Episode Details

Jean-Claude Brizard, president and CEO of Digital Promise, joins the Education Gadfly Show to discuss the promise—and the pitfalls—of artificial intelligence in education. Drawing on what he’s seen in classrooms abroad, Brizard makes the case that AI can elevate teaching and learning—if it’s used to strengthen pedagogy rather than replace it. But as schools experiment with new tools, how can they embrace innovation without undermining the foundational skills students still need?

Then on the Research Minute, Amber Northern looks at new evidence on alternative schools in Chicago—how they affect enrollment, graduation, and even arrests—and what they mean for students’ chances of going to college.

Recommended content:

• AI in education requires national strategy —Jean-Claude Brizard for Fast Company
• The human stakes of AI grading —Meredith Coffey, Ph.D., Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• Should AI be used for teacher evaluation? —Kim Marshall for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
• The Expansion of Alternative Schools: Impact of Schools Targeting Lower Performing Students —Farah Mallah, Nour Abdul-Razzak, and Monica Bhatt, EdWorking Papers (April 2026)

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Note: The Education Gadfly Show will be on spring break next week. We’ll be back with a new episode the following week!