IB Unplugged

Welcome to IB Unplugged, a Kognity podcast for IB DP educators that tackles your submitted challenges and questions by connecting you with experts and peers who share their ideas and stories from real classrooms. Whether you’re a seasoned educator or new to the IB world, each biweekly episode and guest aims to equip you with practical tips and positive inspiration – helping you teach with more confidence, creativity, and joy. So whether you’re walking your dog or commuting to school, hit play and join a community of educators ready to learn, laugh, and thrive in your IB journey.This is a Kognity podcast hosted by Courtney Marline and John Patton. This podcast is produced by Katilina Gaffney and edited by Damir Zvekanov.

IB Unplugged is a education podcast hosted by Kognity, with 48 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Kognity hosts IB Unplugged, a education show with 48 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #4

  Designing a Pathway for a Changing World w/ Naheed Bardai

  Sep 29, 20261h 2mS3

  What happens when the world a curriculum was designed for changes faster than the curriculum itself has? The IB Diploma Programme has earned its reputation for rigor. But the challenges today's students will inherit — a warming planet, the next pandemic, AI reshaping work — don't arrive sorted by subject. So how do you keep that rigor and make learning more relevant to the world students are heading into? We sit down with Naheed Bardai — principal of UWC Atlantic College in Wales and one of the founding architects of the Systems Transformation Pathway — to unpack the IB's new transdisciplinary course: how it was designed, what two years of piloting have taught, and what schools can start doing now.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #3

  Curiosity in the Age of Instant Answers w/ Tim Lovatt

  Sep 15, 202655 minS3

  Tim Lovatt, Head of Digital Learning at UWC South East Asia, joins us to explore one of the quieter challenges of the AI era: keeping curiosity alive when it's no longer necessary for finding information. Tim argues that as AI tools take on more of the cognitive heavy lifting, the quality of the questions students ask matters more than ever, not less. The conversation moves between two possible futures: one where AI narrows curiosity into a search for quick answers, and one where schools deliberately design for wonder, treating creativity, collaboration and critical thinking as the skills that make students distinctly human rather than as soft extras.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #2

  Inside the IB's AI Principles w/ Clara Hawking

  Sep 1, 202657 minS3

  The IB has spent decades defining what it means to educate for international mindedness and ethical thinking. Now, for the first time, it has published principles to guide how AI should be used across its entire ecosystem — from classrooms and assessments to the platforms schools use every day. But principles on a page are only as powerful as what happens in a classroom. Clara Hawking, Co-founder of Kompass Education, former IB educator, and one of the small group of external advisors who helped build the IB's AI Design Principles from the ground up, returns to IB Unplugged to go inside the process — unpacking what those principles actually mean, the hard conversations that shaped them, and what IB educators need to do now.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #29

  Looking Back, Thinking Forward: Season 2 in Review

  Jul 21, 202650 minS2

  What were the biggest ideas to emerge from Season Two of IB Unplugged? In this special season finale, Courtney and John look back on the conversations that challenged their thinking, influenced their classrooms, and reshaped how they view education. Rather than revisiting every episode, they identify five recurring themes that connected discussions with researchers, school leaders, and classroom practitioners throughout the season. From the role of AI and assessment to teacher well-being, student identity, belonging, and the importance of keeping humanity at the heart of education, this reflective conversation explores the ideas that continue to resonate long after the microphones were turned off. Whether you've listened to every episode or are discovering IB Unplugged for the first time, this episode offers a thoughtful synthesis of the conversations shaping the future of IB education.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #28

  Building Community Through Professional Learning w/ Elizabeth Imende

  Jul 7, 202644 minS2

  What happens when schools stop working in isolation and start learning from one another? Elizabeth Imende joins us to explore the power of professional learning communities and the role of educational associations in building stronger, more connected schools. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across multiple continents—and her current role as Executive Director of AISA—Elizabeth reflects on how collaboration, shared expertise, and ongoing professional learning can transform both teaching and leadership. Together, we unpack why locally grounded professional learning matters, how educators can move beyond networking to meaningful collaboration, and what school leaders can do to cultivate cultures of continuous growth. This conversation is a reminder that some of the most powerful learning happens not in isolation, but in community.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on IB Unplugged. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.