Scott McLeod

A Professor of Educational Leadership, Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts on P-12 school leadership, deeper learning, technology, and innovation. He is on a mission to make students’ day-to-day learning less boring and more meaningful and relevant. Scott is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the only university center in the U.S. dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and is the co-creator of both the wildly popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens), and the 4 Shifts Protocol for lesson and unit redesign.

Scott has worked with hundreds of schools, districts, universities, and other organizations and has received numerous awards, including the 2016 global Award for Outstanding Leadership from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Scott blogs about leadership and innovation at Dangerously Irrelevant and is a frequent keynote speaker and workshop facilitator at state, national, and international conferences. Scott also hosts three occasional podcasts, LeaderTalk, Redesigning for Deeper Learning, and CASTLE Conversations.

Scott currently serves as a Distinguished Educator Fellow for PDK International, a Fellow for the NAESP Center for Innovative Leadership, and an ISTE+ASCD Community Leader. He also recently served as a Senior Fellow for Getting Smart. Scott has written or edited 4 books and 170 articles and other publications, and is one of the most visible education professors in the United States. In 2025, he received the 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award for the entire University of Colorado Denver campus.