Future Learning Design Podcast

Faith Abiodun is Executive Director at UWC International bringing a wealth of experience from his time spent as an education and social enterprise leader, international affairs analyst, writer and speaker.  Prior to UWC International, he spent nearly a decade at the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he served as an executive leading the recruitment of thousands of young leaders from all over the world for ALA’s programmes. He also headed the Communications, Marketing, Programme Recruitment and Partnerships departments, helping to build ALA’s global brand and developing strategic partnerships with governments, corporates, foundations, NGOs and schools. He also founded the ALA Model African Union, through which more than 1,500 young leaders from 58 countries participated in a simulation of the African Union. Earlier in his career, Faith was a journalist with The Guardian in Nigeria; he also founded The Speech Academy, an elocution and public speaking institution and Future Africa, a public sector leadership organization with a network of emerging leaders spread across more than 30 African countries. Previously, he worked in Corporate Communications at the Bi-Courtney Group and served a sabbatical stint with the international secretariat of Catalyst 2030, a coalition of the world’s leading social enterprises working with national governments to accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.   Faith is a member of the Board of Trustees for News Decoder, a Paris-based global education news service. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University, New York. He is also an alumnus of the World Innovation Summit for Education’s (WISE) Learners Voice Executive Education programme. UWC Harvard Impact Study: https://www.uwc.org/impactstudy Social Links Instagram: @UWCint Facebook: @UWCint LinkedIn: @UWC International @faithabiodun⁠ Twitter: @UWCint

Jennifer Brandsberg-Engelmann⁠ has been teaching Economics, Business Management and Environmental Systems and Societies for 26 years in three countries, mainly in the International Baccalaureate. Jennifer is an expert in developing and executing educational strategies, projects, processes and curricula. Her core focus is training young people to take action for sustainable and regenerative societies. She has worked with student changemakers in the Sustainability Action Lab at ⁠Strothoff International School⁠, Germany, developing their knowledge, skills and passions through the ⁠Youth Mayors Field Guide⁠, a curriculum that she lead - developed with colleagues from other disciplines and other international schools. Jennifer has co-authored Economics, Business Management and Environmental Systems and Societies textbooks integrating new economic thinking and social enterprise themes into those works. Jennifer has also delivered webinars on sustainability and works to shift curricular systems to new paradigms to address 21st century problems. Recently, she has turned her attention to advocating for regenerative economics to be taught in secondary schools. You can find the regenerative economics syllabus she developed with ⁠Kate Raworth⁠ and other academics and teachers in ⁠an open letter posted on the Doughnut Economics Action Lab website⁠. She is working on a prototype for the course in the coming months. If you would like to offer help or feedback on this emerging work please contact her ⁠via LinkedIn⁠ or through the form for the open letter here: https://doughnuteconomics.org/stories/259.

The Schools Plus Network was launched in May by the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, led by Andreas Schleicher (previous guest on the podcast, Ep #38). The network is intended to position schools as the drivers of innovation and gather and connect the best innovative practices from schools around the world to share them with others. The network will work across three dimensions, to: Foster exchange between networks;  Scale up learning and innovation;  Inform policy, research and practice and the global education debate. Anna Pons is project lead of the Global Teaching InSights at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills. This initiative aims to use video to advance research on how teaching varies across countries and what practices are most effective for raising student outcomes, and to develop an online library to enable teachers to learn and share with their peers from across the globe. Previously, Anna co-ordinated the accession process of Costa Rica, Colombia and Latvia to the OECD in the area of education. Also, she co-authored in-depth reviews of the effectiveness and equity of nine education systems as well as the report Equity and Quality in Education, which identified system and school-level policies and practices for supporting disadvantaged schools and students. Prior to joining the OECD in 2010, Anna gained work experience in the Catalan government, a local government, and the private sector. Anna holds a BA in Economics and a BA in Political Science from University Pompeu Fabra, and a Master in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po, ENSAE and École Polytechnique. Leila Loupis is the Schools Plus Network Coordinator and Analyst at the OECD. Previously she was a senior coordinator of the Teacher Task Force network for UNESCO and has worked as a Communications Specialist for the United Nations and on the UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report. Links for further information Web: https://www.oecd.org/education/school/oecdschoolsnetwork.htm Email: OECD.SchoolsPlus@oecd.org Twitter: @OECDEduSkills; @OECDDev; @aponsv

Prof. Alison Clark discusses slow pedagogies, deep learning, cultural influences on education, and the role of play. She explores the challenges of teacher education and the value of play and flow in education, emphasizing the importance of providing open spaces and enough time for students to experience flow.

Dr Helen Street is a social psychologist and educator and has worked extensively with schools around the world since 1999. She holds a position as Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, Graduate School of Education as well as adjunct research consultant for the health department of Western Australia’s Centre for Clinical Interventions. Helen is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Positive Schools Initiative (PSI). Since its launch in 2008, the Positive Schools Initiative has worked with over 26,000 educators from over 6000 schools and colleges; from around Australia and 15 other countries. Positive Schools Initiative is focused takes an evidence-based systems approach to building Contextual Wellbeing, positive mental health and resilience in school staff, parents and young people. Helen is a bestselling author and speaker and her most recent book is Contextual Wellbeing: Creating Positive Schools from the Inside Out (2018). Her work has been met with international acclaim and has been endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama among many others. Social Links LinkedIn: @helen-street Twitter: @drhelenstreet

Dr Philippa Hardman is a learning scientist and affiliated scholar at the University of Cambridge. She is the creator of the ⁠DOMS™️ learning design engine⁠ - a groundbreaking evidence-based learning design process. She is a thought leader in the world of learning design and has spent 20+ years researching learning science & designing in-person, online & hybrid learning experiences. Phil has designed some of the world's most high-impact learning experiences, including the University of Oxford's first and most successful MOOC. She also successfully led the largest learning design project in history while VP of Learning at ed-tech start-up, Aula. More recently, Phil has started to consider the role of AI in learning design and delivery and recently delivered a TEDX Talk on AI and Education. Phil's Substack: @LearningFuturesDigest Connect with Phil on LinkedIn here.

In this podcast, Carl Honoré, bestselling author and the voice of the Slow Movement, discusses the rise of competitive parenting, the impact of measuring time on the speed of life, the limitations of the traditional schooling system, the deeper meaning of the Slow Movement, managing technology and addiction, reclaiming temporal autonomy, the power of slow fixes, and the unintended consequences of quick fixes.

Following on from Part One, this episode brings together many different voices on generative artificial intelligence (AI), from students reflecting on the fragility and uncertainty of their future lives and careers through to system leaders responding to the hyperbole around the advances in AI. In this episode, Tim Logan speaks with: Given, Alice, Zak, Amerali, Gijs and Alex - Grade 11 students at UWC Atlantic College, Wales [starts at 01:54] Raja Rouissi - English Coordinator and English Language teacher at Al Durrah International School, Sharjah [starts at 30:23] Heather Beck - incoming Head of School at Awty International School [starts at 45:48] Dwayne Matthews - Chief Innovation Evangelist and Education Strategist at TomorrowNow Learning Labs [starts at 01:16:37] Gary Stager - Founder and CEO of Constructing Modern Knowledge [starts at 01:37:01] Matt Glanville - Director of Assessment at the International Baccalaureate [starts at 01:58:06] Check out Part One in Episode #107, including: Martin and Rosetta - 13/14yr old students from the American international section of a public school in Bordeaux ⁠Chantelle Love⁠ - Grade 5 teacher at ⁠Australian International School of Phnom Penh⁠, Cambodia ⁠Raj Bolla⁠, Vice Principal at ⁠International School Ho Chi Minh City⁠ and ⁠Dr Tosca Killoran⁠, Deputy Head at International School Ho Chi Minh City ⁠Bodo Hoenen⁠ - Co-Founder and CEO of edtech company ⁠Nolej AI⁠ ⁠Lord Tim Clement-Jones⁠ - Co-Chair ⁠All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI⁠, Chair of ⁠The Institute for Ethical AI in Education⁠ and Chair of Council at ⁠Queen Mary University of London⁠.

Speakers discuss the implications of advanced AI in education, including using AI for homework assignments and its potential as an artist. Dangers of AI rewriting its code and controlling human lives are explored. The impact of social media on student well-being and the diverse perspectives on advanced AI in education are discussed. The potential of advanced AI to transform education is explored, along with the importance of serendipity in learning. Opportunities, risks, and ethical considerations of AI in education are examined.

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 Dr. Zachary Stein is a philosopher of education, psychologist, futurist, and author. He is a founding member of The Consilience Project, with Daniel Schmachtenberger, which is dedicated to improving public sensemaking and building a movement to radically upgrade digital media landscapes. Zak is also co-founder of Lectica, Inc. (with Theo Dawson, a non-profit dedicated to the research-based, justice-oriented reform of large-scale standardized testing in K-12, higher-education, and business), as well as the Civilizational Research Institute, and the Center for World Philosophy and Religion. Zak is the author of Social Justice and Educational Measurement (2016) and Education in a Time Between Worlds: Essays on the Future of Schools, Technology, and Society (2019).