Neumann will offer a Pennsylvania Department of Education-approved AI endorsement for K-12 teachers beginning in the summer of 2027. The 12-credit program is fully online.
Education Professor Laura McLaughlin, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and director of graduate education in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education, will teach some of the courses in the AI endorsement program, which can be completed in seven months (summer and fall semesters).
“Our teachers are already navigating AI every day, usually without a roadmap,” explains McLaughlin. “This endorsement was built on PDE’s AI Endorsement Framework so educators have something rigorous to stand on. We’re preparing them to lead this shift, not just react to it.”
The four courses in the program are Educational Leadership in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Designing AI-Enhanced Learning Experiences, Ethical and Equitable Use of AI in School, and AI Leadership and Portfolio Practicum.
The endorsement can also be taken as part of Neumann’s MS in Ed: Teaching and Learning program.
McLaughlin has been at the forefront of helping K-12 teachers integrate the ethical and effective uses of artificial intelligence in the classroom. In a special topics graduate course in the summer of 2025, she led a mix of elementary and secondary educators in an examination of how AI can be used to enhance instruction, support student learning, and inform decision-making. Her students explored emerging AI tools and designed a culminating project that applied AI in a teaching context.
According to the PDE, “Program Endorsements indicate knowledge in new and emerging areas where formal certification does not exist. They are intended to improve an educator’s skills in dealing with complex educational issues.”
Endorsements can be added to an existing Level I or Level II teaching certificate to document specialized knowledge in topics such as autism and online learning. The AI endorsement is relatively new with the first programs available this fall at a handful of colleges.