In this episode of Deep Learning Dialogues, hosts Katrina Gouett and Whitney McKinley welcome award-winning journalist and author Jenny Anderson to explore the urgent challenges of student disengagement and the transformative potential of generative AI in education. Drawing from her book The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better, Jenny shares insights into the four dynamic modes of learning—passenger, achiever, resistor, and explorer—and how educators can help students shift toward deeper engagement. Through real stories, audience questions, and practical strategies, this conversation offers a hopeful and actionable roadmap for fostering curiosity, agency, and meaningful learning in an AI-integrated world.

Jenny Anderson is an award-winning journalist and author whose work focuses on student engagement and learning science. After spending a decade covering finance at the New York Times, she made a deliberate shift to what matters most: how young people learn. Her new book, The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better, addresses the youth mental health crisis and unprecedented rates of student disengagement. She continues to write for publications including The New York Times, TIME, and The Atlantic, and shares insights with thousands of education leaders through her Substack newsletter, How to Be Brave.

You can also find Jenny on LinkedIn.

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