Margin of Thought with Priten

In this episode, Priten speaks with Lorin Koch, an educator who has taught across high school, online, and college settings after starting his career in journalism. Koch brings perspective from multiple vantage points—as a classroom teacher navigating AI integration, an online instructor confronting assessment challenges, and a parent of soon-to-be teenagers. Together they explore what happens when students understand the difference between learning and shortcutting but choose the shortcut anyway, and whether responsibility can be taught when the incentive to take a quick way out has never been lower.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten speaks with Mary Shawn Newins, a computer science teacher in Greensboro, North Carolina, who arrived in the classroom at sixty with decades of corporate and sales experience but no coding background. Her unusual arc gives her permission to build AI literacy alongside her students rather than ahead of them. What emerges is a classroom culture where curiosity itself—not mastery or fear—becomes the pedagogical goal. She uses practical structures like a "quack" incentive and peer questioning to shift how students see AI: not as a shortcut to avoid, but as a tool that works best...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Alyssa Muhvic, a high school history teacher in Indiana navigating AI's reshaping of her classroom. With experience on her district's AI task force and deep expertise in both AI literacy and equity concerns, Alyssa demonstrates how educators can lead rather than resist technological change. She challenges the assumption that AI's presence signals either inevitable dependence or straightforward disruption, arguing instead that the work is fundamentally pedagogical: helping students develop the judgment to use these tools responsibly while still engaging with core historical thinking skills.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten speaks with Brian Merusi, a special education teacher at Niles High School working with students aged 14–19 who have cognitive impairments. Brian brings two decades of international teaching experience across Abu Dhabi, Poland, Penang, and rural development contexts. The central tension: how do we unlock AI's potential for accessibility and student expression while protecting students from its ethical risks and exploitation?

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten speaks with Paul Blaschko, an assistant teaching professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University. Paul's work sits at the intersection of liberal education, critical thinking instruction, and course design. The central question driving their conversation: in an era of AI that can generate plausible-sounding arguments and explanations, can we still teach students to think critically—or must we fundamentally reimagine what critical thinking means?

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten speaks with Megan Barnes, a PhD student in learning technologies at the University of North Texas and a K-12 librarian with 14 years of experience, about what age-appropriate AI in education actually means. Megan holds dual roles as library director and director of educational technology for early childhood through fourth grade in Dallas, and her research draws on cognitive and affective neuroscience to evaluate how emerging tools interact with child development. The conversation moves through the real-versus-synthetic distinction that young children struggle with, the attention economy driving AI product design, information literacy as a foundation for...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Anna Zendell, a social worker turned educator who oversees healthcare management, human services, and wellness programs at Bay Path University, about what it takes to rebuild a curriculum around AI when the stakes are patient outcomes. Zendell is currently piloting an AI-enhanced program from the ground up, designing courses where a closed AI system mentors students through interactive activities while faculty retain grading authority and instructional presence. The conversation covers why traditional learning outcomes don't translate cleanly into AI-driven instruction, how adult learners in healthcare face unique pressure to acquire AI literacy for...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Kari Weaver, a librarian educator and program manager for the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Initiative at the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), about why existing tools like citation and methodology sections can't capture how AI is actually being used in research and learning -- and what a structured disclosure standard might look like instead. Weaver, who also teaches graduate students at the University of Toronto and created the AID Framework for AI disclosure, walks through the practical and philosophical challenges of building trust infrastructure for an ecosystem that doesn't have bright...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Jack Kincaid, a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School, about navigating clinical training in an era of powerful AI tools. Jack shares his perspective on Open Evidence (a medical LLM), Harvard's AI Sandbox, and the tension between leveraging new technology and developing as a physician.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten and Yanni Chen explore what it actually looks like to build AI tools that support learning rather than shortcut it. Yanni, a master's student at Harvard Graduate School of Education and product developer at Deep Brain Academy, shares her experience creating an AI math tutor with a genuine commitment to scaffolding, cultural inclusivity, and keeping teachers central to the learning process.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten and Jessica Maddry examine how surveillance culture and rigid policy enforcement are eroding trust and genuine learning in schools. From cell phone bans that criminalize normal behavior to reading programs that strip away the joy of stories, they explore how the gap between written policies and their ethical implementation has created environments of control rather than connection. The conversation spans zero-tolerance enforcement, AI detection tools, and the critical importance of human relationships in education.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten speaks with Nathán Goldberg, a philosopher-statistician whose career weaves together two unlikely threads: professional soccer and democratic activism. As Vice President of the US Soccer Federation and founder of both Harvard Forward and Bluebonnet Data, Nathán has spent years thinking about who gets to sit in the rooms where decisions are made—and why it matters.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten speaks with Varun Gupta, an Accounting and Economics professor at Wharton County Junior College in the Houston area who has been teaching since 2007. Varun is refreshingly candid about his own complicated relationship with AI—he uses it extensively for lesson planning, assignment creation, and communication, but worries deeply about what happens when students skip the grind entirely. 

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten speaks with Brian Tash, an elementary school teacher with nearly 30 years of experience who has witnessed the complete arc of education technology—from Scantrons to Google Classroom to AI. Brian shares how he balances technology integration with preserving fundamental skills like reading stamina and handwriting. The conversation covers his transparent approach to using AI for faster student feedback, why he's concerned about declining empathy and attention spans post-COVID, how he teaches prompt engineering to third and fourth graders, and his hope that educators will become more mindful about why they're using technology rather than just ad...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Noelia Pozo, a high school Spanish and French teacher with nearly two decades of experience who now heads the Foreign Language and Classical Department at her school. Noelia shares how she transformed her classroom by using AI openly alongside students rather than policing it. The conversation covers how she handles AI-generated work through relationship-building rather than detection tools, why she collects phones in a "Telephone Hotel," how exploring AI bias with students sparked deeper learning than lectures, and her frustration with colleagues who refuse to adapt while hypocritically using AI themselves. She argues...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Shon Holland, a middle school science teacher at Sells Middle School in Dublin, Ohio. After a first career in hazardous waste management and environmental health and safety, Shon made the leap to education about 20 years ago. His experience with both seventh and eighth graders gives him frontline insight into how adolescents interact with technology. The conversation explores his balanced approach to tools like GoGuardian—using technology to monitor without creating surveillance culture—why he believes giving students responsibility actually lightens a teacher's load, and his blunt assessment that smartphones simply aren't healthy for midd...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Kim Cowperthwaite, an English Language Arts teacher at Freeport Middle School in Maine who has been teaching for over 20 years. Growing up in a tech-forward household in the 1970s and later working in the newspaper industry as it faced digital disruption, Kim brings a unique perspective on technological change. She was among the first teachers in the nation to work in Maine's pioneering one-to-one laptop program starting in 2004. The conversation explores her unconventional approach to AI in the classroom—treating it like "a book or a pencil"—why she believes building community and rela...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Dini Arini, a PhD candidate in language literacy and technology at Washington State University who has been teaching for over 15 years. Growing up in Indonesia without access to English courses that her classmates had, Dini experienced firsthand the anxiety of being left behind—an experience that now fuels her optimism about AI's potential to democratize education. The conversation explores her unconventional approach to classroom technology, including allowing students to use phones during exams, why she believes teachers who truly know their students don't need AI detectors, and how her research into AI ethics po...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Nate Otey, a ninth grade humanities, statistics, and calculus teacher at Boston Trinity Academy, a school  that has deliberately chosen a low-tech approach. Nate shares how his school has banned phones for students up to 10th grade, with parents and students largely on board. The conversation explores what happens when a school community prioritizes relationality over connectivity, why friction in human relationships might be essential rather than something to eliminate, and how faith-based education can provide a framework for understanding why face-to-face connection matters. Nate reflects on the practical challenges of enforcing device p...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Tamsyn Smith, Senior Learning Designer and Team Lead at the University of Southampton, who is halfway through a PhD investigating how generative AI can support inclusive education. Tamsyn shares her journey from childhood programming to classroom teaching to higher ed learning design, and reflects on how COVID-19 and AI arrived as dual "cataclysmic shifts" that educators are still navigating. The conversation explores data privacy pitfalls, the myth of digitally-native students, and why Universal Design for Learning matters more than ever—ultimately landing on a hopeful note: most students are ethical, and the real qu...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Ratna Gill, who supports the partnerships team at Rocket Learning, a nonprofit tackling early childhood education in India through WhatsApp. Ratna shares her journey from child safety work to early childhood education and explains how Rocket Learning delivers bite-sized educational content to caregivers and Anganwadi workers serving 5 million children who lack access to early stimulation. The conversation explores their AI-powered personalized tutor,  the importance of cultural contextualization, and what ethical ed tech looks like when working with resource-constrained communities—ultimately landing on a hopeful note: technology can expand access to education without replacing the...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Lance Eaton, Senior Associate Director of AI and Teaching and Learning at Northeastern University, about navigating the integration of AI and educational technology in higher education. Lance shares his 15-year journey through instructional design—from community colleges to Ivy League institutions—and offers practical wisdom on how educators can thoughtfully adopt AI without losing sight of pedagogy. The conversation explores everything from reflection bots and embodied learning to the tension between commercial tech platforms and educational values, ultimately landing on a hopeful note: we've navigated dozens of technological shifts before, and we can figu...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Justin Cerenzia, Executive Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Episcopal Academy, about navigating the complex ethical decisions administrators face when integrating AI and educational technology in K-12 schools. Justin shares his journey from early AI adoption with GPT-3.5 to implementing thoughtful frameworks for tech integration, discussing everything from AI tutors and cell phone policies to the tension between preparing students for the workforce versus fostering deep learning. The conversation explores how schools can balance innovation with pedagogy, the importance of making student thinking visible, and why ethical decision-making requires moving...

In this episode, Priten talks with Joe Carver, Associate Head of School at The Meadow School. Joe shares his unconventional journey from debate coach to technology director to school leadership. He discusses his philosophy of values-driven technology integration—one that involves all stakeholders, resists both hasty adoption and knee-jerk resistance, and centers the teacher-student relationship. He explores how schools can thoughtfully embrace AI and educational technology by using core values as a North Star, building cultures of innovation through targeted adoption, and preparing educators to stay conversant with emerging tools. Joe emphasizes the importance of reverse-engineering what students miss in...

In this episode, Priten speaks with Aidan Kestigian, COO of Thinker Analytix, about why nearly half of college graduates lack basic reasoning skills and how explicit instruction in critical thinking can address this gap. They discuss the ethical commitments that should guide EdTech development, including prioritizing pedagogy over gamification, maintaining transparency with students, and building genuine relationships with educators.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Priten introduces Margin of Thought, a podcast that creates space for important questions about education, technology, and civic life. This introductory episode explains the show's mission: to explore tensions in modern life that shape how we raise and educate children.

The podcast will feature conversations with educators, civic leaders, technologists, academics, and students, focusing on two main threads:

At its...