Trending in Ed Season 10 Kickoff | 8 Trends for Fall 2025 | Gartner Hype Cycle with Nancy

Update: 2025-09-24

Description

Trending in Ed is back for its 10th season! Mike Palmer is kicking things off by reflecting on the past nine seasons and sharing what's in store for the Fall. We're excited to announce that the podcast will be offering dedicated feeds for listeners who want to go deep on specific topics like AI, K-12, higher education / the future of work, and author interviews about books.

In this kickoff episode, Mike shares his eight trends for Fall 2025:

Independent Media & Free Speech: Highlighting the importance of independent media and calling out the "chilling effects" on free speech in mainstream and broadcast media.

Discernment: The ability to find "the signal in the noise" and filter out misinformation in a world of information overload.

AI Dexterity: A focus on what people can do with AI rather than what AI can do for them, a phrase coined by Mike Yates.

Golden Age of Educational Media: The rise of generative AI tools is revolutionizing the development of educational content and instructional design.

Co-Design & Co-Creation: The importance of listening to and co-creating with students, families, and parents to foster a sense of connection and ownership.

Human Agency: The idea that purpose and goals are a "super skill" that allows individuals to engage with new capabilities more productively.

Cognitive Neuroscience: Applying the science of how our brains are structured and how we learn to develop more effective learning systems.

Tutors & Mentors: The crucial role of human coaches, tutors, and mentors in a world increasingly influenced by AI.

We also bring back OG virtual co-host, Nancy, to discuss the Gartner Hype Cycle for 2025. We discuss how generative AI is now moving into the "Trough of Disillusionment" and that things like Model Ops and AI Engineering are quietly gaining momentum on the "Slope of Enlightenment". We also touch upon what's next, including AI agents and AI-native software engineering, and how AI is becoming a utility rather than a differentiator.

Listeners can look forward to upcoming interviews with an incredible lineup of guests, including:

Rich Braden and Tessa Forshaw, authors of Innovation-ish.

Howard Blumenthal and Bob Pianta, authors of Kids on Earth.

Michael Ioffe the Co-Founder and CEO of Arist.

AJ Gutierrez from Equal Opportunity Schools.

Michelle Vilchez and Sean Michael Hardy from Innovate Public Schools.

Jeff Young hosts Learning Curve.

Liz City and Rachel Curtis, authors of Leading Strategically.

We are delighted to have you with us for Season 10! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Video versions are now available on YouTube and Spotify. Visit TrendinginEd.com for more.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome to Season 10 of Trending in Education

01:24 New Dedicated Feeds for Focused Content

02:42 Upcoming Trends and Sneak Peeks

07:05 Trend 1: Free Speech and Independent Media

10:44 Trend 2: Discernment in the Attention Economy

12:28 Trend 3: AI Dexterity

13:50 Trend 4: Golden Age of Educational Media

16:09 Trend 5: Co-Design and Co-Creation

19:22 Trend 6: Human Agency

26:07 Trend 7: Cognitive Neuroscience

27:26 Trend 8: Tutors/Coaches and Mentors