ShiftED PodcastGlobal voices. Québec perspectives.ShiftED brings educators, researchers, authors, and thinkers from Québec and around the world into conversation about what’s shifting in education—from John Hattie to Peter Gray and beyond.Each conversation asks: What does this mean for education in Québec?Rooted in LEARN’s mission, ShiftED connects big ideas to the realities of Québec’s English-language education community.Real conversations. Shifting perspectives.
What happens when we take learning beyond the four walls? Scott Shepherd of Wildward Institute joins ShiftED to explore how connecting kids with nature can build independence, spark…
What is the real purpose of assessment? Is it to produce a grade, or to move learning forward?In ShiftED Podcast #108, Chris Colley sits down with Tom Schimmer…
What brings educators outside—and what do they take back with them? At the Let’s Lead Outdoor Learning Leadership Summit, I asked participants to reflect on why they came,…
What if the biggest lesson in a video game isn’t the one you were supposed to learn? On this episode of ShiftED, Chris Colley sits down with Concordia…
What happens when we stop trying to control the math—and start trusting kids with it? In this episode, Zak Champagne gets into the messy, curious, wonderfully human side…
In this episode of ShiftED, Chris Colley sits down with Dan Fitzpatrick to look back at the Back to School AI Summit 2026. Across two days and 22…
In this episode of ShiftED, Chris Colley sits down with Amy Reyes-Hauff to rethink what young children really need to learn, grow, and thrive. They explore why play…
Movement is the foundation for learning, not the reward for finishing it. On this episode of the ShiftED Podcast, we speak with Stephanie Lord-Darby, an early childhood educator…
As Québec classrooms head back to school, we kick off a new season of ShiftED with Dr.Adam Dubé of McGill’s Technology, Learning & Cognition Lab. We talk about…
What if the languages your students speak at home are actually your most powerful teaching tool? Erin Quirk, linguist and researcher at the Université de Sherbrooke, joins Chris…
In this episode of ShiftED, we sit down with Lisa Green, Canadian author of Outsmarted: The Changing Face of Learning in the Era of Smartphones and Technology. Together,…
What does it mean to belong to a place that’s constantly redefining itself? In this episode, Chris Colley sits down with playwright, filmmaker, and author Guy Rodgers for…
Gina Tesoriero just finished her PhD — and her research is a reminder that the best way to understand how students use AI is to just... ask them.A…
Language is the foundation. Everything else is built on it.In this episode of the ShiftED Podcast, Chris Colley sits down with Dr. Danielle "Nell" Thompson — literacy leader,…
What if everything you thought you knew about English-speaking Quebec was wrong? In this episode, LEARN sits down with Morgan Gagnon of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) to…
On this episode of the ShiftED Podcast, Timothy Shanahan joins the conversation to unpack the evolving debate around literacy, reading instruction, multilingual classrooms, and the “science of reading.”…
In this episode of ShiftED, Nicole Muñoz-Guzman brings a grounded perspective to artificial intelligence in Québec’s vocational and adult education settings. Drawing from her work as a pedagogical…
Change is the only constant—and Cindy Finn would know. The Director General of Lester B. Pearson School Board joins Chris Colley to talk leading through chaos, the real…
AI is flooding into classrooms faster than educators can keep up — but are we actually building AI literacy, or just assuming it'll happen on its own? In…
What if keeping kids too safe is actually holding them back? In this episode, Chris sits down with UBC developmental psychologist Mariana Brussoni to unpack the science behind…
What if the most powerful tool for navigating the AI era isn't artificial at all? Cognitive scientist Dr. Tessa Forshaw — Harvard researcher, Stanford educator, and co-author of…
Just 10 minutes. That's how much time the average child spends outside each day — and it's not enough. In this episode, outdoor education advocate and author Lauren…
In this episode of ShiftEd Podcast, Chris Colley sits down with Dr. Louise de Lannoy, Executive Director of Outdoor Play Canada, to explore why getting kids outside is…
Québec’s proposed Bill 1 – the Québec Constitution Act, 2025 would create a provincial constitution, redefine Québec’s constitutional autonomy, and amend numerous existing laws. Chris Colley sits down with…
Is the Classroom Big Enough?What if attention, regulation, and real academic growth aren’t just about strategy—but setting?We sit down with Rachel Tidd, founder of Discover Wild Learning and…
What if math was hiding in your laundry basket?Research suggests early math play at home may be one of the strongest predictors of long-term school success—yet it's where…
Two veteran kindergarten teachers from Quebec share how they built a nature immersion program from scratch — and what seven years in the woods taught them about language,…
What if the real challenge isn’t new tools, but our literacy around them? Educator and researcher Med Kharbach reflects on how teaching has evolved from early digital classrooms…
What happens when you trade screens for streams and let kids rediscover what’s just outside the door? We sit down with Steve Leckman, director and lead instructor at…
What if the fastest way to help kids learn is to stop rushing their growth? In this episode, we sit down with Catherine Korah from the Centre of…
Québec’s universities are at a tipping point. Funding changes, policy signals, AI, and global competition are reshaping what higher education can be. In this episode, Graham Carr of…
What does a basketball court have to do with leading a school district? In this episode, Chris Kennedy, West Vancouver Superintendent, shares how coaching shaped a leadership style…
The early years fly by, and they shape more than we often realize. In this episode, we talk about what actually makes a difference in the first five…
What if a 110-year-old textbook company decided it wasn’t in the textbook business anymore?We sit down with Steve Brown, CEO of Nelson Education, to talk about how a…
Imagine a classroom where students don’t just use AI—they question it, improve it, and build with it. That’s the world we explore with Indra Kubicek, CEO of Digital…
What if a school was more than a school—what if it was the beating heart of its community? We sit down with longtime CLC leader Debbie Horrocks to…
Most people quietly believe they’re “not a math person,” yet they plan trips, compare prices, rearrange furniture, and decode ads with sharp logic every week. We pull that…
A single moment on a New York train set Mitch on a path from early Apple II hacks to a lifelong mission: teach people how to think in…
The ground is shifting under education, and pretending otherwise won’t help. We sit down with Dr. Sabba Quidwai to map a path that begins with people, not platforms:…
Action Now: A Developmental Reset for Anxious ClassroomsThe state of our schools demands urgent action. We are seeing students who are consistently anxious, aggressive, or shut down. This…
Rethinking Education: Is Connection the New Content?The traditional classroom model, built on the transmission of content from expert to learner, is facing a profound challenge. What if the…
Ever wonder why some schools thrive with new tech while others drown in apps? We sit down with Mark Anderson—educator, author, and longtime edtech leader—to unpack what actually…
Have we been approaching education all wrong? In this mind-shifting conversation with renowned developmental psychologist Dr. Gordon Neufeld, we explore the invisible but essential foundation of all learning:…
What if creating truly inclusive classrooms wasn't about mastering every student's culture, but about designing learning environments where everyone belongs? Dr. Burke offers a refreshing perspective on how…
The evolving story of English education rights in Quebec takes center stage as Joe Ortona, Chair of the English Montreal School Board and President of the Quebec English…
What happens when educational vision meets community resilience? Meet Christine Truesdale, the newly appointed CEO of LEARN (Leading English Education Resource Network), who brings decades of experience and…
Remember the hesitation many felt when the internet first entered our homes? Dan Fitzpatrick, "The AI Educator," draws fascinating parallels between that pivotal moment and our current relationship…
What would happen if we completely reimagined education? Dr. Peter Gray takes us on a provocative journey through the hidden history and troubling foundations of our modern school…
What can being 6'7" tall teach us about effective leadership? As it turns out, quite a lot. Steve Bowler—known professionally as "Stand Tall Steve"—joins us to share how…
Are our children spending too much time in the digital world and missing out on real-life experiences? What happens when we prioritize screens over face-to-face connections? These are…