Popular Podagogy - Queen's Faculty of Education – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode explores how integrative thinking helps students navigate tensions instead of choosing between opposing ideas. Nogah Kornberg shares practical tools like the pro-pro chart and a five-stage problem-solving journey that builds creativity, empathy, and critical thinking. The conversation highlights how embracing “creative friction” in classrooms can empower students to generate innovative solutions to real-world challenges.

Resources

• I-Think website 
• I-Think Challenge Kits
• I-Think Case Studies
• Creating Great Choices by Roger Martin and Jennifer Riel
• Email: connect@i-thinktogether.org

About Nogah Kornberg

As strategist, facilitator and coach, Nogah’s work sits at the intersection of thought leadership and action. She is a trusted partner to leaders and educators navigating complex, system-level challenges. As Co-Executive Director of I-Think, she creates solutions that translate aspirations into lasting impact.

Nogah wrote the first textbook in Integrative Thinking, I-Think Facilitator Notebook. She also led the team designing I-Think’s first board game, I-Think Different: About Social Media, the Well-being Mini Kit and Challenge Kits. With school boards, Nogah has designed School Improvement Frameworks used by every leader in the Board, worked with Indigenous Education Teams to co-create their strategy and identify areas for action, and facilitated the Vision, Mission and Strategy with students for Central Technical School. She is currently working on a podcast with them.

Nogah received her Bachelor of Education and Master of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. She holds a Honours Bachelor of Arts from Trent University in History and Indigenous Studies.

In this episode of Popular Podagogy, host Chris Carlton sits down with educator Heidi Siwak for a thought-provoking dive into what students really think about artificial intelligence. Drawing on insights from over 5,000 Ontario students from Grades 6-12, the conversation explores everything from AI as a tool for inclusion and creativity to concerns about trust, surveillance, and bias. The big takeaway: students aren’t just passive users of tech. They want guidance, ethical guardrails, and a real say in how AI shapes their learning and future. 

Resources

• AI Student Voice Report
• I-Think AI Challenge Kit 
• I-Think

Heidi is an award-winning Ontario educator passionate about fostering student voice and agency and equipping students with the skills they need to shape the future of AI. As a Teacher-Coach at I-Think, Heidi has guided over 5000 Ontario students and their teachers through I-Think’s Artificial Intelligence Challenge and leads I-Think’s AI Readiness workshops for educators and parents, helping schools and families navigate the AI era. Heidi’s work as an educator has been featured in articles, books, and podcasts. She is an experienced conference presenter and TEDx speaker. Heidi has an MEd in Education Leadership and Policy with 25+ years of K-8 teaching at the Hamilton-Wentwork District School Board and at the Ontario Ministry of Education. Heidi is an alumna of Mila-Quebec Institute for Artificial Intelligence Summer School on Responsible AI and Human Rights, 2025. 

Dr. Pamela Beach, Associate Professor of Language and Literacy, joins us for a wide-scoping discussion about literacy. Listen to learn about multi-literacies, early literacies, the differences between learning languages, how to help with literacy learning in your classroom - and so much more!

Pamela's book, Promoting Language and Early Literacy Development: Practical Insights from a Parent Researcher is available now!


Pamela Beach is currently the Associate Dean, Research at the Faculty of Education and an Associate Professor in Language and Literacy at the Faculty of Education, Queen’s University. Pamela completed her MA in Child Study and Education at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto and her PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Pamela has a decade of elementary classroom experience, teaching a range of grades and subject areas from junior kindergarten to seventh grade. Her background as an elementary teacher has influenced her research which centres on the dissemination of research-informed literacy practices. Pamela’s work explores how online and multimedia resources can be used in teacher education and professional development. Pamela uses web analytics, screen-capture technology, the virtual revisit think aloud, and eye-tracking technology to study teacher cognition and learning. 

Queen's Master of Education student Kyle Raymond joins us to talk about how and why video games should be part of the classroom. Kyle provides practical tips on logistics and ways to make it work with limited resources as well as ideas on how to integrate video games into lessons. 

Kyle Raymond is a passionate educator pursuing a Master of Education (MEd) at Queen's University, working with Dr. Claire Ahn. He is working on his thesis titled, “Flowering Narratives: The Integration of Video Games in ELA Classrooms to Cultivate Learning about Environmentalism." He also holds a Bachelor of Education (BEd) from Queen's. In addition to his academic pursuits, Kyle has been a music instructor, teaching guitar, and has served as a remote teacher and tutor for the past few years.

Kyle's research focuses on the video game Flower.

Recent Master of Education Graduate Tristan Lewis joins Chris Carlton this month to talk about his MEd project - A Month of Queer Thriving: 20 ways to queer your classroom. Enjoy this conversation full of helpful and easy to implement ideas about ways to queer your classroom. 

Make sure to check out Tristan's resource, A Month of Queer Thriving: 20 ways to queer your classroom which is designed to take some of the guesswork out of finding innovative ways of engaging students while employing queer and trans pedagogical practices. He hopes you'll use it to foster queer thriving via your teaching practice in concrete, practical, but perhaps unexpected ways. 

Tristan Lewis is a queer high school teacher in Ontario. His teachable subjects are English, Drama, and History. As a new teacher, he had trouble being bold enough to work against what's 'expected' of teachers. 

Did you know that accommodations from high school don't automatically transfer to University? Or that the goal of accommodations for students changes once you get to University? Alan Jeans, Manager of Queen's Student Accessibility Services and current PhD student at the Faculty of Education joins host Chris Carlton to discuss the transition from K-12 to University for students with accommodations.

• Find out more about Queen's Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). 
• The QSAS Intake Guide walks incoming students through every step of the intake process. 

Alan Jeans is a disability advocate who has worked in disability communities in Canada from coast to coast – from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Vancouver, British Columbia with stops in between. Currently, Alan manages Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) at Queen’s University. In addition to managing QSAS, Alan is also a PhD student in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University. His research takes a critical disabilities approach to exploring the shifting intersectional landscape between disability and masculinity over generations. Having Tourette Syndrome himself, Alan identifies with a neurodiverse experience and is a proponent of the belief that strength arises from, not in spite of disability.

Dr. Nikhil Arora (Physics) and Dr. Nenad Radakovic (Education) join host Chris Carlton to discuss the 2024 total solar eclipse. Listen to find out more about the solar eclipse, what to talk about in your classroom, and more!

Resources: 

• Queen's 2024 Total Solar Eclipse 

 Wondering how to navigate equity in your classroom? Our own Dr. Alana Butler joins us to answer questions like: How do you support diverse students in your classroom without putting the spotlight on them? How do you navigate and address offensive comments in the classroom – and how do you bring it up with the entire class? Alana and Chris talk about representation, focusing on individual strengths (versus deficit), belonging, culturally relevant pedagogy, and so much more! 

Resources: 

• Anti-Racism and Diversity in Teaching Resources from Queen’s Faculty of Education
• Disability Resources from Queen’s Faculty of Education 
• Gender Diversity Teaching Resources from Queen’s Faculty of Education 
• Social Justice resources and information from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario 
• Educator’s Equity Toolkit from the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association 
• Equity from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation 
• Useful Links for Equity and Inclusive Education from Ontario Teachers’ Federation 

Dr. Alana Butler joined the Faculty of Education in 2017 and currently teaches both Bachelor of Education students and graduate students. Her research interests include the academic achievement of low-socio economic students, equity, diversity, and inclusion policies and practices from k-12 to higher education, at-risk children/youth and their educational attainment, and multicultural education. Find out more about her on the FookNConversaton Podcast. 

Listen to Dr. Chris DeLuca, Professor of Educational Assessment and Associate Dean - School of Graduate Studies, talk about AI in the classroom - ways to leverage it to enhance student learning, why we shouldn't be afraid of it, and how to get started using AI.

Find out more about Chris DeLuca.

Resources

• Leveraging AI to enhance learning Kappan Online Article
• How can teachers integrate AI within schools? EdCan Online Article
• Queen’s Generative AI Teaching & Learning Resources
• How to Cite ChatGPT
• Magic School AI (AI for Teachers)
• UNESCO: Artificial intelligence in education
• UNESCO: ChatGPT and AI in higher education – Quick Start Guide
• Intelligent Classrooms: What AI Means For The Future Of Education Frobes Article
• Educating in a World of Artificial Intelligence Podcast Harvard Education

On this podcast, we talked with registered social worker Laura Conboy, who is the Mental Health Lead at Limestone District School Board. Laura discusses mental health as a continuum, strategies for mental health in the classroom - both individually and as a group, how to create caring conditions, what a circle of care looks like, how to navigate the tiers of intervention, creating brace spaces, and she provides some really great tips on how to take care of yourself as a teacher. 

Resources for Mental Health in the Classroom 

• ONE CALL Desk Reference
• Guiding Questions to Build a Mentally Healthy Classroom Community 
• Mental Health Literacy Course for Educators 
• The Third Path 
• OCT Professional Advisory 
• Introduction to Children and Youth Mental Health: Skills for Educators 
• Personal Resiliency Tips  
• Brene Brown Podcast on Compative Suffering, the 50/50 Myth and Settling the Ball 
• 211 Ontario 
• Good2Talk 

Laura Conboy is a registered Social Worker and has been working as the Mental Health Lead for the Limestone District School Board since 2017. As part of her role, Laura creates and implements Limestone’s Mental Health and Substance Use Strategy and annual action plans. Prior to coming to Limestone, Laura worked as a hospital social worker in several departments including the emergency department, high-risk obstetrics, and child and adolescent psychiatry. When Laura is not working, she can be found reading, traveling, or learning to play pickleball.