About & Resume

Dr. Matt Rhoads

About Dr. Matt Rhoads

Dr. Rhoads works at the intersection of cognitive science, instructional leadership, and AI — translating research on how people learn into strategies that educators actually use. Over 12+ years spanning K-12, Adult Education, and Higher Ed, he has developed a distinctive expertise in connecting the science of learning with practical EdTech and AI tools built for real classrooms. He is a 2025–26 APSM Special Achievement Award recipient, 2025 CCAE Excellence in Support Services Award recipient, and 2020 San Diego CUE Tech Innovator of the Year.

Who I Work With

Tailored engagements across K-12 education, higher education, adult education, and the EdTech industry.

K-12 Schools & Districts

Dr. Rhoads partners with K-12 schools and districts to build instructional capacity through research-backed coaching, AI integration, and co-teaching implementation. He designs professional development grounded in cognitive science and built around your specific curriculum — from one-day workshops to multi-year partnerships.

Universities & Higher Ed Institutions

Dr. Rhoads brings instructional design expertise and AI integration strategy to higher education institutions modernizing teacher preparation and faculty development. His work spans pre-service teacher education, instructional technology curriculum, faculty PD on AI tools, and doctoral dissertation mentorship — grounded in direct experience as a lecturer and doctoral chair at SDSU and Concordia University, Irvine.

Companies & EdTech Organizations

Dr. Rhoads helps EdTech companies and education-adjacent organizations bridge the gap between product capabilities and classroom reality. He brings practitioner perspective to curriculum development, AI strategy, product advisory, and go-to-market positioning — with direct consulting experience alongside Paper Learning, Learning Genie, Digital Promise, Array Global, and LINCS.

Adult Education Schools & Consortiums

Dr. Rhoads brings rare ground-level expertise to adult education — having led instructional technology, professional development, and LMS integration across a multi-school consortium, including developing California’s first consortium-wide single sign-on system. He supports adult education programs in integrating AI tools into ESL, ABE, and ASE instruction, building digital literacy frameworks aligned to LINCS resources, navigating WIOA accountability structures, and scaling EdTech adoption across complex consortium environments — grounded in peer-reviewed research published in the COABE Journal and direct service as an active WASC Chair.

Professional Background

Instructional Leadership & EdTech Integration
In his role as Digital Learning and Professional Development Coordinator for the Education to Career Network of North San Diego County, Dr. Rhoads leads instructional and technology leadership across a consortium of Adult Education schools. He coaches teachers on integrating research-based instructional strategies with EdTech and AI tools, leads the consortium’s operations team, and advises school leadership on instructional vision and goals. Key accomplishments include developing the first single sign-on (SSO) system for an Adult Education consortium in the state of California, expanding LMS adoption from 50% to over 90% of all consortium programs, distributing 5,000+ digital badges in ESL and CTE from 2022 to 2025, and establishing the consortium’s first Google for Education partnership. He manages Canvas LMS, oversees all technology and learning application administration, and supports schools through WASC accreditation — serving as an active WASC Chair and committee member.
Instructional Coaching & Professional Development
Dr. Rhoads develops and implements professional learning ranging from live synchronous sessions and online courses to a teacher podcast and a professional repository website for consortium teachers. He has led PD at the consortium, district, and school site levels — building systematic instructional coaching programs that include observational feedback, coaching cycles, and embedded coaching sessions. He co-led the Digital Promise PowerUp Instructional Coaching group from 2021 to 2023 and has developed professional development courses and training for regional and national organizations including CalPRO and LINCS, focused on Professional Learning Communities and instructional best practices.
Co-Teaching & Inclusive Practices
As an author and former high school special education teacher, Dr. Rhoads has deep expertise in co-teaching and inclusive instructional practices. His book Co-Teaching Evolved (Solution Tree, 2025) provides partnership strategies for equitable and inclusive classrooms. He previously taught in inclusive co-taught settings using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework and continues to consult, present, and train on co-teaching at conferences including CUE, CEC, SITE, and CalECSE.
Author

Dr. Rhoads has authored or co-authored 11 books for teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders:

  • Co-Teaching Evolved: Partnership Strategies for an Equitable, Inclusive, and Tech-Powered Classroom (Solution Tree, 2025)
  • Crush it from the Start: 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders (SchoolRubric, 2025)
  • Crush it from the Start: 50 Tips for New Teachers
  • Instruction Without Boundaries: Enhance Your Teaching Strategies with Technology Tools in Any Setting
  • Navigating the Toggled Term: A Guide for K-12 Classroom and School Leaders
  • Navigating the Toggled Term: Preparing Secondary Educators for Fall 2020 and Beyond
  • Igniting Your Teaching with Educational Technology: A Resource for New Teachers
  • Lead co-author of the Amplify Learning: A Global Collaborative series (4 volumes) covering diverse learning needs, student inquiry in STEAM, authentic reading/writing/mathematics, and instructional design.
University Lecturer & Doctoral Chair
At San Diego State University (SDSU), Dr. Rhoads lectures on AI integration, EdTech, and instructional strategy for pre-service teachers in the Dual Language and English Language Learner and Special Education departments. He supervises teacher candidates through their student teaching clinical practice, co-teaches SPED 560 (Assistive Technology and EdTech for Special Education), and provides professional development to SDSU faculty on AI tools and EdTech integration. He has supervised 12 program graduates. Separately, Dr. Rhoads serves as a Doctoral Dissertation Chair at Concordia University, Irvine (CUI), mentoring Ed.D. candidates through research design, data collection, and formal defense in areas including instruction, EdTech and AI integration, and self-efficacy — with two doctoral graduates to date.
Educational Consultant
Dr. Rhoads has consulted with schools, districts, Adult Education agencies, and EdTech companies on instructional strategy, AI integration, data-driven decision making, WASC accreditation, and co-teaching. Organizations he has worked with include San Gabriel SELPA, Paper Learning, Learning Genie, Dayton Public Schools, LINCS (national curriculum development), Wise Academy, Solution Tree, Sage Education and Business, Digital Promise, and Array Global. He is an active WASC Chair and serves as a committee member for Array Global, evaluating international schools against improvement standards. He consults in partnership with Solution Tree and Sage Education and Business.
Conferences & Speaking
With 75+ presentations at FETC, ISTE, CUE, COABE, CCAE, OTAN, SITE, and other national and regional conferences, Dr. Rhoads brings nationally recognized thought leadership to every engagement. His speaking covers AI integration strategy, instructional leadership, co-teaching, cognitive science and instructional design, data-driven decision making, and new teacher development. He has been a featured presenter, keynote speaker, and workshop facilitator for thousands of educators — including appearances at FETC Orlando (2026), the Hawaii International Conference on Education (2026), and ISTE Philadelphia (2023).
Researcher in Data Practices, Instruction & PD
Dr. Rhoads’s research focuses on data-driven decision making, data use efficacy among educational leaders, building sustainable data-driven cultures in schools and consortia, and the effectiveness of instructional professional development. He is a published researcher in the COABE Journal (2025) — Policy-Driven Innovations: Case Study of Instructional and Technological Innovation at the Adult Education Consortium Level — and has presented original research at the Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference and ACSA. His doctoral dissertation, completed at Concordia University, Irvine (2019), examined the relationship between data use, leadership efficacy, and student achievement.

Hobbies & Personal Life

In his free time, Dr. Rhoads loves playing basketball (former NCAA college basketball player), working out, going to new restaurants, and traveling while spending time with his wife and growing family.

Awards & Recognition

  • 🎖️ 2025–26 — APSM Special Achievement in Support of Student Learning
  • 🎖️ 2025 — CCAE Excellence in Support Services Award
  • 🎖️ 2020 — San Diego CUE Technology Innovator of the Year
  • 🎖️ 2015 — Phi Delta Lambda Top 15% of Graduating Class, Point Loma Nazarene University
  • 🎖️ 2011–12 — Colt Research Forum Presenter

11 books Published

  • Co-Teaching Evolved: Partnership Strategies for an Equitable, Inclusive Classroom
  • Leadership Evolved: Transforming Schools Through Evidence-Based Leadership
  • Crush It from the Start: 25 Tips for Instructional Coaches and Leaders
  • Crush It from the Start: 50 Tips for New Teachers
  • Amplify Learning: A Global Collaborative — Amplifying Instructional Design
  • Amplify Learning: A Global Collaborative — Amplifying Diverse Student Needs
  • Amplify Learning: A Global Collaborative — Amplifying Student Inquiry in Robotics
  • Amplify Learning: A Global Collaborative — Amplifying Authentic Learning in Reading
  • Navigating the Toggled Term: A Guide for K-12 Classroom and School Leaders
  • Instruction Without Boundaries: Enhance Your Teaching Strategies with Technology

See all books →

Areas of Expertise

  • Instructional Leadership & School Improvement
  • Artificial Intelligence in Education
  • EdTech & Instructional Strategy Integration
  • Co-Teaching & Inclusion Strategies
  • Data-Driven Decision Making
  • Cognitive Science & The Science of Learning
  • Strategic Planning and WASC Accreditation
  • Professional Development Best Practices
  • Special Education (Mild to Moderate)

Credentials & Certifications

California Teaching Credentials

  • Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (Certificate of Eligibility)
  • Clear Single Subject — English
  • Clear Single Subject — Social Science
  • Clear Education Specialist — Mild/Moderate (Special Education)

Certifications

  • CalPro — Train the Trainer: Adult Education Fundamentals
  • Co-Teaching: Practical Strategies and Tools
  • Writing Legally Compliant IEPs
  • Special Education Data Collection & Analysis
  • Expository Reading & Writing Curriculum (ERWC)
  • Book Creator Trainer Certified
  • Implications for Behavior & Instruction
  • CalPro Leadership Certified

Education

  • Ed.D. — Educational Leadership, Concordia University Irvine (2019)
  • M.A. — Teaching, Point Loma Nazarene University (2015)
  • B.A. — Political Science, Point Loma Nazarene University (2012)
  • Graduate coursework — Educational Leadership at SDSU; Cal State San Marcos; UC San Diego; Cal Western School of Law

Ready to Connect?

Explore my books, consulting services, or download my full resume.