Episode 268 - Finding Our Depth Advantage (S07E10) w/ Dr. John Spencer
From Rebel Teacher Alliance by Rebel Teacher Alliance
March 3, 2026 · 47 min · Season 7 · Episode 10
About this episode
Dr. John Spencer discusses the importance of teaching for depth in education and the role of AI as a study tool.
Welcome back to a new episode of Rebel Teacher Alliance! This week we sit down with Dr. John Spencer, fresh off his keynote at the Learning and the Brain Conference in San Francisco. We talk about why slowing down is actually the move in a world that keeps telling us to go faster, how to use AI as a study tool without letting it do all the thinking, and what it even means to teach for depth when your students can generate a five-paragraph essay in 30 seconds. Also: Dr. Spencer once modified a game of Pit to teach how markets work and used a version of Risk to walk students through the whole lead-up to World War One, so you already know the Whatcha Been Playin' segment is going to go places. If you want to keep the conversation going, subscribe and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts -- it genuinely helps people find us. Come hang out in our Discord at rebelteacheralliance.com. You can also find us on Instagram, BlueSky, and TikTok all at @rebelteacheralliance. Find Fabian at @hofmannedu.bsky.social, Jamie at @jedijamie.bsky.social, and John at @meehanedu.bsky.social. Things mentioned on the show: The Depth Advantage by Dr. John Spencer spencereducation.com Learning and…
People in this episode
Hosts: Fabian, Jamie
Guest: Dr John Spencer
Topics covered
- education
- AI in education
- deeper learning
- teaching strategies
Keywords
- depth advantage
- Learning and the Brain Conference
- game-based learning
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Pit, Risk, The Depth Advantage by Dr. John Spencer, spencereducation.com
Books & works: Finding Our Depth Advantage, Rebel Teacher Alliance, The Depth Advantage
Places: San Francisco
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- Episode 267 - Finding Our Missing Chapter (S07E09) w/ Jenny Chan · February 13, 2026 · 38 min
- Episode 266 - Finding Our Funishment Line (S07E08) · January 29, 2026 · 52 min
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