Is Face-to-Face Learning Really as Good as We Think It Is? with Yusuf Ben-Tarifite (#363)

#EdufuturistsPodcast #AIinEducation #SocialMobility What if the biggest problem in education isn't AI, it's that almost nothing we already do has ever been tested for evidence the way a new drug would be? In this episode In this episode, Ben and Steve sit down with Dr Yusuf Ben-Tarifite - A&E doctor, social mobility researcher, and founder of Ava - to talk about what happens when you apply medical-grade evidence standards to education. From email-blasting a thousand consultants to get work experience, to building the UK's first randomised control trial comparing AI tutoring against video, Yusuf makes the case that education's real crisis isn't too much AI scepticism; it's not enough rigour applied everywhere else. About our guest Dr Yusuf Ben-Tarifite is an A&E doctor and the founder of Ava, a platform helping students navigate the "unwritten curriculum" of applying to university. The first in his family to attend university, he studied medicine at Balliol College, Oxford, after attending a state school in Hertfordshire with no private tutoring. While still a medical student, he founded Aspiring Medics - now having worked with over 10,000 students - and was awarded the Diana Award by Prince William for his work widening access to medicine. Ava now partners with the Sutton Trust on AI-powered interview coaching and evidence-based research into social mobility. We cover: - Yusuf's journey from a Hertfordshire state school to Oxford medicine, and why he founded Aspiring Medics a week before Freshers' Week - The Diana Award, Prince William, and "leaving the ladder down" for others - Ava's mission: equality of opportunity, not just support for disadvantaged students - Why AI is a continuum, not a chatbot and how Ava uses it as a Socratic tutor and interview coach - Building an actual evidence base: doubling Oxbridge odds, and the UK's first randomised trial of AI vs video tutoring - The real hope for AI in education and the risk of turning students into "AI zombies" - Why writing and thinking are the same skill, and what that means for assessment - "I call bullshit": how often is high-quality face-to-face teaching actually happening? - The GCSE resit numbers that expose a one-size-fits-all system already failing thousands - Why cognitive discomfort, like progressive overload in the gym, is the point of learning, not a bug - The shrinking half-life of technical skills, and what it means for lifelong learning Why you should listen This is a rare conversation where a working doctor's instinct for evidence collides head-on with education's comfort with anecdote and tradition. If you've ever been frustrated by "it just works" arguments on either side of the AI debate, Yusuf brings a genuinely evidence-led perspective. Chapters 0:00 Highlights 0:58 Welcome 3:20 Introducing Dr Yusuf: A&E doctor, researcher and founder of Ava 3:57 From a Hertfordshire state school to Oxford medicine 5:33 Who Ava is for: narrowing the gap, or equality of opportunity for all? 7:15 The AI revolution and democratising education 8:17 The Diana Award, Prince William, and "leaving the ladder down" 10:25 What still drives him after the recognition 11:44 From Aspiring Medics to Oxbridge: his North Star for social mobility 13:33 Mirroring the Edufuturists journey, and the shrinking half-life of skills 16:18 Why social mobility is complicated and why tech alone won't fix it 18:04 Inside Ava: a "training course" for university applications 19:38 The "who you know" problem, and levelling the playing field 20:56 AI as a Socratic tutor and why "the genie can't go back in the bottle" 22:49 Building the evidence base: doubling Oxbridge odds, and the UK's first AI vs video trial 23:44 Beyond the hype: the real hope for AI in education, and the risk of "AI zombies" 26:33 Outsourcing the doing, not the thinking 28:13 Teaching cognitive biases, and why writing is thinking 29:58 Is high-quality face-to-face learning really happening as often as we assume? 31:47 The longitudinal evidence question, and a one-size-fits-all model that's already failing 33:04 Why AI should face the same scrutiny as every other intervention 34:07 The COVID hangover, and why we're asking the wrong question about online learning 36:10 Is there a gap between policy and technology? 37:35 Cognitive discomfort: why learning should feel like exercise 41:28 Has the fundamental nature of learning really changed? 42:43 Quickfire Questions Find out more about AVA: https://ai.theaspiringmedics.co.uk/ Thanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you. Ben & Steve x Check out all about Edufuturists at https://www.edufuturists.com Want to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work? Get in touch: info@edufuturists.com Grab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education book at: https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/picknmix-education Join the Edufuturists Wolfpack: edufuturists.com/wolfpack