Education By Design

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The Point of Reflection is the companion to each episode of Education by Design — a short, spoken reflection recorded after the conversation ends. This is where I sit with the ideas discussed with my previous guest. It's good to sort through what our learning is stirring in our own lives and work, and think openly. This is a window into how learning happens for me: slowly, personally, and iteratively. If the episode is the conversation, this is what the conversation is shaping, for me.

This is the point of my reflection

After my conversation with Michele on AI, student writing, and authenticating rather than policing, I continued to think about experiences that shape my own voice. 

In this reflection, I trace that question through my own life: a self I once lost and spent years recovering, a friend who has been to six silent retreats, the hardest pose at the end of every yoga class, and a recent silence I didn't choose — one I'm learning to sit inside anyway.

Some of what I'm pondering:

• We worry about students outsourcing their writing. Are we paying enough attention to what they're outsourcing with it?
• Whose version of you is circulating right now — and did you author it?
• Is stillness something we're born able to do, or a practice we owe ourselves before life demands it?
• What would it mean to treat reflection not as a luxury at the end of the day, but as the work itself?

Here is Michele's V.O.I.C.E authentication resource and Substack 

I hope this reflection gives you a reason to sit alone with your thoughts, too.

🎧 Full episode with Michele Lackovic

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"I don't need an AI detector to tell me this isn't your work." After twenty-five years of reading student writing, Michele Lackovic knows when a voice goes missing from the page — and what she does next is the heart of this episode. Not policing. A conversation. And these learning dialogues with students have reduced her own take home workload, freeing her up to get creative to remove barriers to learning in the classroom.

Yes, this is a discussion about AI in education. But it's not only about that. We discuss strategies that are grounded in making the learning visible not just so teachers can be sure students did the work themselves, but to help each learner understand how they are learning, and why it matters.

Michele Lackovic is an IB Literature and Theory of Knowledge teacher, workshop leader, examiner, and author, and the voice behind Teaching at the Edge. We explore what it means to teach at the edge — not the edge of technology, but the edge where students and teachers have agency. Along the way: foam swords and Shakespeare, visible drafting, her voice authentication protocol, and why the most powerful response to AI in the classroom is convincing students their own voice is enough. This is why Michele designed the V.O.I.C.E framework as authentication process.

This one is full of things you can carry straight into a classroom — and a reminder that tech tools have never been the answer on their own. It's always been the pedagogy behind them.

If something here sparks for you, please pass it on — share it with a colleague, leave a comment or rating wherever you're listening, and tell me what it sparked by writing me a note or finding me on social media. 

Tribute and dedication: This episode is dedicated to Michele's late mother Nancy Bianco, who passed away suddenly in June 2026. Nancy was a longtime Information Security Systems Association leader and cybersecurity pioneer, helping create a space where security leaders could collaborate, learn, and support one another. Michele would often discuss her work in education with her mother, who was so supportive of providing high-quality education, for all students. Read more about Nancy's work.

Connect with Michele on LinkedIn

Read Michele's Substack

Explore the AI in education pioneers, Michele mentioned in the episode: Michelle Kassorla from Georgia State University Perimeter College &  Ethan Mollick from The Wharton School.

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WELCOME TO SEASON 2 OF THE EDUBYDESIGN PODCAST!

This past year, I decided to sit with an uncomfortable truth: education is full of contradictions. We say every child matters, then design systems around averages. We ask teachers to innovate, then measure them on compliance. We talk about the future constantly — and use it as a reason to wait.

For Season 2 of EduByDesign, I hope you will join me as we stop waiting. 

In this short introduction episode, "Inside Out" I share what I have been learning as I listen to educators, leaders, and innovators, each carrying a piece of what education could become. I step inside the questions myself: How do we support each other so our schools and school systems have greater vitality? How do we work with our contradictions instead of hoping they'll resolve themselves as we keep adding new initiatives and innovations? And what can we begin creating today — because if meaningful change were easy, we'd have done it by now.

At the heart of one of our shared contradictions is belief that education's purpose is not only about earning diplomas, baccalaureates, certificates, degrees, and the like. Recently on Instagram, I saw a meme that reasoned, "We don't learn to swim by reading about water." Education's purpose is about learning how to learn. So our job is to meet every learner where they are; trust and equip the people closest to the work, our teachers; and build connections across borders and across systems to co-create the kind of education a generation's future actually depends on.

In this short episode, you'll hear more about where Season 2 is headed, why the conversation should be grounded in the present with our past and our future in mind, and why I think it is time we saw less competition and isolation in the world of education, and more collaborative innovation.

If something here sparks for you, please pass it on — share it with a colleague, leave a comment or rating wherever you're listening, and tell me what it sparked by writing me a note or finding me on social media. 

That's how the show grows — but more importantly, it's how we keep moving toward the high-quality education we want for all students, while doing the things that make it possible, today!

Thank you for listening and subscribing to the podcast.

You might also like to visit the EdubyDesign blog or my new Substack.

Find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, X (Twitter), or BlueSky socials.

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In Indiana, a bold experiment is reshaping how students learn. Through the i-Lab, more than 150 leaders have joined forces to design a statewide apprenticeship model — one that connects high schools, employers, and higher education in new ways. At the center of this work is a breakthrough partnership with IU Health, which not only trains students but guarantees them employment upon graduation.

But the real story goes beyond jobs. As Mel Coryell explains, applied learning experiences become identity work. When students step into real workplaces, they don’t just practice skills — they discover who they are, what they care about, and what they are capable of. They learn to see themselves in new futures.

At the core are the ABCs of learning: Agency, Belonging, and Connectedness. Apprenticeships give students the chance to feel seen, to belong in professional spaces, and to build agency over their own paths.

This episode invites educators, leaders, and parents to see apprenticeships not as an alternative to school, but as a powerful extension of it — a design for opportunity, growth, and human flourishing.

Discover more about i-Lab Indiana 

Listen to a recording of Mel and other key players speak on a panel at SxSW Edu earlier this year: Scaling Apprenticeship Statewide: Lessons from Indiana

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Join me as I dive into the future of education with Jenny Gillett, the lead architect of the International Baccalaureate's groundbreaking Systems Transformation pilot. In this episode, Jenny reveals how she and United World College communities co-create a two-year, transdisciplinary learning journey—tackling global challenges from biodiversity to river pollution—through systems thinking, design sprints, and challenge-based assessment. 

You’ll hear:

• How students apply real-world problem solving under time pressure
• Why only three deeply reflective artifacts can tell a richer learning story than any exam
• The role of Principled Action, Systems Thinking, and Just Futures in empowering learner agency
• Strategies for training teachers in IB Approaches to Teaching and co-creative facilitation
• Insights on fairness, neuro-diversity, and scalable peer-powered professional development

Perfect for educators, school leaders, and innovators, this conversation showcases the power of collaborative innovation, accountable assessment, and community-driven change. Tune in and discover how to transform your classroom into a living lab of student-centered, systems-led learning.

To learn more about the pilot, visit Systems Transformation Pathway: Leadership for Just Futures or Leadership for just and sustainable futures A future-facing model for education

Here is a video featuring the student experience (YouTube)

You might also like to look at two curriculum overview documents: International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Subject Brief: Systems transformation – Leadership for change and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Subject Brief: Systems transformation – Leadership for just futures

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What does it take to shift a school system from standardization to innovation? In this thought-provoking episode of Education by Design, host Phil Evans is joined by Dr. Jared DuPree for a conversation that challenges the boundaries of what public education can be.

Together, they explore the promise of challenge-based learning—an approach that connects students with real-world problems and invites them to design solutions through collaboration, creativity, and purpose. Dr. DuPree shares insights from his journey as a classroom teacher, district leader, and now national director for one of the most forward-thinking education initiatives in the country. At the heart of this conversation is a question that matters to every school leader, policymaker, and parent: Are we preparing students to navigate the world—or to change it?

This episode is part one of a special two-part series on education models that foster deep, authentic learning in a rapidly evolving world.

About the Founders: Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre

This bold educational vision was sparked by legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop icon and entrepreneur Andre Young, better known as Dr. Dre. Their combined success in music, business, and cultural innovation led them to a realization: future-ready creators need to think beyond silos. They need to speak the shared language of design, technology, and entrepreneurship. And they need to learn it young.

The Iovine and Young Center: Bringing Innovation to Public Schools

Founded as an extension of the Iovine and Young Academy at the University of Southern California, the Iovine and Young Center (IYC) brings this revolutionary approach to high school students—particularly those from underserved communities. The IYC model blends challenge-based learning, design thinking, and integrated technology education to transform how students engage with the world. With active programs in Los Angeles and Atlanta, and expansions underway, the IYC is redefining what public education can look like when innovation meets equity.

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When Markus Reneau asked his eighth-grade teacher if she thought he should apply for the one of the most rigorous educational programmes available to him, she looked him in the eye and said, “No.” Her reason? “It won’t be fun.” In a room full of Black and Hispanic students, the message was clear—academic challenge wasn’t for them.

But Markus had other plans. 

In this episode of Education by Design, we follow Markus’s extraordinary journey from a marginalized school community in New Orleans to Yale University, Howard Law School, and Georgetown University. His path isn’t just one of academic success—it’s a story of clarity, conviction, and choosing to use opportunity in service of others.

Throughout our conversation, Markus reflects on how his high school education gave him more than just knowledge—it gave him a worldview shaped by critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, and the moral imperative to give back. From his early experiences in classrooms with ESL peers, to studying African American Studies and education policy, to his current work advancing economic justice through law, Markus embodies what it means to lead with empathy and purpose.

This episode invites listeners to consider what happens when we limit student potential—consciously or not—and how much power educators hold in helping students see beyond the boundaries others place on them. It’s a challenge to every teacher, policymaker, and school leader: what might change if we chose to see our students not for where they are, but for who they could become?

Markus’s story is not one of exception—it’s one of design. A design that asks us to look again at the structures we take for granted and to ask, what are we really preparing our students for? And, can every student engage in ways that advance them on their own journey? Who are we to stand in their way?

In this Episode, I share excerpts from Markus' 2019 address to the IB Global Conference in New Orleans in 2019. You can watch his full address, here.

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Why do so many education reforms fall short of their promise? In this powerful and wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Joshua Glazer of George Washington University unpacks what it really takes to improve schools — not through shortcuts or silver bullets, but through the slow, steady work of building coherent, community-anchored systems.

Drawing on years of research into efforts like Tennessee’s iZone and ASD, Josh helps us understand why education is both a political and professional enterprise — and why lasting change demands more than test scores or talent pipelines. It requires trust. Context. And above all, the capacity to learn over time.

This episode is an invitation to look beneath the surface of school reform, to consider what it means to design improvement intentionally, and to imagine the kind of public education that honors both the expertise of educators and the voices of the communities they serve.

Whether you're a school leader, a parent, or someone who simply believes in the power of education, this conversation will stay with you.

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In this episode of Education by Design, we explore how innovative assessment can transform learning engagement and outcomes. Join me as I chat with my friend Dr. Andy Scahill, a professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, as he shares his radical approach to assessment that moves beyond traditional tests and term papers. In an effort to disrupt behaviors cultivated by compliance, Andy empowers students to demonstrate their creativity, critical thinking, and real-world application of knowledge through immersive projects. The result? Students going further than expected and the agency to bring their own meaning and purpose to their final projects.

With the support of his institution, Andy’s approach challenges the rigid systems often found in higher education, affirming the innovative values of the University of Colorado. As he conducts community centered scholarship as the founder and Artistic Director of Rainbow Cult, we dive into how assessment can be a tool for growth, encouraging students to engage deeply and apply their learning in authentic ways.

This conversation is a must-listen for educators in both K-12 and higher education. Discover how shifting what we measure can inspire students to take ownership of their education, activate their agency, and prepare for the complexities of the modern world. This is what learning and teaching informed by assessment, looks like.

Tune in to rethink what we measure, how we measure it, and why it matters.

Catch Andy's play at the Denver Fringe Festival (2025), info here

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What does it mean to build a classroom where students learn with AI instead of just from it? In this bonus episode, Dr. John Spencer presents ideas to explore how human-centered teaching strategies can help students reflect more deeply, think more critically, and engage more creatively—even as AI tools become part of everyday learning. We talk about project-based learning, prompt engineering, and what happens when we treat AI as a creative companion, not a shortcut.

This is a practical, reflective listen for anyone thinking about how to keep learning meaningful in an age of machine-generated answers.

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And please let Phil know what resonates with you, in the comments.