December 16, 2025, 4:00 p.m. ET
The faculty and staff of Olivet Academy Amenia Middle and High School gathered on the afternoon of December 12 for the final professional development session of the 2025 calendar year. The session provided an opportunity to reflect, collaborate, and continue strengthening instructional practices in preparation for the upcoming academic year.
The focus of the session was multidisciplinary, project-based learning and the use of artificial intelligence in education. Educators engaged in thoughtful discussions on the benefits of these approaches for both students and teachers. Faculty explored how project-based learning encourages deeper student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections by integrating multiple subject areas into cohesive learning experiences. The discussion also highlighted how multidisciplinary projects promote meaningful collaboration among teachers across departments.
In addition, faculty participated in a professional development workshop on artificial intelligence tools for educators, led by High School Social Studies teacher Mr. Leman. The session introduced tools such as ChatGPT, NotebookLM, Claude, and Perplexity. Teachers learned how to craft effective, specific prompts and explored practical classroom applications, including generating lesson and project ideas, creating presentations, supporting student research, locating primary sources, translating documents, and designing engaging classroom activities.
This final professional development session of the year underscored the school’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and continuous growth, equipping educators with new strategies and tools to enhance teaching and learning in the year ahead.
