Keeping the Teacher at the Center of Classroom AI
For twenty-five years we sent the struggling kid to the back of the room with headphones on. Todd Brekhus of Renaissance explains why that model broke personalized learning, and how teacher-facing AI hands the room back to you.
Todd Brekhus is Chief Product Officer at Renaissance, General Manager of Nearpod, a former English teacher and technology director, and the creator of the myON literacy platform. We recorded this conversation at ISTE 2026.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why "personalized learning" quietly pushed teachers out of the loop, and what changes when you say "personalized teaching and learning" instead
- How to pull last year's skill-level data and plan two paths before tomorrow's lesson
- Why back-of-the-room intervention stigmatizes kids, and how to differentiate inside the core lesson
- The case for a formative check every six to eight minutes without leaving your slides
- Why Renaissance deliberately chose not to build student-facing AI, and what productive struggle has to do with it
This episode is sponsored by Renaissance. Renaissance Intelligence connects the loop across assessment, curriculum, instruction, practice and proficiency, so educators can act on student needs in real time. Learn more at renaissance.com/intelligence
Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e968
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Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a sponsored episode. Renaissance has compensated me to share information about Renaissance Intelligence. However, all opinions expressed are my own. I have personally reviewed these resources and only recommend tools I believe offer genuine value to classroom teachers. My endorsement is limited to the educational products and services discussed in this episode. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." The sponsor has no impact on the editorial content of this show.
