TEACHx 2026

The Inside–Out program at Cook County Jail is as exhilarating as it is intimidating. Faculty, students, and administrators operate within a carceral setting defined by near constant uncertainty, ongoing changes, and heightened stakes. This session explores how restorative justice—specifically the use of peace circles—can provide both stability and adaptability within prison and jail-based higher education. Peace circles not only satisfy the basic psychological needs of students (autonomy, relatedness, and competence), but also establish shared meaning and purpose. Drawing on a recent Inside Out class on nonviolence, we will explore how Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed was woven into our restorative approach, motivating Inside and Outside students to become co-learners in their development of critical consciousness. Participants will gain practical insight into how peace circles are planned and implemented—both in content and in context—to seamlessly merge restorative justice and liberatory teaching.

Motion capture technology, long established in industries such as sports, animation, and medical research, is a powerful tool for mapping and analyzing human movement. Its precision and ability to visualize biomechanical detail offer unique benefits when applied to music education—particularly in piano pedagogy, where mastery of physical nuance supports and enhances expressive performance.


Our project at Northwestern University, conducted in partnership with the Northwestern IT Emerging Technologies Lab, investigates motion capture as a platform to modernize piano instruction. By combining wearable sensor data from instructors with synchronized MIDI and multi-angle video, we facilitate dynamic visualization of expert technique—granting students access to practical demonstrations that surpass the limits of conventional teaching. The system’s interactive features, including targeted practice modes and accessible tools, encourage self-directed learning and promote a more informed development and understanding of playing habits.


Through iterative design and continued collaboration with faculty and students, we are refining this approach to prioritize accessibility and expand functionality. Beyond technical advancement, our work highlights how motion capture can foster creativity, exploration, and personalized learning—helping learners bridge the gap between understanding of physicality and technical execution in a technology-driven landscape.

While the rise of AI is helping education in many ways, it is hindering in others.  After giving an exam, I used to provide the opportunity for students to make up some points by revisiting what they got wrong and writing about what went wrong and how to fix it.  Last year, it became blatantly obvious that the majority of the class was using AI to complete this, thus defeating the objective.  Since I think there is great value in revisiting mistakes, this year I administered an oral exam to make up points.  Students knew that I could ask anything related to the exam topics.  In this talk, we will describe the experience and what we learned in the process, from student attitudes to the administrative burden.