Teachers' Voices

In episodes 2 and 3 of Teachers’ Voices season 3, Nina explored lots of questions about AI in the classroom. What are teachers’ concerns about AI, and what opportunities do they see? How can AI adapt to individual students? And how can teachers take a human-centred approach to AI?

This special mini episode briefly introduces some AI resources that might help in the classroom. Nina hears from Harvey Spencer, ex-teacher and host of the podcast AI for Teachers based in Australia. Harvey recommends starting the integration of AI into your practice by reflecting on the challenges you want to address with AI, then picking the right solution for you. All of the resources Nina and Harvey mention are listed below.

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How can educators use AI to support their students' learning? In this episode of Teachers’ Voices, Nina explores the concerns and opportunities around AI in the classroom.

How can teachers take a human-centred approach to AI? In this episode of Teachers’ Voices, Nina asks how AI can adjust to the needs of individuals, and how it can keep the human element of teaching.

 ChatGPT: Educational friend or foe? Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Elias Blinkoff argue that artificial intelligence should be used to enhance, not limit, students’ learning.

Should ChatGPT replace teachers’ red pens? In episode 1 of our guest podcast Ed-Technical, hosts Libby Hills and Owen Henkel talk to assessment expert Daisy Christodoulou MBE.

Is AI the answer to better feedback for teachers? In episode 2, Libby and Owen speak to Dora Demszky, Assistant Professor in Education Data Science at Stanford University, about the potential and limitations of using large language models.

Guests and resources

Harvey Spencer
AI for Teachers podcast

Cognimates - A platform for building games, programming robots and training AI models.
OctoStudio - A mobile coding app for learners to experiment with coding and training language models.
Teacher Time Machine - A tool for generating digital resources like lesson plans and assessments.
Querium - Personalised, bite-sized lessons for mastering STEM skills.
Brilliant - Interactive courses and quizzes across STEM topics.
Gradescope - A tool to administer and grade assessments.
UNESCO Guidance for generative AI in education and research

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How can AI adjust learning materials and feedback to the needs of individual students? How can teachers make sure that the human element is kept?

In this episode, Nina speaks to Inge Molenaar, director of the National Education Lab AI in the Netherlands (NOLAI). Inge is a Professor in Behavioral Science who specialises in the interface between education and technology. Inge tells Nina how AI can help to personalise students’ learning. “The technology is being used to adjust the learning materials, and the instruction, and the feedback to the needs of individual students.”

Nina also speaks to Cecilia Aguilera Campos, a teacher in Spain. Cecilia uses robotics to support her teaching in different subjects with primary school children. “I teach programming, 3D design, 3D printing, virtual reality, augmented reality”, Cecilia says. She doesn’t teach robotics on its own, it’s always alongside other areas of education such as maths or music.

Next Nina meets Zarqaish Sheharyar, a science teacher working with secondary school students in Pakistan. Zarqaish uses AI to help her be more efficient in her own work. Zarqaish turns to ChatGPT “when I don't have time enough to plan my lessons or design the questions”. She also guides her students to use it. “T​hey can use the ideas given to them by the AI and then translate it into their own words, based on their own understanding.”

Finally, Nina hears from Yvette Larsson, a teacher in Sweden. Yvette has important conversations about the use of AI tools with her middle school learners. She also uses AI herself. For Yvette, ChatGPT is “like a brainstorm friend” for teachers who can be stressed with lots of admin to do. Yvette thinks ChatGPT can make teacher life a little easier. “What am I, as a teacher, going to put my energy and focus on?”

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Guests and resources
Inge Molenaar
LinkedIn
Twitter
National Education Lab AI (NOLAI)
Journal article: Towards hybrid human-AI learning technologies
Jacobs Foundation

Cecilia Aguilera Campos
LinkedIn

Zarqaish Sheharyar
LinkedIn
Facebook

Yvette Larsson
LinkedIn
Twitter
Blog
AHA! Accelerating Education

Guidance for generative AI in education and research

Ed-Technical: Insights on AI in education

Contact
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Get in touch with us: podcastteachersvo

What are the main concerns that teachers have about artificial intelligence in the classroom? What opportunities does AI open up for students? How can AI focus on automation while helping humans do what they’re best at?

In the second episode of Teachers’ Voices season three, Nina speaks to Stefania Druga, Principal Researcher at the Center of Applied AI Research at the University of Chicago. Stefania is the founder of Cognimates, an AI education platform for building games, programming robots, and training AI models.

Stefania believes that AI is “becoming one of the basic literacies along with reading and writing”. It is becoming embedded in every aspect of our lives, so we need to understand it, she argues. Stefania teaches programming to children so they can understand how it works, and to become critical users of AI.

Stefania understands the fear that some teachers feel about AI. “I understand it’s overwhelming, but we need to be in the driver’s seat. And what better way to support people to be in the driver's seat than starting very early?” Teachers don’t have to know everything about AI, but they can guide their students and have conversations around values.

Nina also hears from three educators – Marisa López, Paul Abok, and Yvette Larsson – who share some concerns about AI, such as privacy, security, and equity, as well as the opportunities they see, for personalised learning, for example. In the next episode, hear more from teachers in their own words talking about their experiences using AI for lesson planning and classroom instruction.

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Guests and resources

Stefania Druga
Personal website
LinkedIn
Twitter
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Center for Applied AI
Research publications
Cognimates AI education platform: Free resources
TEDx talk: The Power of Play
TEDx talk: HacKIDemia -- creative making for social impact
TEDx talk: Boys and girls should play together
TEDx talk: Tapping into children's creativity & technology to change the world (Romanian)
Marisa López
Facebook
Paul Abok
LinkedIn
Yvette Larsson
LinkedIn
Ed-Technical
Podcast about AI in education

Contact

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Welcome to the first episode in the third season of Teachers’ Voices. In this episode, Nina talks to Stefania Giannini, the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, in Paris. Stefania tells Nina that “education must be protected from all the threats around it, including climate change.” Education is also part of the solution, she says. Hear Stefania describe the four pillars of UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership.

Nina also meets Jimmy Brian Kayangue, a former teacher now implementing teacher training in rural Malawi. Jimmy tells Nina about a tree planting project to bring back what has been lost to floods and cyclones. Teachers plant trees with the communities they teach in, Jimmy explains, and “they understand that they are agents of change in their communities”.

Next, Nina meets Francis Bizoza who works with teachers and students in refugee camps in North Uganda. Francis has been putting together a project-based learning curriculum for out of school refugee children, so they can preserve the environment. Francis also tells Nina about the importance of teaching about global citizenship. “It helps us to bring in a sense of responsibility irrespective of where you are – whether you're in your home country, whether you're in a different community.”

Lastly, Nina hears from Celia Hogan, an educator, author, and founder of Little Kiwis Nature Play in New Zealand. “The children, when we go foraging, they’re learning identification, they’re learning taste, they’re understanding the leaves of the different plants. It’s a connection to nature.” Celia tells Nina that the children often want to share what they have learnt with their parents, sometimes bringing them back at the weekend to show what they’ve been doing.

Guests and resources
Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO
LinkedIn
UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership
On the road to COP 28: webinar series

Jimmy Brian Kayangue
LinkedIn
DAPP Supports Primary Schools to Plant More Trees

Francis Bizoza
LinkedIn
YouTube: The African Travelling Teacher

Celia Hogan
LinkedIn
Little Kiwis Nature Play

Contact
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Teachers are one of the most influential and powerful forces for equity, access and quality in education. They provide children with the knowledge, skills, attitude and tools needed to reach their full potential.

Join Nina Alonso for the third season of the podcast in which she shares powerful stories from teachers around the world, talking in their own words about their own experiences. Every episode, Nina invites international experts on learning and child development to give their thoughts on the big topics in education. 

What challenges and opportunities does AI bring to school life? How can children be more connected to nature and be agents of social and environmental change? Explore these questions and many more in our third season, and hear from inspiring teachers and amazing guests including Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director General for Education at UNESCO.

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Join educational researcher Nina Alonso for this podcast series as she shares powerful stories from teachers around the world, talking in their own words about their own experiences. 

In the previous episode of Teachers’ Voices, Nina heard from four inspiring guests about connecting children to nature so that it becomes more central in their learning and development.

In this special mini episode, Nina ends the season with recommendations and tips from those guests. Hear from Luis Alberto Camargo, Joaquin Leguia, Jeff Barrett, and Sal Gordon. Nina also speaks to Emma, a forest school teacher, who shares helpful resources for teachers and families to bring nature to kids’ lives. 

Thank you to all of the educators and researchers who contributed to the second season of Teachers’ Voices. We’re busy working on season three and can’t wait to share more stories from teachers around the world with you later in the year.

Guests

Luis Alberto Camargo
LinkedIn
Twitter
OpEPA

Sal Gordon
LinkedIn
Green School – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Jeff Barrett
Blue Mountain Wild School – Research, Facebook, Instagram

Emma

Joaquin Leguia
LinkedIn
Facebook

Resources and recommendations

IUCN Resources
‘Belonging’, an inspiring wordless picture book about re-greening the cities by Jeannie Baker
The Woodland Trust
David Sobel
Children’s land TiNi
Forest schools
Do children benefit from forest school?

Contact

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What is the role of nature in children’s learning and development? How are schools around the world connecting children to nature?

In this episode, Nina talks to Luis Alberto Camargo, a social entrepreneur who specialises in nature-based education. Luis tells Nina about the scientific research exploring the role of nature in children’s wellbeing. Nina also speaks to Joaquin Leguia, the founder of an approach that promotes healthy relationships between children and the Earth. 

Nina also meets Jeff Barrett, an outdoor adventurer and the founder of a school in the Canadian forests, and Sal Gordon, the principal of a school in the jungles of Bali that aims to make the world sustainable.

Guests and resources

Luis Alberto Camargo
LinkedIn
Twitter
OpEPA
Education for Regeneration – Why EE Is Natural for Personal Growth and Understanding
Education for Regeneration – A Nature-Based Approach
Leading Change Beyond Sustainability
IUCN #NatureForAll
Children & Nature Network Resources
Global Lessons on Greening School Grounds & Outdoor Learning
OpEPA - Bringing Nature into Learning on HundrEd

Joaquin Leguia
LinkedIn
Facebook
Ania – Instagram, Facebook
Children’s Land (TiNi) – TiNi on UNESCO en español YouTube

Jeff Barrett
Blue Mountain Wild School – Research, Facebook, Instagram

Sal Gordon
LinkedIn
Green School – Instagram, Facebook

Coconut Thinking Podcast 

Contact

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How can educators take some of the stress and anxiety out of mathematics?

In this episode, Nina talks to Lindsey Richland, Associate Professor at the University of California, Irvine. Lindsey talks about the importance of teaching methods that incorporate reasoning skills. Nina also speaks to Dror Dotan, Head of the Mathematical Thinking Lab at Tel Aviv University, who describes the different knowledge processes that mathematical learning entails. Dror explains how understanding this can help in supporting individual learners.

Nina also hears from two former mathematics teachers – Elena Flores, Principal of Colegio Madrid in Spain, and Nate Madick in California, the Educators Outreach Lead of the digital platform Brilliant. Both discuss digital resources for mathematics teachers.

Guests and resources

Lindsey Richland, University of California Irvine

Dror Dotan, Mathematical Thinking Lab

Elena Florez, Colegio Madrid, LinkedIn

Nate Madick, Brilliant, LinkedIn, Twitter

Smartick

Listen to Lindsey Richland discuss the importance of developing children’s reasoning skills on a previous episode of Teachers’ Voices. 

Read more by Dror Dotan: What’s the most effective way to learn the times table?

Thanks Laura Villar for dubbing Elena Florez

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How can education be transformed so that all children, including the most underprivileged, have access to learning? 

In this episode, Nina talks to Armando Ali in Kenya about organisations promoting children’s foundational learning across Africa, South Asia, and South America. Nina also hears from Francis Bizoza about accelerated learning interventions that help children catch up with foundational learning in a refugee camp in Uganda. Finally, Nina speaks to Koen Verrecht about his experiences working with the most underprivileged children who are out of school and living on the streets.

The guests share caring, respectful approaches and innovative solutions that can offer new opportunities for the most vulnerable children around the world.

Guests and resources

Armando Ali, CEO of the People's Action for Learning Network

Francis Bizoza

Learning Equality

Amal Alliance

Koen Verrecht, Strategic Education Advisor at VVOB

MobileSchool 

Contact

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In this special mini episode, teachers from Qatar, Mexico, and Nigeria share resources and recommendations for other educators.

Guests

Aljawhara Aladba from Teach For Qatar
Isaac Galindo from Enseña por México
Ganiyat Muritala Wuraola from Teach For Nigeria

Resources and recommendations

Teachers Pay Teachers
Twinkl
Socrative
Kahoot!
Freedom Writers
The Ron Clark Story

Contact

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