Future Learning Design Podcast

Glenn Whitman is a History teacher and Executive Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) at St. Andrew's Episcopal School. Glenn is the co-author of Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education, the co-designer of Neuroteach Global and Neuroteach Global Student and co-editor of Think Differently and Deeply, the international publication of the CTTL. Glenn earned his MALS from Dartmouth College and a BA from Dickinson College and has shared the work of the CTTL through publications such as Edutopia, ASCD Express and EdSurge and presented around the world at public, private, and international school conferences including: Learning Forward, New Teacher Center, Learning & Brain and SXSWedu. Social Links Twitter: @gwhitmancttl LinkedIn: @glenn-whitman

Dr. Nandini Chatterjee Singh is a cognitive neuroscientist and currently Senior Project Officer at UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development), in New Delhi, India. UNESCO MGIEP focuses on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world by developing programmes that promote social and emotional learning, innovate digital pedagogies and empower the youth. Their mission is to 'build kinder brains.' After receiving a PhD in physics from the University of Pune in India, Nandini studied auditory learning mechanisms in songbirds at University of California Berkeley. She returned to India in 2002 and the first cognitive and neuroimaging laboratory in India at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) in India, where she set up SALLY (Speech and Language Laboratory). Using behavioral and functional neuroimaging experiments, her laboratory sought to understand neurodiversity especially children with autism and dyslexia. Her research laboratory at NBRC also conducted research on how Indian ragas elicit distinct emotions. Since 2017, Nandini has been at UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) where she has led the development of EMC², a neuroscience-based framework that builds SEL competencies of Empathy(E), Mindfulness (M), Compassion (C) and Critical Inquiry (C). She is focused on designing new interactive curricula using innovative digital pedagogies like digital games, digital dialogue to cultivate SEL and she conducts cross-cultural research to assess their efficacy in school education systems. Social Links LinkedIn: @nandini-chatterjee-singh Twitter: @nanchatter; @UNESCO_MGIEP

Dylan Wiliam, PhD, is one of the world's foremost education authorities. With partners Paul Black and Siobhan Leahy, Dylan has developed and helped to successfully implement classroom formative assessment in thousands of schools all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Singapore, Sweden, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Wiliam is Professor Emeritus of educational assessment at UCL Institute of Education (IOE), London, UK and Executive Director of the Learning Sciences International Dylan Wiliam Center. After a first degree in mathematics and physics, Wiliam taught in urban public schools for seven years, during which time he earned further degrees in mathematics and mathematics education. He has served as dean and head of the School of Education at King's College London, senior research director at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ and Deputy Director of the Institute of Education, University of London. Since 2010, he has devoted most of his time to research and teaching. Wiliam's most recent publication, Creating the Schools Our Children Need: Why What We're Doing Now Won't Help Much (And What We Can Do Instead), analyses the approaches that American schools have taken in order to improve student achievement, and shows why they are unlikely to succeed, while at the same time, providing clear advice about the steps that schools need to take to raise student achievement and close achievement gaps. His other works focus on the profound impact strategic formative assessment has on student learning. He is co-author of Inside the Black Box, as well as Embedding Formative Assessment, the Embedding Formative Assessment Professional Development Pack, and Leadership for Teacher Learning. Social Links Twitter: @dylanwiliam LinkedIn: @dylanwiliam

Author and educational thought leader Ulcca Joshi Hansen discusses the evolution of education, navigating contrasting worldviews, integrating left and right brain functions, and the challenges in language and indigenous education. The conversation emphasizes rebuilding relationships, cultures, and understanding core values in education for a holistic approach.

Tyson Yunkaporta is an author, academic, educator, Indigenous thinker, maker, arts critic, researcher and poet. He is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland and has ties in the south. His born-country is Melbourne and adoptive and community/cultural ties all over, from Western NSW to Perth. Tyson carves traditional tools and weapons and also works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne. Tyson is the author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World (2021) a remarkable book about everything from echidnas to evolution, cosmology to cooking, sex and science and spirits to Schrödinger’s cat. In the book, Tyson looks at global systems from an Indigenous perspective and asks how contemporary life diverges from the pattern of creation. How does this affect us? How can we do things differently? Tyson is also an advisor to the Consilience Project, founded by Daniel Schmachtenberger and Zak Stein. Social Links LinkedIn: @tyson-yunkaporta

Gregory Biggs is the Director of Fieldwork Education, the organisation that develops a range of International Curriculum for learners aged 2-14 across Early Years, Primary and Middle Years, known by many as the IEYC, IPC, and IMYC. These curricula are learnt and taught in over 1,000 schools and more than 90 countries worldwide. Fieldwork Education provides schools the International Curriculum, accompanied by their professional learning pathway and their accreditation services to schools working with the International Curriculum around the world. Prior to leading the team at Fieldwork Education, Gregory was the global product manager for the IB’s Diploma and Career-related Programmes, located in Singapore. Before which he worked with governments and ministries on structuring national education reform efforts across the Middle East and South East Asia, out of Abu Dhabi. With a Master’s from the University of London’s Institute for Education in Education and International Development, Gregory has spent the last 12 years supporting institutions delicately balance global perspectives with local contexts. Tristian Stobie's career has spanned a wide range of educational contexts. Starting as a teacher, and then Secondary Principal, he has worked in New Zealand, UK, Lesotho, Monaco, Austria and the Netherlands. He has also worked in a number of roles for the International Baccalaureate Organisation. He was involved in the early development of the International Schools Association Curriculum, which became the IBMYP,  and later he became Head of IB Diploma programme curriculum development. Tristian joined Cambridge International as Director of Education in July 2011, and was appointed Director of Curriculum & Qualifications Development in February 2020. He leads the design and development of Cambridge programmes and qualifications for learners aged 5 to 19. Tristian completed a Master’s and a Doctorate degree at the University of Bath with research interests in curriculum and pedagogy. He has written various articles and contributions to books as well as presented widely at educational conferences and events. Social Links LinkedIn: @tristian-stobie / @gregory-biggs Twitter:  @CambridgeInt / @gregory_biggs

Wendy Kopp, CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All, discusses the need to reshape education, the evolution of Teach For America and Teach For All, collective leadership in teaching, the importance of global networking, addressing teacher attrition, and taking action to create positive change.

Michele Dal Trozzo is currently in charge of the Montessori department of GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori. GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori is an Italian company based in Gonzaga, Mantua. GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori is well known worldwide for its unique history in the manufacturing and marketing of Montessori materials and furniture. Its origins in the early twentieth century are strongly connected to the presence of Maria Montessori in Gonzaga, as a friend of Maria Maraini Guerrieri Gonzaga, who started one of the first Casa dei Bambini. Nowadays GAM designs, manufactures and markets furniture for nurseries, schools, libraries and cultural centers. Michele started working for Gonzagarredi in 1996, right after graduating in Business and Economics at the University of Parma.  In more than 25 years, he has been involved in several different areas of the company business - sales, customer care, logistics, purchasing and manufacturing, product development, classroom design, including the design of the Montessori Museum located in the company headquarters. He also has been attending conferences, trade shows, visiting schools meeting teachers and customers in more than 30 countries, keeping constantly in touch with people deeply committed to provide excellent education to children. Social Links GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori

Prof. Deborah Eyre discusses the shift from ability to performance in gifted education, the importance of performance-based assessment, being cognitively enterprising, having a shared language in high performance learning, and structured tinkering for change.

Todd Shy has taught for more than twenty-five years in Cary, North Carolina, San Francisco, California, and New York City. He is currently Head of Upper Division at Avenues The World School in New York. His writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Raleigh News and Observer, where he was a regular contributor, the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Salmagundi, and numerous other publications. In 2008 he was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. His recent book Teaching Life: Life Lessons for Aspiring (and Inspiring) Teachers was described by the founder of the Academy for Teachers as a “an eloquent love letter to teaching and to life.” Social Links LinkedIn: @todd-shy Twitter: @avenues_org