On November 11th, 2025, at the GSE Shines Conference at Touro University, the topic focused on “Dialogue with the Present & the Future: Shifting Strategies & Practice in Uncertain Times.”
💯 Thank you to Nelly Lejter, PhD, for her leadership and the amazing, organized conference leadership team, Dr. Marcella L Bullmaster-Day and Dr. Thomas Troisi.
Creating TESOL 680: A Culminating Teacher Preparation Course
With colleagues Dr. Michele Goldin and Dr. Seong Kim, we examined how the TESOL Practicum Seminar evolved into a practice-centered capstone aligned with AAQEP and TESOL International standards. The redesigned course integrates clinical fieldwork, reflective practice, and digital portfolios that demonstrate evidence of mastery. Candidates design parent outreach projects, data-informed lesson plans, and culturally responsive instructional materials. The course embeds data literacy and the Reflective Practitioner Model, ensuring graduates are prepared for linguistically diverse classrooms where technology and pedagogy intersect. This transformation draws on expert understanding of TESOL methodology, assessment alignment, and teacher performance standards, creating a scalable framework for advanced teacher preparation.
Synthetic Data in Education: A Practical Introduction for Faculty
This workshop presented an applied exploration of synthetic data as a research and instructional tool. Participants learned to create artificial datasets that preserve statistical validity while protecting privacy. Guided exercises introduced prompt design for data generation and analysis using AI tools. The session drew on expert principles from data ethics, AI governance, and educational analytics to illustrate how synthetic data supports secure, reproducible, and innovative research. Faculty discovered how such data can enhance predictive modeling, formative assessment, and program evaluation without compromising integrity or confidentiality. In my expert view, synthetic data represents an essential skill set for 21st-century educators and researchers.
Reimagining Assessment in the Age of AI: From Extinction to Evolution
In this presentation, I explored the intersection of assessment theory and exponential technological growth through Peter Diamandis’s 6Ds framework. The talk analyzed how AI challenges existing paradigms of evaluation and demands a shift toward assessing higher-order human capacities such as ethical reasoning, adaptive problem-solving, and creativity. Drawing on research in educational measurement and AI-assisted assessment design, I proposed a model in which human and machine collaboration produces richer, more authentic measures of learning. This approach integrates expert insights from psychometrics, cognitive science, and ethics to chart a sustainable path forward.
Together, these projects represent a forward-looking agenda for Education 2060, grounded in expert knowledge and responsive to the accelerating transformations in AI, data use, and pedagogy. By uniting technological literacy, ethical frameworks, and reflective practice, education can evolve into a co-creative process that safeguards human agency while leveraging the full potential of intelligent systems.
#Education2060 #AIinEducation #TESOL #SyntheticData #AssessmentInnovation #ExpertKnowledge #GSEShines2025 #TouroUniversity
- Cowin, J. (2025, November 11). Reimagining assessment in the age of AI: From extinction to evolution [Pre-recorded video]. GSE Shines Conference, Graduate School of Education, Touro University, New York, NY, United States.
- Goldin, M., Cowin, J., & Kim, S. (2025, November 11). Creating TESOL 680: A culminating teacher preparation course [Poster presentation]. GSE Shines Conference, Graduate School of Education, Touro University, New York, NY
- Cowin, J. (2025, November 11). Synthetic data in education: A practical introduction for faculty [Workshop]. GSE Shines Conference, Graduate School of Education, Touro University, New York, NY, United States
Below is my presentation for those who are curious and want to try their hand in synthetic data generation.
Dr. J's Education Blog 