How 80,000+ Teachers Are Rethinking Instruction with Robert Barnett of Modern Classrooms Project

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Robert Barnett co-founded the Modern Classrooms Project, which has empowered 80,000+ educators in 180+ countries to meet every learner’s needs. Before that he taught math, computer science, English, social studies, and law, from the middle-school to university levels, at public and private schools in the U.S. and Switzerland. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University and Harvard Law School; speaks English, French, and Spanish; and lives in Washington, DC. His book, Meet Every Learner's Needs, comes out in February, and he hopes his two young children will learn in Modern Classrooms someday!

💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

1. How Modern Classrooms transforms the “operating system” of schools
2. Why teacher-created videos are more powerful than polished content
3. The case for paper-based mastery checks in a tech-driven world
4. Rob’s take on AI tools—and why teacher-facing AI holds promise
5. How to truly personalize learning while keeping it personal

✨ Episode Highlights:

[00:02:27] Rob’s journey from overwhelmed teacher to instructional leader
[00:03:46] What’s wrong with today’s classroom model—and how to fix it
[00:07:54] Inside a Modern Classroom: self-paced, human-centered learning
[00:13:33] Paper beats screens—for fast, meaningful feedback
[00:14:25] The power of personal: making your own instructional videos
[00:17:46] Tech should amplify, not replace, teacher-student relationships
[00:20:26] Why AI needs clearer use cases in classrooms
[00:26:59] Chronic absenteeism demands a new instructional model
[00:34:51] AI avatars: promising or uncanny? Rob weighs in
[00:39:32] Rob’s new book Meet Every Learner’s Needs—a guide for redesigning instruction

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