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What if the most important edtech company in your classroom is one you've never heard of? Live from EdTech Week 2026 at Teachers College's Digital Futures Institute, Mike Palmer sits down with Dan Goldstein of Learnosity, the assessment engine that powers some of the biggest names in education from behind the scenes. Dan's path ran through College Board's SpringBoard curriculum, where he led implementation across Texas and New Mexico, and district-facing sales at Cengage, before he joined Learnosity in 2019, just as the "beforetimes" ended. Dan explains how Learnosity works as a suite of white-label APIs covering three areas: authoring, assessment delivery, and analytics. He then gets into how AI is changing each one, from Authorate for content generation and translation, to Item Bank Health Check, which can revise thousands of items at once (goodbye, flip phone references). He also shares Learnosity's long-running goal of killing the multiple choice question, and how FeedbackAid's AI essay scoring and student-facing feedback drove big gains in course completion at Penn Foster. Mike and Dan also cover Learnosity's new Product Builder MCP, which turns static documentation into something developers can query straight from their AI tools, and the live customer demo that put it to the test. They talk about the techlash and Learnosity's new Paper API, which lets students take exams with pen and paper, outside the screen, while teachers still get the analytics. Along the way they touch on stealth assessment, tacit knowledge, solar calculators, and why culture still eats strategy for lunch. This is one of four conversations recorded at EdTech Week 2026. Thanks to StartEd and Alyssa Miller for making it happen. Guest: Dan Goldstein, Learnosity Listen, subscribe, and explore more episodes at trendingineducation.com

When AI can tutor anyone, anytime, why are parents still choosing human tutors? Live from EdTech Week 2026 at Teachers College's Digital Futures Institute, Mike Palmer sits down with Eugene Kashuk, founder of Brighterly and the show's first guest from Ukraine. Eugene is a serial entrepreneur with a go-to-market and operations background. Over five years he has grown Brighterly into a direct-to-consumer platform with one-on-one live tutoring in math and reading for grades 1–9. It now serves more than 20,000 American families, with over 1,200 tutors and a team of more than 250 people around the world. Eugene describes the two camps he's seeing at EdTech Week: the disruptors who think AI will remake everything, and the folks banning screens in schools. Brighterly sits in between. It's built around real human educators, and it uses AI as a supplement, including an AI reading practice tutor. Eugene explains how Brighterly vets and trains tutors through a three-week program and requires them to teach standardized, state-aligned curriculum. It also reviews session videos for feedback, assesses students on a regular cycle, and keeps pricing about 2.5x below the average US tutor so it reaches families who need it most. Eugene also gives a candid look at building a company from Kyiv as the war nears its fifth year, and at the resilience of his team. He then turns the tables with a question for Mike: Brighterly's own parent survey found that most kids are bringing home As and Bs, yet more than half of parents feel their children are falling behind. Mike shares his take on grade inflation, the power of tutoring, and why parents may be leaning toward trusted humans over AI right now. This is one of four conversations recorded at EdTech Week 2026. Thanks to StartEd and Alyssa Miller for making it happen. Guest: Eugene Kashuk, Founder, Brighterly Listen, subscribe, and explore more episodes at trendingineducation.com

What if schools stopped paying for books, licenses, and PD days, and started paying for kids learning to read? Back on the show for round two, Really Great Reading CEO Karl Rectanus joins Mike Palmer live from EdTech Week 2026 at Teachers College's Digital Futures Institute. Karl started out as a teacher and charter school CFO, taught overseas, and then founded LearnPlatform, whose rapid-cycle evaluation work helped shape the four levels of evidence in the Every Student Succeeds Act. After Instructure acquired LearnPlatform, Karl led K-12 and platform strategy there before taking the helm at Really Great Reading, a 20-year-old OG of the science of reading. Karl describes what he calls the education outcomes movement. For decades, education policy has swung between accountability, standards, local control, and evidence. Now that the technology has caught up, he argues, we can go straight to the question underneath all of them: are students learning? Outcomes-based contracts started in tutoring, and Karl explains why Really Great Reading is bringing them to curriculum, tying payment to results across print, digital, professional learning, and coaching. That thinking drives RGR Nova, the literacy outcomes system Really Great Reading launched this fall with its district and state partners. Mike and Karl also get into what the Mississippi Marathon really shows (math and science scores rose too, because kids could read), why the science of reading is about much more than phonics, and Karl's three ingredients for teaching every child to read: learning science-aligned curriculum, a caring human, and a feedback loop. On AI, Karl argues that focusing on outcomes settles most of the arguments. He covers the partners behind the work, including MetaMetrics and Learnosity, why learning is still relationship-driven, and why literacy is the best defense against cognitive surrender. In his words: when literacy improves, everything else gets better. This is one of four conversations recorded at EdTech Week 2026. Thanks to StartEd and Alyssa Miller for making it happen. Guest: Karl Rectanus, CEO, Really Great Reading Catch Karl's first appearance: Talking Outcomes-Based Literacy with Really Great Reading CEO Karl Rectanus Listen, subscribe, and explore more episodes at trendingineducation.com

What would you build if someone handed you a university with almost no students and told you to start over? We kick off our EdTech Week 2026 series live from Teachers College's Digital Futures Institute with Dr. Nick Ladany, President of San Francisco Bay University (SFBU). Nick is a first-gen college student and a counseling psychologist by training. He worked his way from professor to dean across Maryland, Temple, Lehigh, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, and the University of San Diego, then served as president of Oglethorpe University. In 2023 he arrived at SFBU, a 40-year-old institution with a large unrestricted fund and a mandate to build a university from scratch. Nick explains what SFBU did with that blank slate. It capped classes at 20, offers full wraparound services including unlimited mental health support, pays faculty top salaries to teach year-round, and trains every faculty member how to teach. It rebuilt general education around industry-validated durable skills: five identities, 15 competencies, and 45 behavioral indicators. Tuition averages about $10,000 a year, the bachelor's degree is 90 credits so students can finish in three years, and the target is an 80% four-year graduation rate. SFBU also has no athletics and no Greek life. From there, the conversation turns to AI as a co-teacher. Nick introduces Bailey the Bayhawk, SFBU's AI tutor, which is designed to lead students toward productive struggle instead of handing them answers. He also describes the AI faculty avatars at the heart of SFBU's $10,000 AI-enhanced MBA Pro+. In one course, students learn negotiation from an avatar of a real professor, then go head-to-head with an AI boss and get immediate feedback on their skills. That frees human faculty, many of them from industry, to do what they do best: mentor, build community, and coach careers. Nick doesn't hold back on what's broken in higher ed. He takes on the six-year graduation rate, the SAT, the Carnegie credit hour, athletics spending, faculty senates, and the trustees he says are "in collusion" with a broken financial model. Mike and Nick also dig into SFBU's neighborhood campuses, what community colleges promise and how they fall short, why "college isn't for everyone" can be its own form of exclusion, and how liberal arts thinking is the real disruptive mindset. It's a candid, punk rock look at what higher ed could be. This is the first of four conversations recorded at EdTech Week 2026. Thanks to StartEd and Alyssa Miller for making it happen. Guest: Dr. Nick Ladany, President, San Francisco Bay University Mentioned in this episode: Framing the Teacher Shortage as a Workforce Design Problem with Dr. James Lane Listen, subscribe, and explore more episodes at trendingineducation.com

What would change if schools knew their students the way the best companies know their customers? Host Mike Palmer welcomes back Trending in Ed all-star AJ Gutierrez, CEO of Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) and co-founder of Saga Education, for his first Bring a Friend episode. AJ's friend is Dr. Susan Enfield, Executive Director of the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington. Susan began her career as a high school English, journalism, and multilingual learner teacher and served as a superintendent for nearly 13 years, including a decade leading Highline Public Schools just south of Seattle. AJ and Susan have co-authored an upcoming op-ed arguing that K-12 education should be as intentional about understanding students as other industries are about understanding their customers. Their shared rallying cry is "no invisible students," rooted in the Highline promise to know every student by name, strength, and need so they graduate prepared for the future they choose. They make the case that this isn't just an equity play. It's a fiscally smart way to get more from the people and programs schools already invest in. The three dig into several threads: > Customer obsession for K-12: Gathering the right information from students and getting it to the right adult at the right time to act on it. > Hidden talent: A Mathematica study found EOS partner schools identified an average of 52 more students per school for advanced coursework. > The power of a trusted adult: An analysis of 1.8 million students in the EOS database found that students who name a trusted adult are about 10 percentage points more likely to take advanced courses. > Rethinking chronic absenteeism: Why chronic disengagement is the real problem, and why a family trip to Samoa, a traveling athlete, and an unexplained absence call for very different responses. > Loving kids to failure: Susan on the cost of low expectations and pity, and the eighth grader who advocated his way into pre-calculus and went on to soar through every AP calculus course. > Technology that deepens human connection: How EOS and the Learning Collider are exploring which insights can help any adult become a trusted adult. Resources Mentioned: Equal Opportunity Schools: https://eoschools.org AJ Gutierrez in Fast Company on the Mathematica findings: https://www.fastcompany.com/91369396/underserved-students-interested-in-stem-are-often-overlooked Center for Educational Leadership, University of Washington: https://www.k-12leadership.org Saga Education: https://saga.org The Pedagogy of Confidence by Yvette Jackson: https://www.tcpress.com/the-pedagogy-of-confidence-9780807752234 Situated by Angela Duckworth: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Situated/Angela-Duckworth/9781668005941 🔔 Subscribe to Trending in Education for more conversations on the future of learning, work, and what's next. 📩 Connect with Mike Palmer on LinkedIn to bring this kind of conversation to your own podcast or media program:

What if the teacher shortage isn’t really a shortage of teachers? Host Mike Palmer welcomes Dr. James Lane, CEO of Unlimited Instruction (UI), formerly University Instructors. James started as a middle school band director and went on to be a principal, a superintendent in three Virginia districts, Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the leader of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. James argues that the teacher shortage is really a workforce design problem. The real problems are pay, a thin pipeline, poor retention and a confusing path to certification. UI tackles this through InstructEd Pathways, which grows paraprofessionals and alternatively certified candidates into fully certified teachers, and TutorEd, its high-dosage, in-person tutoring program. The two dig into several threads: Why AI should make teachers’ jobs easier, not replace them, and why UI is intentionally in-person Paraprofessionals as unsung heroes, and year-long coaching that works like “student teaching on steroids” for hard-to-fill special education roles Life after ESSER: don’t spend one-time funds on ongoing costs, and cut back on too many initiatives Leading with laser focus: Jim Collins’ hedgehog concept, a clear North Star, and using technology to find each student’s zone of proximal development Academic optimism: why teachers need to believe they matter, and how that belief may keep them in the classroom Resources Mentioned: Unlimited Instruction (UI) UI Teacher Shortage Solutions Leading with Laser Focus: The Seven Steps to School Success by Dr. James Lane Good to Great by Jim Collins 🔔 Subscribe to Trending in Education for more conversations on the future of learning, work, and what’s next. 📩 Connect with Mike Palmer on LinkedIn to bring this kind of conversation to your own podcast or media program.

What happens when the original edtech pioneer gets an early look at GPT-4? Host Mike Palmer welcomes Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, for a conversation spanning two decades of edtech. Sal traces his path from hedge fund analyst tutoring his cousin Nadia over Yahoo Messenger to YouTube videos his cousins liked better than him in person, to a nonprofit serving learners in 50+ languages. He explains why he leaves his mistakes in, and why that human quality will be hard for AI to replace. From there, Sal recounts his first look at GPT-4 months before ChatGPT and how Khan Academy turned AI's risks into features. The two dig into several threads: > Building Khanmigo to be Socratic and benchmarking its error rate against human tutors. > Why only ~15% of students used a passive AI tutor, and the shift to a more proactive one. > Khanductor and AI-powered assessment that captures student reasoning, not just answers. > Higher ed ROI, AI's reach into knowledge work, and why durable skills matter most. > The Khan TED Institute: a degree for under $10,000 built on authentic projects and skill portfolios. 🔔 Subscribe to Trending in Education for more conversations on the future of learning, work, and what's next. 📩 Connect with Mike Palmer on LinkedIn to bring this kind of conversation to your own podcast or media program. Resources Mentioned: Khan Academy Khanmigo Schoolhouse.world Khanductor and Reimagined Assessments Khan TED Institute Brave New Words by Sal Khan The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow

Are screen bans solving the right problem, or just creating new ones? Host Mike Palmer welcomes Dr. Janice Jackson, Executive Director of the Education & Society Program at the Aspen Institute and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, for a conversation that trades hyperbole for nuance. Janice traces her path from CPS history teacher and debate coach to superintendent, then to founder of Hope Chicago, and now to Aspen. There she helps lead the new Rising Generations Strategy Group, a cross-sector, cross-partisan, intergenerational effort that puts young people at the center of the conversation, not just on the input list. Janice draws a clear line between phones in classrooms (ban them) and technology that augments learning (hold it accountable). She makes the equity case against blanket bans, calls for digital literacy over prohibition, and pushes the edtech industry to prove efficacy. The two dig into several threads: > Aspen's first convening, where students opened with four provocations. > An "AI Futures" exercise weighing risk and opportunity. > Declining trust in institutions. > The role of state policy, like Illinois' new AI legislation. > A powerful lesson from Hope Chicago: getting help isn't cheating, it's what advantaged students have always done. If technology can level that playing field, we should embrace it. 🔔 Subscribe to Trending in Education for more conversations on the future of learning, work, and what's next. 📩 Connect with Mike Palmer on LinkedIn to bring this kind of conversation to your own podcast or media program. Resources Mentioned: Aspen Institute Education & Society Program Rising Generation Strategy Group Hope Chicago Dr. Jackson on The Education Equation with Jeremy Singer Edelman Trust Barometer Bellwether's responsible AI framework Digital Promise ISTE Kim Smith, The Learner Studio Timestamps: 🕙 00:00:00 — Introduction: Welcoming Dr. Janice Jackson. 🕙 00:00:50 — Origin Story: From CPS history teacher to superintendent, Hope Chicago, and Aspen. 🕙 00:03:15 — The Rising Generation Strategy Group: Cross-sector, cross-partisan, and youth-centered. 🕙 00:04:30 — The Equity Risk: Why quick screen bans can lock students out. 🕙 00:06:00 — Phones vs. Edtech: Doom scrolling isn't the same as learning. 🕙 00:08:00 — The Land of Hyperbole: Bringing parents and young people into the debate. 🕙 00:10:00 — Digital Literacy: Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. 🕙 00:11:00 — Students First: Aspen's convening and the Center for Rising Generations. 🕙 00:14:00 — Trust Architecture: Gap-widening vs. gap-narrowing technology. 🕙 00:15:00 — AI Futures: Mapping risks and opportunities together. 🕙 00:17:00 — The Trust Deficit: What the Edelman Trust Barometer tells us. 🕙 00:19:00 — Guardrails: Government's role and state-level AI policy. 🕙 00:21:30 — Resources: Digital Promise, ISTE, and vetting edtech tools. 🕙 00:23:30 — Advice: Be authentic, keep kids first, hone your craft. 🕙 00:25:30 — Help-Seeking: Lessons from Hope Chicago on AI and "cheating." 🕙 00:28:30 — Final Thoughts: Join the conversation on the purpose of schooling.

Trending in Ed kicks off Season 11 with the return of Harvard's Howard Gardner, the developmental psychologist behind the theory of multiple intelligences. Picking up where their first conversation left off, Howard and host Mike Palmer look past next year's syllabus to ask what education should be in 2050 and beyond. Howard revisits Five Minds for the Future with a provocative claim: AI will increasingly outperform us at the disciplined, synthesizing, and creating minds, leaving the respectful and ethical minds as the core human work of education. He explains why he's adding "It" to I, We, and They, what scouting, humanistic communities, and Reggio Emilia can teach future learning, and how the "Four D's" can guide ethical dilemmas. The two also explore influencer culture, mentorship, and the ethical will Howard wrote for his grandchildren. KEY INSIGHTS 🧠 From Intelligence to Cognition: Why an AI comparison of the Fabians and Bloomsbury convinced Howard that machines now out-synthesize him. ⚔️ Generals Fight the Last War: Tweaking today's classroom won't prepare learners for tomorrow, but Rome wasn't built in a day. 👖 Genes, Jeans, and Jelly Beans: An interest-driven, AI-supported curriculum that starts from what learners care about. ⛺ Learning Through Community: Why intergenerational groups tackling real neighborhood problems may beat the classroom. ⚖️ The Four D's: Discuss, debate, decide, and debrief as a model for ethical decision-making. 🤝 The "Influmentor": What separates a Walter Cronkite from a clout-chaser, and why mentorship still matters. About the Guest: Howard Gardner is the Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a longtime leader at Project Zero, and co-founder of The Good Project. His many books include Frames of Mind, Five Minds for the Future, and his memoir, A Synthesizing Mind. 🎧 Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. ⭐ Rate and review the show to help others find us. 📩 Connect with Mike Palmer on LinkedIn. Howard's first appearance: https://trendingineducation.com/2024/11/howard-gardner-on-education-and-on-mind/ Howard's blogs: https://www.howardgardner.com Timestamps: 🕙 00:00:00 — Howard Gardner returns 🕙 00:02:15 — Multiple intelligences at 45: animals, plants, and AI 🕙 00:04:00 — Generals fight the last war 🕙 00:05:45 — The synthesizer meets the LLM 🕙 00:09:10 — Five Minds for the Future, revisited 🕙 00:12:50 — Genes, jeans, and jelly beans 🕙 00:16:40 — Good Starts: I, We, They... and It 🕙 00:18:40 — Scouting, religion, and Reggio Emilia 🕙 00:23:00 — The Good Project and the Four D's 🕙 00:27:30 — Rethinking the influencer 🕙 00:34:00 — Mentorship and the "influmentor" 🕙 00:38:30 — Parenting and the ethical will 🕙 00:43:30 — AI around the world 🕙 00:44:30 — The end of the Anthropocene

How can higher education rebuild its relationship with the public in an era of heightened political polarization, shifting financial models, and rapid technological disruption? In this episode of Trending in Ed, host Mike Palmer welcomes back Jeremy C. Young, Senior Advisor at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), to discuss the foundational new report: Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education: The Trust Agenda. As part of our ongoing Trending in Higher Ed series—featuring insights from leaders like Eddie Watson (AI & pedagogy), Brian Rosenberg (Whatever It Is, I'm Against It), and Elliot Felix (The Connected College)—this episode explores how campus leaders can move past reactive crisis management and actively cultivate trustworthy relationships across their communities. Jeremy breaks down AAC&U’s five-point framework, offering actionable, practical strategies for institutional leaders, faculty, and advocates. Featured Reference & Key Highlights: 📄 Featured Reference: AAC&U's Report, Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education (The Trust Agenda)—the core blueprint for this conversation, outlining actionable solutions to restore institutional trust. 🚀 Accelerate Innovation: Overcoming institutional inertia to streamline shared governance, adapt to the rapid emergence of AI, and adopt flexible academic pathways like universal transfer and "College in Three". 🤝 Prioritize Community Engagement: Drawing inspiration from trusted community colleges and regional publics to act as true anchor institutions—leveraging local procurement and public-facing research (echoing Dr. Kenneth Carter’s work in public scholarship). 🎓 Recommit to Inclusive Excellence: Centering student success, expanding support for food/housing security, and fostering genuine civil dialogue that welcomes conservative students and diverse viewpoints (referencing Lara Schwartz’s Try to Love the Questions). 📢 Tell a Clearer Story: Shift away from the media's hyper-fixation on elite Ivy League universities and reframe higher ed around shared public values like freedom, fairness, and opportunity directly through campus-level communications. 🛡️ Coordinate a Mission-Centered Defense: Protecting university autonomy and academic freedom through collaborative cross-institutional defense networks—building a proactive trust foundation before crisis management (as discussed with Legend Labs' Jeff Hunt) becomes necessary. Episode Timestamps: ⏱️ 00:00 – Welcome back Jeremy C. Young & transition from PEN America to AAC&U ⏱️ 00:03:00 – Introducing the featured reference: AAC&U's Trust Agenda report ⏱️ 00:09:00 – Pillar 1: Accelerating innovation, AI adaptation, & shared governance reform ⏱️ 00:12:30 – Pillar 2: Community engagement, anchor institution strategy, & local impact ⏱️ 00:19:00 – Pillar 3: Inclusive excellence, student support, & engaging political difference ⏱️ 00:26:30 – Pillar 4: Reframing higher ed narratives & empowering local messengers ⏱️ 00:33:30 – Pillar 5: Collaborative defense, institutional autonomy, & cross-sector alignment ⏱️ 00:39:30 – Implementation: AAC&U's upcoming Leadership Institute & long-term outlook Catch the full video episode now on YouTube and Spotify! 🔔 Subscribe to Trending in Ed wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com to dive into our full archive of higher ed conversations, show notes, and resources!

Mike Palmer reconnects with old colleague Don Gregori, COO of First Factory, to unpack core insights from Don’s book, The Emergent Leader: A Guide to Brand Building, Leadership, and Self-Mastery. Drawing from a non-linear career path—ranging from theater major and aerial stunt coordinator to an 18-year tenure at Kaplan and scaling tech teams—Don shares practical strategies for authentic leadership, proactive stress management, and navigating AI workplace disruption. Key Takeaways 🎭 Unconventional Paths Build Strong Leaders: Creative backgrounds like theater teach team vision, feedback loops, and real-time collaboration far better than standard business classrooms. 🏷️ Authentic Brand Building: Standing out requires standing alone; authentic leaders drop polished posturing, embrace their flaws, and focus on human connection. 🧩 Self-Mastery Precedes Leadership: Mindset functions as an operating system. True self-mastery requires proactive stress preparation and ruthless prioritization rather than reactive recovery. 🤖 AI Shifts Value to Generalists: As AI commoditizes routine execution, critical thinking, problem-solving, and cross-functional synthesis become an employee's most essential assets. 💼 Delegation Drives Growth: Effective leadership requires simplifying or delegating your current tasks so you remain open to new growth and strategic opportunities. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction & Reconnecting 30 Years Later 01:45 - Theater, Aerial Stunts, and Unconventional Business Prep 03:30 - Digital Transformation & Career Progression at Kaplan 05:45 - Near-Shore Software Development at FirstFactory 07:15 - Why Write The Emergent Leader? 11:00 - Leg 1: Brand Building, Culture, and Authentic Leadership 20:00 - Leg 2: Leadership Development, Vulnerability, and Prioritization 25:30 - Leg 3: Self-Mastery, Mindset, and Proactive Stress Management 31:45 - How AI is Reshaping Tech, Developers, and Critical Thinking 35:45 - Early-Career Advice and Reskilling for the Future 39:00 - Parting Thoughts & Wrap-Up Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode!

What if everything we know about teaching reading is upside down? In this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer sits down with tech entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and innovator David Chalk to unpack a remarkable story of literacy, neurodiversity, trauma, and redemption. Key Highlights & Discussion Points: 🧠 Trauma and the Literacy Crisis: David recounts his early school trauma starting on day one of first grade, highlighting how unrecognized dyslexia and ADHD left him functionally illiterate for decades. ✈️ Building Success Beyond Reading: Despite reading at a fourth-grade level, David built multi-hundred-million-dollar businesses and became an airline jet pilot by leaning into creativity and oral vocabulary. 📖 Unlocking Reading in 11 Hours: Featured in the documentary The Truth About Reading, David reversed standard instruction methods to jump from a 4th-grade reading level to post-university proficiency in just 11 hours at age 62. 🤖 AI as a Pattern-Based Learning Ally: AI language models process language through pattern training—mirroring how human brains naturally acquire spoken words—offering a powerful tool to tutor neurodiverse learners without cognitive strain. 🗣️ Vocabulary and the Future of Work: As technology evolves, rich oral communication skills, deep vocabulary, and expressive clarity will serve as critical differentiators in an AI-driven workforce. ❤️ The Role of Emotional Resilience: David emphasizes why unconditional parental support and self-esteem are essential safeguards for children struggling through academic friction. About the Guest David Chalk is a technology entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and neurodiversity advocate who has founded ten successful companies. After mastering fluid reading at age 62, David now applies his background in artificial intelligence and pattern recognition to transform reading instruction for struggling learners everywhere. Subscribe & Connect Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode! Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for show notes, resources, and more sharp takes on the future of learning.

How do we move beyond baseline AI literacy to true AI fluency, agency, and self-efficacy for the next generation? In this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer sits down with Dr. Taniya Mishra, Founder and CEO of SureStart, to explore how hands-on, mentor-led AI education is empowering youth globally to shift from passive users to confident creators. Drawing from her 12+ years as an industrial AI researcher, Dr. Mishra shares how SureStart demystifies technology through near-peer mentorship, modular curriculum, and a layered approach to AI learning—from middle school vocabulary to vibe coding and building small language models. KEY INSIGHTS & DISCUSSION POINTS 💡 The Heart of SureStart—Near-Peer Mentorship: How pairing middle/high school students with near-peer mentors (graduate and undergraduate students) demystifies AI, creates psychological safety, and normalizes making mistakes as a core part of the coding process. 💡 A Layered Framework for AI Education: Understanding AI through a tiered mental model (DIYer, electrician, electrical engineer, researcher) to meet students where they are—building confidence through foundational vocabulary, conceptual clarity, and practical execution. 💡 Navigating Vibe Coding & Emergent Tech: Why rapid advancements like vibe coding require students to look beneath the surface code, balancing prompt engineering efficiency with direct coding precision. 💡 Overcoming "Cautious Clickers" & Risk Aversion: Strategies to build self-efficacy among underrepresented students by prioritizing representative role modeling (50%+ female mentors) and praising questions in the learning environment. 💡 Responsible AI Across the Curriculum: Why ethics should not be an isolated module, but woven throughout every project (e.g., addressing authorship and bias in generative tools) to cultivate critical evaluation skills. 💡 Operationalizing AI in K-12 Education: Integrating flexible, modular lessons (ranging from 15-hour blocks to 60-hour semester courses) into packed public school schedules through teacher training and district partnerships. 💡 New Economy Skills & Human + AI Synergy: Preparing youth for a changing workforce by pairing AI tools with core human competencies: critical reasoning, executive functioning, data literacy, financial literacy, and an entrepreneurial mindset. CHAPTERS & TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 00:00 – Welcome & Introduction: Dr. Taniya Mishra and SureStart ⏱️ 01:00 – Taniya’s Journey: From PhD AI Researcher to EdTech Founder ⏱️ 04:00 – Overcoming "I'm Not a Tech Person" & Demystifying STEM ⏱️ 06:30 – The Core of SureStart: Near-Peer Mentorship in Action ⏱️ 09:50 – Keeping Up with Fast-Moving Trends & Vibe Coding ⏱️ 12:50 – The Layered Model: DIYers to AI Researchers ⏱️ 18:20 – Addressing "Cautious Clickers" & Creating Safe Failure Spaces ⏱️ 24:40 – Integrating AI Fluency into Busy K-12 Schedules ⏱️ 29:30 – Parallel Processing: Upskilling Teachers & Engaging Parents ⏱️ 34:40 – Responsible AI Frameworks & Verification Skills ⏱️ 42:30 – New Economy Skills: Data Literacy, Financial Literacy & Entrepreneurship ⏱️ 45:30 – Final Thoughts: Humans Plus AI SUBSCRIBE & CONNECT 🎧 Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you listen to podcasts to stay ahead of the curve in learning, media, AI, and the future of work. 🌐 Website: https://trendingineducation.com 📩 Follow Mike Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelppalmer/

In this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer is joined by Dr. Ozgur Bolat, associate professor of educational science and author of The Reward Trap: Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids. Dr. Bolat shares his journey from seeking external validation to decoding the science of intrinsic motivation, offering practical strategies for parents and educators looking to move away from quick-fix rewards and build lasting resilience and internal drive in children. Key topics discussed include: 🧠 The Pitfalls of External Validation: How relying on rewards, praise, and criticism creates an external locus of control and undermines intrinsic motivation. 🕊️ The PEACE Model: A framework (Perspective, Emotion & Cognition, Need, Commitment, Engagement) to address behavior and resistance without relying on bribes or threats. 📱 Modern Parenting & Mental Health: How overprotective parenting and digital distractions prevent kids from learning how to handle hardship and negative emotions. 🤖 Assessment in the Age of AI: Why generative AI exposes the limits of memorization-based testing and forces a shift toward assessing critical thinking, original reasoning, and conceptual understanding. 👨‍🏫 Evolving the Role of the Educator: Shifting teachers away from being mere "information transmitters" and into roles as mentors, coaches, and learning architects. 🤝 Parent and Teacher Dynamics: Research-backed insights on why warm, respectful relationships far outperform control mechanisms, anxiety, and high-pressure tactics. About the Guest: Dr. Ozgur Bolat is an associate professor in educational science, Fulbright scholar, Harvard Graduate School of Education graduate, Cambridge PhD, and former MIT Sloan researcher. He is the founder of parenting and teacher training initiatives dedicated to raising internally validated children. His book, The Reward Trap, features a foreword by Nobel Laureate Professor Aziz Sancar. Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you listen to podcasts for more conversations on the future of learning, parenting, and human agency. Visit https://www.trendingined.com for show notes and past episodes.

In this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer sits down with Mike Peng, Founder and Managing Partner of Weatherstone Capital Partners, to explore the evolving intersection of education, technology, and capital markets. After missing a meeting at ASU+GSV in San Diego, Mike and Mike reconnect to unpack what it takes to scale educational ventures past the startup phase and navigate the broader macroeconomic shift from venture capital to private equity in EdTech. Drawing from his unique career journey—from engineering at UT Austin and strategy consulting at McKinsey to leading rapid growth at Block Renovation and earning an MBA at Stanford—Peng shares why Weatherstone focuses on partnering with operators in the 1-to-10 scale stage ($1M to $10M EBITDA range). Together, they examine the real "moats" in the age of AI (data ownership and customer relationships over UI), why corporate L&D and continuing certification are outperforming traditional K-12/Higher Ed models for private equity, and how simulation tools and micro-learning are reshaping workforce upskilling. Peng also offers vital advice for founders assessing whether they are the "limiting factor" in their company's growth and how to navigate tight capital markets. KEY INSIGHTS: 0-to-1 vs. 1-to-10 Leadership: Building a product from scratch requires a scrappy, zero-to-one mindset, whereas scaling from 1 to 10 demands processes, enterprise workflows, and founders willing to look in the mirror to ensure they aren't becoming their company's limiting factor. The Capital Shift from VC to PE: With EdTech valuations down ~60% from 2021 peaks and market maturity kicking in, 2024 marked a pivot where private equity outpaced venture capital in EdTech funding—shifting the focus from hyper-growth to unit economics, profitability, and sustainable scale. Redefining AI Moats: User interface (UI) and simple API connections to large language models are no longer defensible differentiators. True AI moats reside in owning proprietary data, maintaining deep customer trust, and controlling end-to-end customer relationships. Corporate L&D and Reskilling Demand: While K-12 and Higher Ed present longer sales cycles and risk aversion, Corporate L&D—particularly recurring certification, micro-training in daily workflows, and AI simulation (e.g., bedside manner nursing)—presents massive opportunity as 85% of employers seek to reskill their workforce by 2030. Founder Discipline in Tight Markets: Bootstrapping and pivoting quickly are more viable than ever thanks to AI MVP acceleration. Founders must plan capital runway at least a year in advance and regularly "come up for air" so market evolution doesn't leave their business behind. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 – Introduction & Connecting Post-ASU+GSV 01:00 – Mike Peng's Journey: UT Austin, McKinsey, Block Renovation, & Stanford MBA 02:30 – Inside Weatherstone Capital Partners: Long-Term Platform Investing 03:30 – 0-to-1 vs. 1-to-10: Passing the Founder "Mirror Test" 05:30 – Takeaways from ASU+GSV: AI Undercurrents & Modern Moats 07:30 – Career Readiness, CTE, & The 1,400-Tool EdTech Stack 09:30 – Data is the New Oil, AI is the New Electricity 11:30 – Managing Hallucination Risk & Trust in Classroom Tech 13:30 – Segmenting EdTech: Why Capital is Moving from VC to PE 18:00 – The Future of Work: LXP, Micro-Learning, & AI Simulations 23:30 – Personal AI Tutors, Spatial Hardware, & Final Advice for Founders 26:00 – Wrap Up & How to Connect with Weatherstone Subscribe to Trending in Ed wherever you get your podcasts to stay ahead of the curve in learning, media, and the future of work.