

🔥 Want to join a PD movement that doesn’t suck?
➡️Head to teachersdeserveit.com and try out the Learning Hub. Use the free trial, download everything, and cancel if it’s not for you.

🧱 And while you're at it, join the Facebook group—even if you just lurk. Trust me, you’ll find value.

🎧 About the Host:

I’m Dan Thomas—retired after 32 years in the classroom, butnot done disrupting education. I bring conversations that matter straight to teachers who give a damn.

Follow me:

Twitter/X: @coachthomastech

Podcast: TechEd Clubhouse

Blog: coachthomastech.com/blog

In this episode of The TechEd Clubhouse Podcast, I sit down with two powerhouses in human-centered education: Dr. Michelle Ament, Chief Academic Officer at ProSolve and Executive Director of the Human Intelligence Movement, and Arvin Ross, Co-Founder and Chief Culture Architect at ProSolve.Together, they break down what’s broken in traditional education and why now—more than ever—we must prioritize human skills like adaptability, resilience, creativity, and problem solving in an AI-driven world.🔍 Key Topics Covered:What immersive, play-based learning really looks likeWhy human intelligence matters more than knowledge memorizationThe skills you can’t teach from a textbook: grit, adaptability, and collaborationReframing failure as iteration and learning, not punishmentWhy our education system must shift from factory-model thinking to something more humanThe challenge: Stop asking what AI can do. Start asking what makes us human—and how to amplify that.🧠 Memorable Quotes:“If a kid can go through 12 years of school and graduate uninspired to learn, that’s the real failure.” – Arvin Ross“We’re moving past the Knowledge Age. Skills—not facts—are what make kids future-ready.” – Dr. Michelle Ament“If 30 people build a LEGO duck with the same six bricks and end up with 30 different ducks, you just taught 30 unique lessons.” – Dan Thomas🧰 Resources & Links:🔗 The Human Intelligence Movement📧 Michelle Ament: michelle@hi4ai.org📧 Arvin Ross: arvin@prosolve.com📱 Connect with Michelle and Arvin on LinkedIn🧪 Dan’s Takeaway:Forget Scantrons. This conversation is about helping kids become problem solvers, not parrots. If you're heading into summer thinking about next year—start with one simple shift: prioritize skills over standards. The world has changed. Our classrooms need to catch up.

In this pre-show kickoff to The Summer Rebuild: Brick by Brick series, I get honest about a rough round of golf—and an even rougher attitude. After toe-hooking his irons and turning into a cranky playing partner, he realized something that hit way closer to the classroom than expected…When things fall apart—whether on the course or in your classroom—it’s not always about trying something new. Sometimes, the fix is going back to what actually works.This episode is about:

• Why I got mad on the golf course—and what it revealed about his teaching
• The “grip, stance, and tempo” of great instruction
• How losing your fundamentals leads to frustration, burnout, and classroom chaos
• A preview of The Summer Rebuild series to help you reset and retool—with joy, purpose, and play

Whether you're toe-hooking lessons or just need a reset, this is your invitation to start fresh—and build something better, one brick at a time.📌 Mentioned in this episode:The Summer Rebuild: Brick by Brick blog series → coachthomastech.com/blogFollow me on Twitter: @coachthomastechHashtag to join the conversation: #WheresTheFunInThat