McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Jami McCormack | December 19, 2014

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

“The Master doesn’t talk, he acts. When his work is done, the people say, ‘Amazing, we did it all by ourselves.’ ”


– Lao Tzu, from the Tao Te Ching


I have had the pleasure of facilitating peer learning teams for two years now. I enjoy it immensely and find it very different from my day-to-day role as an assessor. As a facilitator, I play the roles of a guide, timekeeper, cheerleader, and summarizer. Observing the interaction of the peer learning group as they move toward a common goal is very rewarding because I get to witness the collaboration process in action. It’s exciting to be a part of that process. And, the meetings are a success! How do I know this? I know because I see the participants walk out of the room energized and equipped with an agreed upon protocol for productive future meetings, action steps for independent work, and a system for moving forward.


Of course, a facilitator does not work in a vacuum. The peer learning team is also held accountable in making the group successful and productive. Ideally, the team takes responsibility to do their own work—to construct their own knowledge and take what they’ve learned back to their own teams. They interact and collaborate with each other while thinking about and analyzing their work. Active engagement is key while participants strive to understand their colleagues, reflect on past successes and failures, and apply new information in innovative ways.


The facilitator’s job then, in the simplest of terms, is to support and guide the team’s work to achieve the outcomes they desire. To that end, I’ve found these basic tips help the team achieve their goals:


  • Communicate the team’s purpose for each meeting.
  • Reinforce agreed upon ground rules as a method for encouraging an atmosphere of mutual respect and collegiality.
  • Prompt rich discussion by asking provocative questions and clarifying key points. Some key phrases to use include:
  • What I hear you saying is…
  • I’m curious about your interpretation of… Could you say more?
  • Could you tell me more about…?
  • What do you think you will do about this situation?
  • Can you offer an example of that?
  • It seems as if…
  • Listen and pose questions to broaden the discussion’s scope.
  • Encourage participation from team members who are perhaps more introverted or are less likely to share.
  • Guide the team’s focus to ensure efficient use of time and to adhere to the agreed upon timetable.
  • At the end of the meeting, summarize key points and future action steps.


The facilitator is not expected to be the expert. In fact, it works quite well when members of the learning team take turns being the facilitator. The important thing is to assure that at the start of each meeting someone is clearly identified as the facilitator. So, the facilitator’s role is one of servant-leader—to use the term coined by Robert K. Greenleaf. The facilitator serves the team so they may grow professionally, move toward organizational goals, and grow their own capacity for leadership within the structure of the peer learning team and beyond.


“It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”


– Robert K. Greenleaf.

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The AI-Enabled Administrator: Reclaim Valuable Time

By Dr. Neal Green • February 8, 2026
Tools: Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, Perplexity Spaces Overview The evidence is clear that early childhood professionals' most significant challenge is a lack of time. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, when used strategically, can give administrators some of the time they desperately need, allowing them to focus more on their staff and the children and families in their care. This approach aligns with the foundational goal of strengthening leadership effectiveness and program impact (Abel, Talan, & Masterson, 2023). When I scan the AI landscape of available products and platforms, it becomes overwhelming. There are so many options that it is impossible to keep up with every new development. Focusing on a limited number of AI tools backed by organizations with strong infrastructure and fiscal stability is a wise place to start your AI journey. McCormick Institute for Early Childhood’s (MIEC’s) upcoming professional development sessions will focus on three AI tools. These include Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, and Perplexity Spaces. Think of Gemini Gems as your customized AI assistant that you "train" to follow your rules and meet your goals. Gemini Gems are the right tool to tackle Internal Operations . NotebookLM is perfect for creating Family Support resources that stick. NotebookLM is a powerful AI tool that uses only the documents or other resources you add to generate specific, focused output. Perplexity Spaces is a fantastic choice to address Marketing demands. Like many AI tools, you can toggle back and forth between open web searches and focused documents that are specific to your work. Gemini Gems: The “Specialist Teammate” Gemini Gems allow you to create templates you can use repeatedly for agendas, HR policies, and more. If you have used AI in the past, you know that writing an effective prompt takes time, and they can easily get "lost" if you use AI often. Gems removes that challenge and lets you save your most effective prompts without having to rewrite them every time you use Gemini. It is up to you to decide if you want to create several smaller Gems to tackle common challenges you face or create larger Gems that encompass large swaths of your work. For our purposes, we will focus our Gem work on Internal Operations, addressing Program Administration Scale (PAS) Item 9: Internal Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). Imagine using a Gem to turn messy staff meeting notes into professional minutes with clear action plans in minutes or less! NotebookLM: The "Walled Garden" NotebookLM is an excellent tool for Family Support for your center, addressing PAS Item 17: Family Support and Involvement (Talan & Bloom, 2011). After uploading documents and resources, such as your parent handbook or community referral lists, to your Notebook, you can create several resources that parents/guardians of your center students will love. Just a few of the impressive features available with NotebookLM include audio (podcast) summaries, video summaries, and reporting functions with templates or the option to create your own report with metrics that matter most to you. Perplexity Spaces: The "Research Librarian" Perplexity Spaces is a perfect AI partner for Marketing your early childhood education (ECE) program, addressing PAS Item 18: External Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). You can build your own centralized repository, with control over branding to ensure consistency and present a professional, current image. Adding specific instructions to your space eliminates the need to format documents constantly and saves valuable time. The consistency that a Perplexity Space offers in this regard allows you to upload messages that are the "voice” of your brand. Your marketing efforts are not only more aesthetically pleasing but also enable you to track trends at similar centers in your area, helping you assess the competition. Strategies for Success: Audit your Internal Communications: Identify one repetitive task, such as creating staff meeting agendas (PAS Item 9), and automate it with a Gemini Gem. Curate your Family Resources: Gather three to five existing documents to "feed" a NotebookLM project for more responsive family support (PAS Item 17). Standardize your Brand: Use a Perplexity Space to ensure all public relations tools project a consistent, professional image (PAS Item 18). Reflection Questions: Which administrative task takes the most time away from your interactions with staff and families? How might centralizing marketing materials (branding) impact the professional image to prospective families? Table 1: AI Tools for ECE Professionals
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