# MARCH MADNESS OF LEARNING LIVE FROM SXSW EDU with AJ Gutierrez, Jasmine Maze, and Justin Serrano

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/trending-in-ed-with-mike-palmer-513819/march-madness-of-learning-live-from-sxsw-edu-with-aj-gutierrez-jasmine-maze-and-justin-serrano
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/trending-in-ed-with-mike-palmer-513819/march-madness-of-learning-live-from-sxsw-edu-with-aj-gutierrez-jasmine-maze-and-justin-serrano.md
Podcast: [Trending In Ed with Mike Palmer](https://stenobird.com/podcast/trending-in-ed-with-mike-palmer-513819)
Published: 2026-04-08T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://trendingineducation.com/2026/04/march-madness-of-learning-live-from-sxsw-edu/
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PLMD7430244319.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/trending-in-ed-with-mike-palmer-513819/episodes/march-madness-of-learning-live-from-sxsw-edu-with-aj-gutierrez-jasmine-maze-and-justin-serrano
Duration seconds: 2913

## Resource

We’re back in Austin for the 2026 SXSW EDU "March Madness of Learning Trends" LIVE panel. Host Mike Palmer is joined by AJ Gutierrez (CEO of Equal Opportunity Schools), Jasmine Maze (Senior Managing Director at Teach for America’s Reinvention Lab), and Justin Serrano (CEO of Littera Education) to reveal a bracket of 16 trends shaping the future of education. The conversation moves past the usual AI hype to focus on human capital and accountability. Justin Serrano introduces the "outcomes economy," describing a shift in procurement where school districts move away from buying software and toward outcomes-based contracting that holds providers accountable for student results. AJ Gutierrez highlights the continued efficacy of high-impact tutoring, noting that regular personalization within the school day remains one of the most rigorously evaluated and successful approaches to K-12 recovery. Jasmine Maze provides a necessary critique of AI as a simple productivity engine. She argues for a focus on "teacher efficiency," which means using technology to remove administrative friction and "buy back" time for the relational, human work of mentoring and master design. Mike Palmer rounds out the discussion with a call for "strategic optimism" and the importance of "unplugging" to maintain internal dialogue in an age of digital distraction. Key Takeaways: The Outcomes Economy: State departments are increasingly adopting contracts where up to 40% of payment is tied to intended student outcomes. Redefining Efficiency: Efficiency in education should mean making more time for the masterwork of human connection rather than just pressuring teachers to do more with less. Productive Distrust: As "AI slop" and mediocre content become ubiquitous, learners must develop "productive distrust,…

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