How can educators recognise and build on the strengths children gain from adversity? What happens when teachers shift from seeing deficits to seeing potential? How are children changing their own narratives with the support of educators?

In this episode, Nina explores children’s resilience and the strength they gain from living in difficult circumstances.

Nina first speaks with Gabriele Paone, a researcher in Oxford in the UK who studies how children in high-stress environments in different parts of the world develop strengths that are often overlooked. Gabriele focuses not on what students lack, instead recognising how they adapt, cope, and grow in the face of adversity. “Shifting from a deficit perspective to an adaptive one encourages educators to see potential strengths in differences”, Gabriele says.

Nina then speaks with Murimi Nyaga, known as Turi, a teacher and Teach For Kenya fellow working in Machakos, Kenya. Turi teaches in a rural community where students face family hardships, poverty, and emotional challenges. Despite this, he has seen students thrive when given support and creative outlets. Through projects like arts and music, children are building confidence and discovering hidden talents. “The learners that have been engaged in the project have gained esteem”, Turi says. “They're able to take up responsibilities. They're able to take up leadership in the school.”

Finally, Nina talks with Gilson Penha, a teacher and coordinator in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gilson works in schools that serve neighbourhoods impacted by inequality and violence. Gilson developed a story with Turi’s students about a young warrior who uses a magical spear to free his people from oppression. This story helped his students see themselves as protagonists of a story of change. “I really believe that education can change the social context within our neighborhood, within our community”, says Gilson.

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Guests

Gabriele Paone: Website

Murimi Nyaga (Turi): LinkedIn

Gilson Penha: Instagram

How can teachers support students in emergencies or difficult contexts? In this bonus episode, Nina hears advice for teaching in challenging conditions from four educators.

First Nina meets Diana Suárez, a teacher in Colombia and an expert in multilingualism and multiculturalism. Diana says that safe play spaces let children reconnect, express themselves, and feel joy again.

Next, Nina speaks to Gilson Penha, who teaches in a public school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gilson believes in building a welcoming school environment to support community involvement and hands-on, real-life activities that keep students motivated.

Murimi Nyaga, known as Turi, is a middle school teacher from Machakos, Kenya. He tells Nina about connecting students with nature through school gardens and conservation projects. These experiences help students develop a sense of belonging and purpose, even if they struggle academically or face difficult home lives.

Finally, Nina meets Antonio Castillo, a recent graduate from Spain, who works in afterschool programs for youth at risk of dropping out. He builds trust through authenticity and humility. By letting his students teach him first, he is able to truly connect.

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Guests and resources

Diana M. Suárez: LinkedIn

Gilson Penha: Instagram

Murimi Nyaga (Turi): LinkedIn

Antonio Castillo

Teachers Without Borders: website

What makes leadership and innovation critical in education during emergencies? How do local educators overcome challenges with limited resources? How can communities and technology help sustain learning in crisis contexts?

In this episode, Nina first speaks to Katy Noble, Head of Education in Emergencies at Teach For All, based in Palestine. Katy shares insights from 15 years working with crisis-affected communities, reflecting on how leadership in emergencies requires both adaptability and care. She believes in distributed, human-centered leadership. Katy says: “We need to question long held sector norms, like the obsession of focusing on access to education over quality learning outcomes, or this laser focus on student wellbeing at the expense of teacher wellbeing.”

Nina also hears from Atukunda Samuel, Head Teacher of Navikale Refugee Settlement Secondary School in Uganda. Samuel tells Nina about the daily realities of leading a school under extreme pressure, including limited resources, overcrowded classrooms, and the emotional toll on both students and teachers. He also talks about the strength of the community: “The entire community plays a role. The school principals look for ways to recruit additional teachers amongst the internally displaced populations.”

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Guests and resources

Katy Noble: LinkedIn
Teach For All video: Education in Emergencies: Connecting across borders

Atukunda Samuel: LinkedIn

Why is evidence so important in education solutions? How is evidence incorporated into large-scale educational solutions? How can evidence lead to greater equity in education?

In this episode, Nina first speaks to Vicky Colbert, from Colombia. Vicky is the founder of Fundación Escuela Nueva, an NGO that has shaped the way multigrade classrooms operate. Vicky tells Nina how they use evidence to ensure their work is effective, equitable, and scalable. Evidence improves outcomes, by showing what works and what doesn’t work. Teachers are the agents of change in their solution, as they get together to learn. Vicky says that “teachers sometimes learn more from other teachers than from experts”.

Next, Nina meets Karen Levesque, Head of Research at Imagine Worldwide. Imagine Worldwide is an NGO making education accessible through technology and self-directed learning. They strongly believed that personalised EdTech had the potential to make a difference in Sub-Saharan Africa, but they wanted to prove it could make a difference before implementing their solution. “Having an evidence base can help schools and systems decide: what is best for our children?” Karen says.

Both NGOs are winners of the 2024 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes, in recognition of institutions and individuals implementing evidence-based solutions aimed at promoting child development and learning in practice.

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Guests and resources

Vicky Colbert: LinkedIn, X

Fundación Escuela Nueva: website, Facebook, YouTube

Karen Levesque: LinkedIn

Imagine Worldwide: website, short introduction video, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Should arts and science come closer together? How are teachers bringing these subjects together in the classroom?

In this episode, Nina talks to Pamela Burnard, Professor of Arts, Creativities and Educations at the University of Cambridge in the UK. “When we look at creative industries, real world practitioners are not sitting in expert siloes, they are collaborating, they are co-authoring,” Pamela says. In medicine, culture, and technologies, people are connecting, she says.

Next, Nina meets Silvana Baico, a primary educator in Uruguay. Silvana connects learning with art and movement, looking for the math and geometry in dance. Silvana also trains teachers in this. ”Teacher training is essential because you give them the kind of fresh air, a sort of renewed desire to do things, to imagine new things,” says Silvana.

Ingrid Delange is a secondary teacher working in Luxembourg. “If you mix art and mathematics, you can definitely develop creativity,” Ingrid tells Nina. For Ingrid, the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí is a source of inspiration and she uses his work in the classroom. Students are able to see beyond the painting and create their own interpretations of this art.

Lastly, Nina speaks to Akina Lam, a teacher librarian in Hong Kong. “ I believe that by blending maths with stories, we can make it more engaging and accessible for everyone.” She recommends storybooks to children that incorporate mathematical concepts, such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

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Guests and resources

Pamela Burnard: LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Sculpting New Creativities in Primary Education (book)

STEAM gardens

Silvana Baico: Instagram

Ingrid Delange: LinkedIn

Akina Lam: LinkedIn

HK Gorden Dragon Book Awards organized by Akina Lam

What is high sensitivity? How many children in a classroom are highly sensitive? How can teachers support highly sensitive children?

In this bonus episode, Nina talks to  Michael Pluess, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Surrey. Michael has been studying children’s individual differences in sensitivity for more than 10 years. Around 30% of children are highly sensitive, he says, which means they are more affected by their environment, whether that’s positive or negative.

Michael and his team have developed free resources for teachers which will help teachers learn about sensitivity and provide a classroom environment suited for those children. There’s a questionnaire to help teachers identify sensitive children in the classroom, and an online training course for teachers to complete which comes with a certificate.

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Guest and resources

Michael Pluess: University profile, LinkedIn, X

sensitivityresearch.com: Test your student, Teacher training

How to support highly sensitive children in class - Michael Pluess and Cherry Hirst share strategies for teachers and caregivers to help highly sensitive children thrive

Should learning be easy or effortful? What’s the zone of failure and why is it useful for learning? How can teachers design tasks for deep learning?

In this episode, Nina talks to  Manu Kapur, Professor of Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. When Manu was a teacher of grade 12 mathematics, he noticed that student understanding was quite shallow, even when explanations were very clear. This inspired him to study why that happens, and what can be done about it. The science shows that deep learning happens “in that zone which is beyond your current skill sets and abilities”, Manu says. Tasks need to be in that zone of failure for students to learn something new.

Next Nina hears from primary school teacher Katharine Young who works in Spain. Katherine sees a move away from teachers simply passing on information. “We have to present meaningful learning situations”, she says. Katherine focuses on active, project-based learning, where students learn by doing.

Nina also meets Toyin Awofeso from Rwanda DOS International Montessori School in Rwanda. In Montessori classrooms, lots of autonomy is given to the students, but teachers plan for every child. Toyin lets her students figure things out on their own in their projects, leading to aha moments. “Having them discover the concept you are trying to teach them makes the memory everlasting for them”, Toyin says.

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Guests and resources

Manu Kapur: website, book, PDF book chapter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Katharine Young: LinkedIn

Toyin Awofeso: LinkedIn

Why is sleep important as children grow? Are young people getting enough sleep? How can schools work with families to make sure children get the sleep they need?

In this episode, Nina talks to Jared Saletin, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University and the Associate Director of the E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep Research Laboratory in Rhode Island, the US. “Sleep is critical across the entire lifespan”, Jared says. “And it's critical for mental health. It's also critical for physical health.” Jared tells Nina about the ‘perfect storm’ of adolescence, whereby teenagers’ lives are scheduled in opposition to their biology. Even one night of insufficient sleep compromises memory, attention, and mood, he says.

Nina hears from three teachers who share experiences from their classrooms. Ganiyat Muritala Wuraola from Nigeria helped a student who was sleeping in class by talking to her family, who then made sleep a priority.

Rocío García Solca, a Chemistry teacher from Argentina, discovered that many of her students were getting just five hours’ sleep a night. She encourages them to sleep well the night before an important or difficult lesson.

Kawita Thani teaches teenagers in Vietnam. At Kawita’s school, they’re making a change in the schedule in response to the sleepiness students feel at different times of the day, in the hope it helps students to learn.

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Guests and resources

Jared Saletin: LinkedIn, website, Frontiers for Young Minds article

Ganiyat Muritala Wuraola: LinkedIn

Rocío García Solca: LinkedIn

Kawita Thani: LinkedIn