With the rise of AI at a time of significant threat, turbulence and conflict across the world, there has never been a more important time for educators to ask themselves what they are doing, why they are doing it and whether they should be doing some else entirely.
Drawing on the work he has been commissioned to undertake with schools including ACS Cobham in the UK and the British School of Brussels, Ian will share with delegates the Five Big Questions that we all need to be asking as we look ahead and think about the nature of schools and schooling in 2026 and beyond.
Taking inspiration from his prescient 2010 title Why Do I Need a Teacher When I’ve Got Google, Ian will encourage delegates not to reflect on what AI can do but what it leaves for us to do as teachers, as learners and, more important, as human beings.
Highlighting important insights from the likes of Professor Sugata Mitra, Sir Anthony Seldon, the World Economic Forum, Salman Khan, researchers John Hattie and Dylan William and the film Idiocracy, Ian will help delegates rethink their role as they work to prepare students not for our world, but for theirs.
As educators, we have become fantastic at refreshing our practice using research and learning science. The time is now right to look again at the art of teaching, where professional discernment, agility and imagination are placed at the heart of what we do. As the education landscape continues to evolve, Hywel will introduce thinking and research around pupil motivation and the ingredients that can support a bespoke curriculum that allows teachers professional freedoms whilst enabling them to sleep well at night. We will engage with some planning examples and grow an understanding of how stories, narratives, and contexts are now being promoted by the cognitive science as useful vehicles for pupil learning. The Keynote will embrace important themes such as AI, inclusion, diversity, independent learning, and creativity. Teachers will leave with tools for their toolkits and ideas that can be applied straight away in their classrooms. Ideas from the day are rooted in reality and will offer colleagues a renewed vigour when returning to their settings.