Beyond the Canvas: Jai Bishop

[GemsK12HypeGirl]

When learning feels like play, students lean in. The impact grows when that play is designed with purpose.

In our latest Beyond the Canvas episode, Regional Director Gemma McLean sits down with Jai Bishop, lead teacher at Aoba International School in Japan. The school is an early adopter of the International Baccalaureate online in APAC, and Jai is using game-based learning and gamification to make lessons more engaging and effective.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the episode.

Here are some questions to get you started.

1. Jai talks about ‘designing for magic’ in education—those moments of genuine curiosity, insight and joy. What would it look like to design for magic in your own context? What gets in the way?

2. Game-based learning isn’t just about play. It can build agency, community and connection. Where have you seen learning experiences structured like games or quests, and what impact did that have on engagement or outcomes?

3. How do you currently account for student motivation in course or system design? Have you used models like the hexad player types to understand different learner behaviours, and should this be a bigger part of your pedagogical approach?

4. Inquiry isn’t just a strategy. It’s a mindset. How is your school or institution cultivating curiosity, critical thinking and self-direction across subjects and year levels?

5. In a digital learning environment, how do you balance autonomy with scaffolding? What role should an LMS play in supporting personalised, inquiry-rich learning at scale?

6. Jai teaches in a fully online International Baccalaureate setting where safe failure and experimentation are intentionally designed. How can we create space for low-stakes risk-taking in high-stakes environments, for both students and teachers?