
Future Learning Design Podcast
We are stuck in an old paradigm, with institutional structures that were built for a world that no longer exists. Within education, passionate entrepreneurs & committed citizens are no longer waiting for these broken formal institutions to be reformed. All over the world, they're designing & building their own local responses with relationships at their core. These are the education ecosystems that our young people need and out of which new institutions will emerge.
This podcast is an inquiry into these fundamental changes and an invitation to join the movement to help drive positive change.
Latest episodes

Mar 20, 2022 • 39min
The Metaverse in Education - A Conversation with Teddy Pahagbia
Teddy Pahagbia is the founder and Chief Executive Druid of BLVCK PiXEL, a design-led strategy firm that bridges the gap between technology & business, merging the realms of virtual and real worlds. As an expert in emerging technologies like AR/VR, Blockchain, AI and advanced data management, he designs new disruptive experiences based on the way we interact with technology.
Teddy has been identified as one of the Top 30 most influential people in the metaverse. Known by many as Mr Metaverse, he is one of the "leading voices helping to evangelize, educate, advise, develop and create the successor to today’s mobile internet."
Teddy is a former Consulting Manager and has worked for mid to large size companies from various industries and government agencies in Western Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @teddypahagbia
Twitter: @mr_metaverse; @blvck_pixel

Mar 14, 2022 • 45min
A Question of Freedom - A Conversation with Gert Biesta
This is the second conversation that I have had with Prof. Gert Biesta, and it is a special episode reflecting on the current crisis in Ukraine and the wider context of this - that some call the meta-crisis. Our first conversation earlier this year, on World-Centred Education, can be found here: https://anchor.fm/futurelearningdesign/episodes/On-World-Centred-Education---A-Conversation-with-Prof--Gert-Biesta-e1cqcj5.
For more information on Gert - he is Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy, Maynooth University, Ireland, and Professor of Educational Theory and Pedagogy at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. He holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Agder, Norway, and Uniarts, the University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland. Gert is a prolific author and has written many books on the theory of education and educational and social research, and his work has appeared in 20 different languages. He has particular interests in national and global education policy, curriculum, teaching and teacher education, democracy and citizenship education, religious education and arts education. His latest book is World-Centred Education: A View for the Present (2021) and this is a good overview of the key ideas in this seminal book. A selection of his previous books are The Rediscovery of Teaching (2017); Beyond Learning: Democratic Education for a Human Future (2015); The Beautiful Risk of Education (2015); Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy (2015) and Complexity Theory and the Politics of Education [edited with Deborah Osberg] (2010) Gert is co-editor of the British Educational Research Journal, co-editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, and associate editor of Educational Theory. He co-edits a two book series with Routledge: Theorizing Education (with Stefano Oliverio), and New Directions in the Philosophy of Education (with Michael A. Peters, Liz Jackson and Marek Tesar).
Social Links
LinkedIn: @gert-biesta
Twitter: Gert suspended his Twitter account only to return when Donald Trump was no longer on the platform!

Feb 28, 2022 • 42min
Regenerative Education - A Conversation with Bas van den Berg
Bas van den Berg is the educational coordinator of the Centre of Expertise Mission Zero at the Hague University of Applied Sciences where he leads large scale educational innovation projects such as The Challenge, coordinates the Mission Impact minor and lectures in courses related to sustainability, circular economy, ethics and regenerative futuring. Bas is also the host of The Regenerative Education Podcast (available on all major platforms). Bas was awarded the accolade of Sustainable Higher Educator of the year 2021 in the Netherlands and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts since 2021.
Bas is an external PhD-candidate at Wageningen University in Education & Learning Sciences. His research interest focuses on how higher education can be redesigned to tackle wicked eco-social problems and what this type of regenerative learning asks from educators and educational design. Exploring how ecologies of learning can be designed that connect societal learning-based change with the transition towards more regenerative futures.
Social Links
Medium: @bvandenb
LinkedIn: @bas-van-den-berg
Email: B.vandenBerg@hhs.nl

Feb 14, 2022 • 41min
Assessing Complex Competencies - A Conversation with Prof. Sandra Milligan
Enterprise Professor Sandra Milligan is the Director of the Assessment Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. She specialises in research on assessment, recognition, micro-credentialing and warranting of hard-to-assess capabilities and is a lead on the New Metrics for Success: Transforming what we value in schools research project. Sandra is also the Director of the Australian Council for Educational Research. Sandra convened the Melbourne University MOOC targeting professional learning for teachers in the area of assessment and teaching of 21C skills, which has to date enrolled over 30,000 teachers worldwide. Originally a teacher of science and mathematics, Sandra trained in educational measurement and is a former Director of Curriculum in an Australian state education department, and has held senior research, management and governance positions in a range of educational organisation. She also has a background in software, digital media and publishing. Sandra has co-authored the excellent report Future Proofing Students (2020) and is a contibuting author to the book, Re-imagining University Assessment in a Digital World (2020).
Social Links
LinkedIn: @sandra-milligan
Twitter: @SandraMilligan3 @ARCMelbourne

17 snips
Jan 31, 2022 • 44min
World-Centred Education - A Conversation with Prof. Gert Biesta
Gert Biesta is Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy, Maynooth University, Ireland, and Professor of Educational Theory and Pedagogy at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. He holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Agder, Norway, and Uniarts, the University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland. Gert is a prolific author and has written many books on the theory of education and educational and social research, and his work has appeared in 20 different languages. He has particular interests in national and global education policy, curriculum, teaching and teacher education, democracy and citizenship education, religious education and arts education. His latest book is World-Centred Education: A View for the Present (2021) and this is a good overview of the key ideas in this seminal book. A selection of his previous books are The Rediscovery of Teaching (2017); Beyond Learning: Democratic Education for a Human Future (2015); The Beautiful Risk of Education (2015); Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy (2015) and Complexity Theory and the Politics of Education [edited with Deborah Osberg] (2010) Gert is co-editor of the British Educational Research Journal, co-editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, and associate editor of Educational Theory. He co-edits a two book series with Routledge: Theorizing Education (with Stefano Oliverio), and New Directions in the Philosophy of Education (with Michael A. Peters, Liz Jackson and Marek Tesar). Social Links LinkedIn: @gert-biesta Twitter: Gert suspended his Twitter account only to return when Donald Trump was no longer on the platform!

10 snips
Jan 3, 2022 • 52min
Purpose in Education - A Conversation with Dr Kevin House
Dr Kevin House, Education Futures Architect, discusses redefining education towards purpose over output, exploring the intersection of education, politics, and ideology, embracing uncertainty for human flourishing, proposing alternative pathways for equitable education, and the potential of online/hybrid education. The SE21 model focuses on provocation-based learning and collaboration for educational innovation.

Dec 20, 2021 • 40min
Adaptable Curriculum - A Conversation with AJ Juliani
AJ Juliani is the Founder/CEO of Adaptable Learning and serves as Faculty for the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education (PLN).
Prior to his current role, AJ served as Head of Learning & Growth at NextLesson, Director of Learning and Innovation for Centennial School District, and Education and Technology Innovation Specialist for Upper Perkiomen School District. Previously AJ worked as a K-12 Staff Developer (Instructional Coach) in the Wissahickon School District where he also taught middle school and high school English/LA.
Juliani's latest book is Adaptable: How to Create an Adaptable Curriculum and Flexible Learning Experiences That Work in Any Environment. Previously he authored EMPOWER, an education best-seller and the award-winning LAUNCH on bringing design thinking into K-12 classrooms. Juliani's previous books include "Learning By Choice" and "Inquiry and Innovation in the Classroom: Using 20% Time, Genius Hour, and PBL to Drive Student Success" available from Routledge Press.
Juliani now speaks at conferences, organizations, universities, schools, and events around the world on innovation in learning, teaching, and leadership.
Juliani spent two summers in South Africa and Swaziland, volunteering at clinics, running kids camps, preparing a community structure to be used for a medical clinic, church, school, and food shelter. Since then Comfort For Africa built a six-building school that has over 300 students!
AJ received his MS Degree from Drexel University in “Global and International Education”. He founded –Project: Global Inform – a project that gives students the power to do something about human rights violations.
Most importantly, AJ is someone who truly believes in the "inquiry-driven" education movement. He has five kids of his own and wants them to grow up in a world that values their ideas. His award-winning blog and website serve as a place to share ideas and thoughts around "Intentional Innovation" and the future of learning.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @ajjuliani
Twitter: @ajjuliani

Dec 3, 2021 • 42min
Accomplishment and Educational Change - A Conversation with Sir Michael Barber
Sir Michael Barber is a world leading expert on government delivery, education systems, systemic innovation and education reform.
Sir Michael led the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit for the Blair administration in the UK from 2001-2005. Since then, he has worked on delivery and system-wide reforms in more than 50 countries. He personally leads high-stakes engagements with political leaders, such as quarterly cabinet retreats in Canada with PM Justin Trudeau, to help them adopt the delivery approach.
Michael held the first Chair of the Office for Students in the UK from 2017 to 2021, and prior to that as Chief Education Advisor at Pearson, Michael led a worldwide programme delivering Pearson’s strategy for education in the poorest sectors of the world, especially in fast-growing developing economies.
Michael was a Partner at McKinsey & Company and Head of McKinsey’s global education practice. He is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter. Before joining government he was a professor at the Institute of Education at the University of London.
Sir Michael has written extensively on education at all levels, government delivery and innovation. His most recent publication 'How Seventeen Secretaries of State for Education, through Thirty Years of Constant Change, Enabled the System to Improve' was published this month and is a synthesis of the reflections of the UK education ministers since 1986.
Michael's book Accomplishment: How to achieve ambitious and challenging things was also published earlier this year and sets out the ingredients for success based on the stories of many inspirational people and Michael's own experiences of delivering success for governments and education systems around the world.
Other books he has authored are Deliverology 101: A Field Guide For Educational Leaders and How to Run A Government: So that Citizens Benefit and Taxpayers Don't Go Crazy.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @sirmichaelbarber
Twitter: @MichaelBarber9

Nov 13, 2021 • 46min
Bridging the Trad/Prog Divide in Education - A Conversation with Professor Daniel T. Willingham
Renowned Professor of Psychology, Professor Daniel T. Willingham, explores bridging traditional and progressive methods in education, the role of meaning, emotion, and story in memory, the power of stories in education, ongoing research on skills-based curriculum, effective study strategies for students, and the importance of deliberate practice and Montessori education.

Oct 30, 2021 • 43min
Building Meaning and Building Teens' Brains - A Conversation with Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang studies the psychological and neurobiological bases of social emotion, self-awareness and culture and their implications for learning, development and schools. She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program Faculty at the University of Southern California, and Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE).
Mary Helen was elected 2016-2018 president of the International Mind, Brain and Education Society by the society’s membership. She is serving as a distinguished scientist on the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Science and Practice of Learning. Mary Helen is also associate Editor for the award-winning journal Mind, Brain and Education and for the new journal AERA Open, and sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
In her research work, Mary Helen leads cross-cultural, longitudinal studies investigating adolescent brain and social-emotional development, academic success and relations to school and life achievement in urban contexts as well as the neural and psychosocial correlates of mindsets in low-SES adolescents from different cultural groups. She also serves as scientific adviser to several Los Angeles schools/districts.
Mary Helen’s 2015 book, Emotions, learning and the brain: Exploring the educational implications of affective neuroscience, is available from W.W. Norton publishers (author proceeds are donated to education-related causes).
In May 2020, Mary Helen wrote a must-read article in ASCD with Doug Knecht (Bank Street College of Education) entitled Building Meaning Builds Teens' Brains, if you're interested to find out more about the significant implications of Mary Helen's work this is a great place to start!
Social Links
LinkedIn: @maryhelenimmordino-yang
Twitter: @CandleUSC