The CanadianED Leadership Show

Dean Shareski

Dean Shareski interviews leaders from coast to coast to coast discussing innovation, change and the role leaders play in providing Canadian students with a world class education

  1. 6h ago

    What if Using AI Wasn't Cheating?

    Today Dean talks to University of Calgary professor Dr. Sarah Eaton about academic integrity in the age of generative AI, moving beyond a simple cheating/not-cheating frame toward “post-plagiarism,” inspired by plagiarism scholar Rebecca Moore Howard’s “Don’t Police, Just Teach” approach and Eaton’s early awareness of GPT-2 in 2020. They discuss contract cheating as a pre-ChatGPT concern, including K–12 marketing to parents, and emphasize prevention through relationships, open conversations, formative assessment, and supportive accountability despite grade-driven incentives. Eaton critiques AI moral panics and notes emerging issues like AI agents and AI glasses, arguing bans can conflict with accessibility needs. She questions the value of AI disclosure given pervasive AI in tools like grammar checkers and Google, critiques detection-tool “arms race” dynamics, and highlights ethical concerns (environment, bias, labor, copyright) alongside AI’s potential benefits for equity and inclusion. 00:00 AI Disclosure Doubts 01:12 Meet Dr Sarah Eaton 04:17 Post Plagiarism Origins 06:21 AI On The Radar 07:39 Contract Cheating Era 09:03 K12 Essay Mill Marketing 10:41 Teaching Integrity Not Fear 14:16 Prevention And Support 16:03 Grades And Incentives 23:11 Tech Panics And Wearables 25:22 AI Literacy Gaps 26:19 Ethics And Resistance 28:22 Why We Must Engage 31:03 Deepfakes And Duty 32:57 Assessment In Real Time 37:03 Disclosure Debate 42:44 Detection Arms Race 45:23 Accessibility And Equity 47:35 Wrap Up And Recommendations

    What if Using AI Wasn't Cheating?

  2. Oct 27

    What's the Difference Between Good and Right?

    Dean interviews BC superintendent Peter Jory about why leadership is hard and why the purpose of leadership is moving a system from “good” (easy, popular, pleasant, adult-preference) to “right” (ethical, effective, student-success focused). Jory shares examples such as resisting staff spending when budgets should prioritize students, and discusses the nuance of maintaining workplace joy while avoiding decisions driven by popularity. They examine inclusion and the continuum of student needs, including cases where students harm staff and the limits of supporting every student in-class all day. Jory explains BC’s data shift through the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning and tools like Ed Planning Insight for planning and instruction. They discuss proactive graduation tracking, its life impacts, improved Indigenous graduation rates (64% to 93%) through advocates and system changes, approaches to AI policy and student use, and leadership growth through feedback. 00:00 Good Versus Right 00:48 Leadership Is Hard 01:17 Meet Peter Jory 03:33 Defining Good And Right 04:48 Budget Choices For Kids 07:27 Nuance And Workplace Joy 10:40 Inclusion And Resistance 12:56 Continuum Of Student Needs 16:34 Data Tools In BC 20:58 Tracking Graduation Success 24:50 Boosting Indigenous Outcomes 28:26 Caring Adults Matter 29:20 Districts Facing AI 30:28 Building AI Guidelines 33:50 Authenticity and Ethics 35:04 AI at Work Reflections 36:26 Leadership Feedback Lessons 37:33 Leading Through Conflict 42:14 Formative Leadership Books 45:10 Unwinding with Baseball 46:07 Qualicum Hidden Gems 47:15 Closing Thanks

    What's the Difference Between Good and Right?

  3. Oct 20

    Why Do We Have To Learn Math?

    Dean interviews educator and author Sunil Singh about changing the narrative of mathematics from usefulness to human flourishing, including beauty, truth, justice, love, and play. Singh shares how math first “came alive” for him as a child, how his schooling was mostly benign, and how a grade-eight contest showed him the power of mathematical thinking. He explains why he quit classroom teaching as math became procedural and coded, and argues for humanizing math through history, storytelling, and meaningful problems that build patience for irresolution and create flow. Singh discusses proof, including a classroom task about expressing odd numbers as a prime plus a power of two, and addresses AI as cognitive offloading, emphasizing the irreplaceable teacher-student relationship and a return to pencil-and-paper thinking. 00:00 Rethinking Math Value 00:24 Math for Flourishing 03:04 Early Math Romance 06:26 Grade Eight Breakthrough 09:20 Becoming a Teacher 11:15 Why He Quit Teaching 15:50 Humanizing the Curriculum 19:53 Wellness and Patience 24:39 Proof and AI Era 28:03 Beauty Beyond Geometry 29:22 Perfect Numbers Explained 29:46 Mersenne Prime Formula 30:12 Odd Cubes Pattern 30:46 Why Perfect Numbers Matter 30:56 Teaching Math as Language 32:31 Future Skills Beyond Grades 34:11 AI in the Math Classroom 36:12 Slow Math Over Offloading 39:15 Content First Pedagogy 42:54 Flow Through Better Problems 45:18 Storytelling Across Disciplines 47:25 Books Music and Shows 52:27 Pickering Butter Chicken 54:23 Slow Movement Conclusion

    Why Do We Have To Learn Math?

  4. Oct 13

    What Does the Research Say About Gen AI and Learning?

    Dean interviews Rebecca Winthrop (Brookings Center for Universal Education) and Tom D’Amico about Brookings’ February 2026 Global Task Force report on generative AI in primary and secondary education. Based on an 18‑month process and a scan across 50 countries, the report’s debated headline conclusion is that current rollouts make risks overshadow benefits, especially with “wide” use where students directly interface with general-purpose chatbots and AI companions. They contrast this with “narrow” use—vetted content embedded in strong pedagogy that scaffolds learning—and discuss risks such as cognitive stunting, undermined critical and creative thinking, erosion of relational trust, desocialization, emotional manipulation, and dependence. They explore policy responses (including limits by age), the need for AI literacy for students and adults, and examples of beneficial uses like translation support, early detection tools, and career-focused virtual experiences. 00:00 Risks Versus Benefits 00:34 Welcome And Guests 00:58 Brookings Report Setup 04:52 Task Force Findings 07:59 Adults And AI Risks 12:30 Why The Headline Matters 16:40 Trust And Authenticity 19:11 Estonia LEAP AI Lessons 26:44 Companionship And Wellbeing 31:28 Do Nothing Approach 32:00 Where AI Still Helps 33:15 Student AI Boundaries 35:29 Tom on Bans and Balance 37:47 Moratoriums and Do No Harm 42:04 Narrow AI That Helps 45:44 Translation and Teacher Insights 48:16 Report Takeaways and Where to Start 50:31 AI Pedagogy Audit Mix 53:10 Rapid Fire and Wrap Up

    What Does the Research Say About Gen AI and Learning?

  5. Oct 6

    How Do You Have Difficult Conversations?

    Dean interviews Andrew Holland about leadership in Surrey School District, focusing on how a large, diverse system creates community while maintaining autonomy. Holland emphasizes shared values—compassion, stewardship, and putting children first—modeled consistently to shape culture, along with treating teachers and principals as skilled professionals with ownership in decisions. He argues districts must plan for culture as intentionally as strategic plans and leaders must lean into uncomfortable, clear conversations to maintain trust, alignment, and accountability while normalizing mistakes as learning. Holland describes Surrey’s community outreach across varied neighborhoods, the importance of listening and soliciting diverse voices, and a provincial mindset of sharing practices across districts. He shares experiences that shaped his beliefs: meaningful real-world learning changed his self-perception, and he critiques letter grades as sorting rather than learning. He highlights evidence and indicators for improving Indigenous student graduation rates and belonging.  00:00 Shared Values Lead 01:13 Meet Andrew Holland  03:20 Coffee Chat Setup 04:19 Autonomy and Alignment 09:01 Mistakes and Accountability 11:36 Lean Into Discomfort 14:33 Planning for Culture 17:41 Diversity and Outreach 20:24 Two Stories on Learning 24:41 Beyond Letter Grades 28:50 One System Mindset 34:45 Measuring Indigenous Success 39:49 Rapid Fire Wrap Up 42:23 Closing Thanks

    How Do You Have Difficult Conversations?

  6. Sep 29

    What role does AI play in Assessment?

    Dean interviews Dr. Steve Joordens about using AI to address long-standing challenges in education, especially assessment. Joordens argues education is in a paradigm shift and proposes AI-based oral assessments to move beyond multiple choice toward more holistic evaluation of knowledge and skills at scale, potentially supporting mastery learning (“try till you fly”) and reducing reliance on grades. He describes building conversational AI agents (including a “virtual Steve”) that provide 24/7 student support, personalize learning, assist teamwork by acting as a project manager in each group, and simulate scenarios like de-escalation and interview practice, with features such as full-duplex voice, personality, emotions, and reduced sycophancy. They discuss social anxiety, risks of unhealthy attachment to AI, and the need to help students transition to human connection, plus a call for a community of practice to pilot AI assessment across K–12 and beyond. 00:00 Assessment Drives Learning 01:10 Meet Dr Steve Joordens 03:30 How Steve Uses AI 04:35 Three Big Education Wins 05:01 AI Oral Assessments 07:43 Conversational Skills Crisis 09:42 Virtual Steve Office Hours 11:24 Teamwork and Beyond 12:42 Building the AI Platform 13:36 Humanlike Conversation Design 14:26 Personality and Simulations 16:05 Anti Sycophancy and Emotion 17:53 Student Support Beyond Class 21:22 Does It Sound Like Steve 24:06 AI Relationships and Anxiety 27:50 AI Wins in Class 28:32 Phones and Social Connection 31:30 AI Oral Assessment Workflow 33:27 Can AI Grade Fairly 37:24 Mastery Over Grades 40:27 Teachers as Coaches 42:10 Personalized Inclusive Testing 44:19 Advice for K12 Adoption 48:28 Rapid Fire Wrap Up

    What role does AI play in Assessment?

  7. Sep 22

    How Does AI Support or Threaten Rural Education?

    Dean interviews Alberta educator and ed-tech coordinator Michelle Baragar about her 30-year teaching journey and doctoral research on generative AI and teacher workload. Michelle describes major technology disruptions in her career (internet, smartphones, AI), how earlier tools often added layers of work, and why ChatGPT prompted her to pivot her EdD toward workload intensification and whether AI can “claw back” time, illustrated by a teacher generating a stoichiometry retest in under a minute. She shares findings from a survey (29 respondents) and interviews (4 AI-using participants), highlighting an “efficiency and workload paradox”: AI helps with tasks like lesson planning and drafting difficult emails, but creates a verification burden and new integrity challenges, including unreliable AI detection and privacy concerns. They discuss the need for transparent, community-based guidelines, better assessment practices, rural constraints and opportunities, and keeping the teacher-student relationship central while using AI to boost creativity and human connection. 00:00 AI Gives Time Back 03:55 Michelle Teaching Journey 05:48 Minecraft Research Breakthrough 08:46 Tech Promises And Workload 10:08 Three Disruptive Waves 11:39 ChatGPT Shifts The EdD 18:28 Workload Paradox And Verification 28:02 Student AI Fears And Assessment 34:26 Transparency And Community Talk 37:22 Rural Schools Unique Challenges 39:46 AI as Teaching Partner 40:36 Budget Limits and Tool Choices 42:22 Teacher Built AI Tools 43:17 Rural Diversity and Policy Challenges 44:33 No AI Ban Coming 46:19 Classroom Phone Agreements 49:38 Applying Trust to AI 57:07 Assessment and Busting Myths 58:54 AI for Human Connection 01:02:14 Personal AI Wins and Wrap Up

    How Does AI Support or Threaten Rural Education?

  8. Sep 15

    AI Ethics and Education: Where Do We Draw the Line?

    Dean welcomes Professor Christian Muise (Queen’s University computing science) to discuss how generative AI is disrupting education, ethics, assessment, and human interaction. They acknowledge the loss of traditional take-home assessments and the upheaval educators face, arguing excitement about AI should not gloss over real challenges. Christian explains why optimism or pessimism depends on context, how ethical issues have intensified with the recent scale of generative AI (including resource use), and why AI literacy matters differently for everyday users versus decision-makers deploying tools in schools. They explore misconceptions about AI as “truth,” the jagged capability landscape, and the rapid impact on higher-ed assessments, prompting shifts to in-person quizzes/exams and redesigned coursework. They also discuss risks like cognitive atrophy and changing social behavior, while highlighting ways to use AI that strengthen thinking, and Christian shares how he approaches AI with his grade-4 daughter to protect creativity. 00:00 Education Upheaval 00:54 Meet Christian Muise 03:35 Optimism Versus Pessimism 05:07 Ethics Goes Mainstream 07:15 Narrow AI And AGI 09:58 How Generative AI Works 11:58 AI Literacy For Everyone 16:00 Surprises In Education 17:59 Companionship And Psyche 21:47 Process Over Product 22:57 Using AI Without Atrophy 25:17 Course Assessment Redesign 29:27 Education Upheaval Reality 30:23 AI Misconceptions Truth 31:00 Token Generator Limits 32:23 Jagged Capability Curve 34:08 Workflow Atrophy Warning 35:22 K12 District Guidance 39:15 Curiosity Critical Community 41:12 Parenting AI Creativity 45:28 Multidisciplinary Conversations 47:50 Rapid Fire Wrap Up 51:12 Closing Thanks Farewell

    AI Ethics and Education: Where Do We Draw the Line?
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Dean Shareski interviews leaders from coast to coast to coast discussing innovation, change and the role leaders play in providing Canadian students with a world class education

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