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John Hattie on AI in Schools

Published about 2 months ago • 3 min read

November 07, 2026

Hi Reader

What happens when AI makes learning too easy?

That’s one of the questions at the center of this Friday’s EduTalk Radio conversation with John Hattie, the researcher behind Visible Learning.

Hattie has spent decades studying what actually improves student learning. And his take on AI is not “ban it” or “embrace it.”

It’s more interesting than that.

Students need to struggle in order to learn. But some struggle is just unnecessary friction.

So how do we know the difference?

And if students are going to use AI anyway, what should we actually be teaching them?

Hattie argues that students need new skills around:

  • asking better questions
  • judging whether an AI answer is actually good
  • critiquing instead of simply accepting
  • knowing when not to use AI
  • understanding enough themselves to recognize when AI is wrong

We also get into whether AI will replace teachers, what schools misunderstand about how learning happens, and why students need to learn what to do when they don’t know what to do.

It’s a very good conversation.

John Hattie joins EduTalk Radio this Friday.

Make sure you listen.

And if your organization would like to sponsor conversations like this, collaborate with the BE Podcast Network, or be featured in an upcoming spotlight, just reply to this email.

Until Friday,

Jethro

P.S. Want a sneak peek? You can listen to it here, before it is released.

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Jethro Jones

Founder, BE Podcast Network

Education and leadership nerd, and founder of Transformative Principal. You might know me from my latest books, How to be a Transformative Principal and SchoolX, and the longest running ed leadership podcast, Transformative Principal.

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PO Box 30161, Spokane, WA 99223
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Hi! I'm Jethro

Stop putting out fires, start leading

I am a speaker, podcaster, author, and coach. I help school leaders and other influential people be their best and lead effectively. My podcast Transformative Principal is the most downloaded and longest running podcast for school leaders out there.

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