Critical, not credulous
AI in education deserves curiosity and scrutiny in equal measure. I help educators ask the harder questions: who benefits, who is left out, and what is good pedagogy actually asking of this tool?
Dr Tim Gander · Te Tairāwhiti, Aotearoa
Research you can stand on. Relationships you can build on. Change that holds.
I am an educator and researcher working at the intersection of AI, inclusive education and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I founded FutureLearning to help schools, leaders and whānau make better, braver use of emerging tools, grounded in evidence and in the realities of Aotearoa classrooms.
“Education as a practice of freedom.”
- PhD, Education
- Founder, FutureLearning
- ERO & N4L advisory
- Editor-in-chief, He Rourou
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educators in the AI in Education Community of Practice
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peer-reviewed publications
About
An educator who leads change through people, evidence and trust.
For more than fifteen years I have worked across Aotearoa schools, kura, universities and the philanthropic sector, helping educators and leaders turn good intentions into real change for learners and whānau.
My doctoral research explored technology-enhanced collaborative coaching, using bug-in-ear technology to strengthen teaching and leadership for social justice. That same thread runs through everything I do now: the conviction that sustainable change does not come from content or tools alone, but from ongoing, practice-based learning inside trusted professional relationships. The human element is always bigger than the technology.
Today I work full-time through FutureLearning, the professional learning organisation I founded. I have served on the Education Review Office's external expert group on AI in Education and on Network for Learning's AI advisory panel, edit the journal He Rourou, and convene a national community of practice for educators exploring AI. My work is shaped by critical pedagogy, social justice and learner agency, and is always grounded in te ao Māori and the realities of the New Zealand classroom.
Sustainable change depends on outstanding people and trusted relationships. I am committed to education that enables learners and communities to define success on their own terms, and to transcend the barriers in front of them.
Approach
How I think about technology and learning.
I am optimistic about what is possible, and clear-eyed about the risks. These three commitments guide every programme, paper and partnership.
Equity and Te Tiriti first
Technology is never neutral. I work from a Te Tiriti foundation and a commitment to inclusive practice, so that emerging tools narrow gaps for ākonga Māori, Pacific and neurodiverse learners rather than widen them.
Evidence into practice
I translate research into things educators can actually use. Baseline data shapes programme design, re-measurement tracks whether it worked, and the learning feeds the next iteration.
Focus areas
Where my work lives.
AI in education
Responsible, evidence-based AI use in NZ schools and tertiary settings, beyond the hype cycle.
Inclusive education
All learners present, participating and achieving, with learning support that actually reaches families.
Te Tiriti & bicultural practice
Treaty-grounded, tikanga-based practice and Māori data sovereignty as design principles, not afterthoughts.
Coaching & teacher learning
Practice-based professional learning, collaborative coaching and critical reflection that changes what happens in the room.
Selected work
Building the conditions for change.
FutureLearning
A professional learning organisation for the education sector, built on a simple belief: change comes from people and relationships, not workshops alone. FutureLearning designs PLD, tools, research and community for educators, leaders, RTLB practitioners and whānau across Aotearoa, including the Te Ara Tūāpae AI readiness audit and year-long practice partnerships.
futurelearning.nz →AI in Education Community of Practice
A free, decentralised national community now home to more than 800 educators. Its kaupapa is open access to AI literacy that promotes effective pedagogy, inclusive learning and equitable outcomes. Grown by over 2000% as a space for educators to make sense of these tools together.
YAIRN — Youth AI Research Network
An international network positioning young people as co-investigators in research on AI and their own learning. I co-lead the Aotearoa strand, grounded in tikanga and mātauranga Māori, and in OCAP data principles, with partners including Netsafe and university researchers.
Sector advisory & system leadership
External expert group on AI in Education for the Education Review Office; core advisory panel for the AI in Aotearoa investment plan with Network for Learning; and recent leadership of a Te Tiriti honouring philanthropic trust stewarding a multi-million dollar portfolio for equity in education.
Speaking & media
On stage, in the room, and in print.
Keynotes, facilitation and writing that help educators and leaders make sense of AI and inclusive practice in Aotearoa.
What Comes After AI Literacy?
Tauranga Innovative Education Summit (TIES) · 2026
A keynote on where AI in education goes once the novelty fades: from literacy to judgement, from tools to agency, and the question that matters most when the signal drops and the student has to find their own way.
Invite Tim to speak →AI, equity & inclusive practice
For school leaders, RTLB practitioners and boards weighing AI against real classroom realities.
Cutting through the noise
Evidence-based approaches to AI for principals and senior leadership teams, with a live readiness audit.
Learner agency & critical pedagogy
From a decade of research and practice on agency, coaching and education as a practice of freedom.
Publications
Peer-reviewed research & writing.
A decade of published work on AI, coaching, inclusive practice and critical reflection. ORCID: 0000-0001-7388-3519.
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2024
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Navigating the AI Landscape: Educator Insights and Pedagogical Implications in New Zealand
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2024
DOI
Evaluating the Impact of an AI Critical Friend on Student Research Proposals, Critical AI Literacy, and Transparent Collaborative Assessment Practices
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2024
DOI
Understanding AI Literacy for Higher Education Students: Implications for Assessment
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2024
DOI
AI in Education 2023: Understanding the impact on effective pedagogy, inclusive learning and equitable outcomes
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2024
DOI
Collaborative Synchronous Coaching to Enable the Third Space in Initial Teacher Education
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2023
DOI
Collaborative Synchronous Coaching to support triadic collaboration and bridge the theory–practice divide in initial teacher education
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2023
DOI
Using bug-in-ear technology as a coaching technique: a scoping review
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2022
DOI
The Post-COVID-19 Impact on Distance Learning for New Zealand Teachers
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2021
DOI
Recording Synchronous Online Teaching to Develop Practice
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2020
Dialogic reflection for social justice — He Anga Huritao
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2019
DOI
Learning Analytics in Secondary School
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2019
He Anga Huritao: A New Zealand framework for Critical Reflection
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2019
E-mentoring in Te Kura Kaupapa Māori
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2018
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How might we encourage constructive engagement in blended environments for Māori learners?
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2016
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Disruption Through Collaboration
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2015
Learner agency in a traditional school setting
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2014
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The ‘call to adventure’: learner agency in the traditional school
Also: Gander & Parsons (2025), Empowering Aotearoa: An Inclusive Approach to AI Literacy in Tertiary Education (Ako Aotearoa research report), and ongoing work with the YAIRN network. Full record on ORCID.
Recognition & service
Trusted across the sector.
Peer esteem, editorial leadership and advisory roles spanning policy, research and practice.
Advisory & policy
- External expert group · AI in Education, Education Review Office (ERO)
- Core advisory panel · AI in Aotearoa investment plan, Network for Learning (N4L)
- Tairāwhiti Connected Whānau · advisory group member, 2018–present
Speaking
- Keynote · Tauranga Innovative Education Summit (TIES), 2026 — “What Comes After AI Literacy?”
- Regular facilitator and keynote across NZ schools, clusters and conferences
Editorial & peer review
- Editor-in-chief · He Rourou
- Peer reviewer · Teaching and Teacher Education; International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education; Journal of Online Learning Research
- Elsevier Advisory Panel · 2022–present
- Springer Encyclopedia of Educational Innovation · review panel, 2019–present
Grants & awards
- Empowering Aotearoa · Inclusive Approach to AI Literacy in Tertiary Education, research grant 2024
- Te Wānanga Whakawhānui · MBIE funding for all learners in Te Tairāwhiti
Get in touch
Let’s build something that lasts.
Keynotes, advisory, professional learning partnerships, or research collaboration. If it helps educators and learners in Aotearoa, I would love to hear from you.