education reform - Learning Ecosystems

Consortium Creates New ‘Bridge’ Transcript [O’Donnell]

On 03/24/2023, in change, consortiums, credentialing, education, education reform, K-12 related, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

As Schools Embrace Mastery Learning, and Confront Challenges of GPAs and College Admissions, Consortium Creates New ‘Bridge’ Transcript — from the74million.org by Patrick O’Donnell; via Ryan Craig
The Mastery Transcript Consortium is now piloting a ‘Learning Record’ that lets a broader view of students accompany standard grades in applications.

Excerpt:

Creators of a grading system that ditches traditional A-F grades for a new “mastery” transcript know that’s too big a leap for some schools to make, so they’ve created a “bridge” that can ease students, parents and college admissions officers into the shift.

“The single biggest barrier to adoption of the mastery transcript is that it’s perceived as risky, and kind of unfamiliar,” said Mike Flanagan, CEO of the Mastery Transcript Consortium, a national group that wants students to learn at their own pace and be rated continually on their progress, not just by snapshots when the calendar says a grading period ends.

Reflections on “Policy by Waivers Won’t Boost School Innovation” [Horn]

On 03/18/2023, in change, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, legislatures / government / legal, reinvent, society, staying relevant, strategy, teachers, United States, by Daniel Christian

Policy by Waivers Won’t Boost School Innovation — by Michael B. Horn
“Permissionless” beats having to ask for an okay

Excerpt:

In recent conversations, educators and state policymakers have expressed shock to me that district schools aren’t innovating more. With microschools growing and test scores floundering, why aren’t districts seeking permission to reinvent themselves?

As evidence of the opportunities to innovate, many bureaucrats and think tanks point to the vast number of waivers that states offer. The opportunities to move beyond traditional structures and processes do exist, the argument goes.

Yet waivers help far less than most policymakers believe. Until regulators create frameworks where innovation in pursuit of student outcomes is the default and doesn’t require permission, don’t expect a sea change.

From DSC:
TrimTab Groups. That’s what we need more of within K-12 and higher education.

Research shows the only way an organization can truly reinvent itself is to launch a separate organization that has the autonomy to rethink its value proposition, resources, processes, and financial formula.

Below is a graphic I created a while back, but with traditional institutions of higher education in mind.

We need more Trim Tab Groups within K-12 and Higher Education.

“The teacher shortage, and the profession itself, are finally getting the attention it needs.” [Green]

On 03/16/2023, in career development, change, education, education reform, future, K-12 related, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, reinvent, society, student-related, teachers, youth, by Daniel Christian

Are High Schools Preparing Students for the Future? [xqsuperschool.org]

On 03/06/2023, in career development, curriculum, education, education reform, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future, K-12 related, leadership, learning ecosystem, parents, pathways, vocational / trades, youth, by Daniel Christian

Are High Schools Preparing Students for the Future? — from xqsuperschool.org; with thanks to Marisa Sergnese out on LinkedIn for this resource

Excerpt:

High school is the last stop before students enter the real world of college, career, and adult life. It’s where adolescents are supposed to develop both academically and socially, so they’ll graduate prepared for all the future has to offer. But does it?

Along with students, educators, families, and employers across the country, we at XQ believe it’s time to rethink high school to ensure that it does. We invited our readers to weigh in and here is what they told us:

Out of more than 300 participants polled, the vast majority—93 percent—said they didn’t think high schools are fully preparing students to succeed in the future.

That’s a dramatically high percentage—and it lines up with current research. A study from the Hechinger Report reveals that the vast majority of the nation’s two- and four-year colleges report enrolling students who are unprepared for college-level work. Furthermore, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that up to 65 percent of community college students take at least one remedial course.

Reflections on “Why The Education Economy Is The Next Big Thing For The American Workforce” [Busteed]

On 02/22/2023, in business, career development, change, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, Design Thinking, education, education reform, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, motivation, participation, passions, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Why The Education Economy Is The Next Big Thing For The American Workforce — from fastcompany.com by Brandon Busteed
How can integrating our educational system, our employers, and our job creators affect our modern economy?

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Though the economy and education have long been topics of top concern to Americans, we haven’t created strong linkages between the two.

The topics are more like two castles with a large moat between them. Yet there is nothing more important we can do as a country than to build the world’s most effective “educonomy,” which would seamlessly integrate our educational system, our employers, and our job creators.
…
All told, we collected the voices of close to 1 million Americans on this subject in the past year alone. And what we’ve learned is alarming:

Student engagement in school drops precipitously from 5th grade through 12th grade. About three quarters of elementary school kids (76%) are engaged in school, while only 44% of high school kids are engaged. The longer students stay in school, the less engaged they become. If we were doing this right, the trend would be going in the exact opposite direction.

From DSC:
I appreciated the imagery of the economy and education being like two castles with a large moat between them. I, like many others, also use the term siloed to describe our various learning ecosystems — PreK-12, higher education and vocational programming, and the corporate/business world (I realize I could also include those who work in other areas such as the government, but hopefully folks get the gist of what I’m trying to say).

But here’s the most disturbing part (albeit likely not a surprise to those working within K-12 environments):

About seven in 10 K-12 teachers are not engaged in their work (69%), and as a profession, teachers are dead last among all professions Gallup studied in saying their “opinions count” at work and their “supervisors create an open and trusting environment.” We also found that teacher engagement is the most important driver of student engagement. We’ll never improve student engagement until we boost teachers’ own workplace engagement first.

Our older daughter works in an elementary school where several of the teachers left prior to Christmas and more have announced that they are leaving after this academic year. For teachers to leave halfway through the year, you know something is majorly wrong!

I think that legislators are part of the problem, as they straight-jacket teachers, principals, and administrators with all kinds of standardized testing.

Standardized testing is like a wrecking ball on our educational systems -- impacting things like our students' and teachers' sense of joy, play, wonder, and motivation

I would think that such testing dictates the pace and the content and the overall agendas out there. I don’t recall taking nearly as many standardized tests as our youth do today. Looking back, each of my teachers was engaged and seemed to be happy and enthusiastic. I don’t think that’s the case any longer. Let’s ask the teachers — not the legislators — why that is the case and what they would recommend to change things (before it’s too late).

Preparing Today’s Students for the Future Workforce — from rdene915.com by Rachelle Dené Poth

Excerpt:

Today’s high school students are the future of our workforce. Before long they will be in college or starting full-time jobs of their own. But how are today’s students preparing for their futures? What will the workforce look like when these students move on to the next stage of their lives?

Schools, districts, and even state education departments provide various programs for students to gain relevant work experience and gain necessary skills outside of the classroom.

What Are These Programs?
There are a number of school-based programs that support student growth through work such as…

Also relevant/see:

One Foot in the Future — from the BIG questions institute

As an excerpt from an email describing this new/free ebook, Homa Tavangar and Will Richardson write:

We need a fresh set of tools, frameworks, and lenses if we are to meet the future effectively.

With this new ebook, “One Foot in the Future,” we’re charting a different path forward, introducing readers to things like:

Design Fiction – A tool to help us become “archeologists of the future” and help us
Regenerative Learning – A lens that helps us see our work as it impacts all living things
Schoolpunk – A movement and a community to help imagine the future of education together.

And much more.

Our sense is that there is growing appetite to get out of the traditional school box and to design a more aspirational future. This new ebook is a great starting point for anyone who wants to do just that.

Want to Recruit Male Teachers of Color? Look to This New York City Leader [Klein & Walsh]

On 02/10/2023, in career development, change, education, education reform, teachers, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Want to Recruit Male Teachers of Color? Look to This New York City Leader — from edweek.org by Alyson Klein & Mark Walsh

Chimere Stephens, the director of NYC Men Teach at the NYC Department of Education, reads a book to a class of 1st grade students in January at PS 55 elementary school.

— Mostafa Bassim for Education Week

Excerpt:

Now, the pipeline he’s helped build to bring men of color into the teaching force stretches all the way back to high schoolers, continues with college students, and includes on-ramps for those already working as paraprofessionals and in similar positions throughout the city’s schools.

“I always get asked, ‘How do you create a vibrant, diverse, inclusive pathway for people to come into the teaching profession?’ And my biggest takeaway is start early,” Stephens said.

‘Unlike anyone I’d ever seen before’
In part thanks to Stephens’ work, the district has quadrupled its ambitious initial goal, adding 4,000 men of color to its teaching ranks over the past eight years. The move has brought the share of male teachers of color from 8.5 percent in 2015 to 15 percent last year.

Unbundled: Designing Personalized Pathways for Every Learner [Nate McClennen & Co.]

On 01/31/2023, in assessment, Blockchain, change, changing business models, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, credentialing, Design Thinking, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, love of learning, marketplaces, microlearning, more voice more choice more control, motivation, new business models, online learning, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, society, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), ubiquitous learning, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, youth, by Daniel Christian

Unbundled: Designing Personalized Pathways for Every Learner — from gettingsmart.com by Nate McClennen “with contributions from the Getting Smart team and numerous friends and partners in the field”

Excerpts:

In this publication, we articulate the critical steps needed to unbundle the learning ecosystem, build core competencies, design learning experiences, curate new opportunities, and rebundle these experiences into coherent pathways.
.

Vision

Every learner deserves an unlimited number of unbundled opportunities to explore, engage, and define experiences that advance their progress along a co-designed educational pathway. Each pathway provides equitable and personalized access to stacked learning experiences leading to post-secondary credentials and secure family-sustaining employment. Throughout the journey, supportive coaches focus on helping learners build skills to navigate with agency. In parallel, learners develop foundational skills (literacy, math), technical skills, and durable skills and connect these to challenging co-designed experiences. The breadth and depth of experiences increase over time, and, in partnership, learners and coaches map progress towards reaching community-defined goals. This vision is only enabled by an unbundled learning ecosystem.
…

Recommendations

Solutions already exist in the ecosystem and need to be combined and scaled. Funding models (like My Tech High), badging/credentialing at the competency level (like VLACS), coaching models (like Big Thought), and open ecosystems (like NH Learn Everywhere) provide an excellent foundation. Thus, building unbundled systems has already begun but needs systemic changes to become widely available and accepted.

1. 1. Build a robust competency-based system.
  2. Create a two-way marketplace for unbundled learning.
  3. Implement policy to support credit for out-of-system experiences.
  4. Invest in technology infrastructure for Learning and Employment Records.
  5. Design interoperable badging systems that connect to credentials.

Colleges consider overhauling grading system for freshmen to ease transition to higher learning — from mercurynews.com by Kate Hull
Supporters say ‘ungrading’ could result in less stress and a more level playing field for students from less rigorous high schools

Excerpt:

Dubbed “weed-out” or “gatekeeper” classes, they can be dream-crushing for many students — especially those hoping to enter the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. And a growing body of research says the courses can be particularly discriminatory toward historically excluded groups such as Latinos and Black and Indigenous people.

One possible remedy, some educators say, is “ungrading,” a style of teaching and assessment that seeks to evaluate students in other ways besides A-F letter grades — usually just in their freshman year.

“You’re trying to move the focus from a score to the learning,” said Robin Dunkin, who teaches biology and is the assistant faculty director at UCSC’s Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning. “For that reason, it’s immensely powerful.”

Also relevant see the #Ungrading hashtag on Twitter, from which the below item was taken:

Any educators out there who are #ungrading in a standards-based grading school district? I’ve been studying @Jessifer’s work for a bit & I’d love to go full-implementation next year.

If you have any experience, let me know. I’d love to pick your brain! https://t.co/ClnwZsBdl9

— Adrian Neibauer, EdD (@MrNeibauer) January 25, 2023

Excerpts from Jesse Stommel’s Ungrading: an Introduction presentation:

Also relevant/see Robert Talbert’s Grading for Growth.

“Exhausted majority” wants to rethink K-12 education [Stef W. Kight]

On 01/25/2023, in education, education reform, homeschooling/homeschoolers, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, more voice more choice more control, parents, participation, passions, student-related, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

“Exhausted majority” wants to rethink K-12 education— from axios.com by Stef W. Kight; via GSV

Excerpt:

Americans have drastically shifted some priorities on K-12 education since the start of COVID, a new study by Populace reveals.

Why it matters: There’s new pressure to change the existing model. Preparing students for college has fallen from 10th highest priority to 47th.

The study demonstrates what Populace co-founder Todd Rose called an “exhausted majority” who just wants kids to learn to think for themselves and find a career “with meaning and purpose.”

The big picture: Americans have a warped understanding of what the majority prioritizes in education.

U.S. adults overestimate the public’s desire for teachers to prepare kids for college, internships and only the highest-paying jobs. They also overestimate support for standardized processes and teaching social norms.
They underestimate preferences to allow students to learn at their own pace and according to their own interests and for kids to come away with more holistic, practical skills.

Also relevant/see:

New Survey: America’s Families are Rethinking K-12 Education — from schoolchoiceweek.com by the National School Choice Week Team

Excerpt:

K-12 education in America is experiencing a once-in-a-generation transformation, as tens of millions of parents rethink their children’s education and make crucial decisions about how and where their children learn. From exploring their school choice options to expressing interest in nontraditional learning models, parents are eager to find better or supplementary learning environments for their children. Parents don’t see this a dichotomous; a majority of them are open to change even as two thirds of all parents (67.9 percent) remain largely satisfied with the schools their children attend.

What do we mean by rethinking? Parents choosing new schools, parents considering options more frequently, and parents seeking to round out their children’s education by thinking outside the box and exploring new or nontraditional learning options.

On a related note see:

What Do Parents Prefer for their Children’s’ Schooling? — from michaelbhorn.substack.com by Michael Horn with Adam Newman and Christian Lehr of Tyton Partners

Education is about to radically change: AI for the masses [McClennen & Dené Poth]

On 01/07/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assessment, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), bots, change, copyright/ownership/NFTs, education, education reform, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more voice more choice more control, new business models, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), platforms, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

Education is about to radically change: AI for the masses — from gettingsmart.com by Nate McClennen and Rachelle Dené Poth

Key Points:

AI already does and will continue to impact education – along with every other sector.
Innovative education leaders have an opportunity to build the foundation for the most personalized learning system we have ever seen.

Action

Education leaders need to consider these possible futures now. There is no doubt that K-12 and higher ed learners will be using these tools immediately. It is not a question of preventing “AI plagiarism” (if such a thing could exist), but a question of how to modify teaching to take advantage of these new tools.

From DSC:
They go on to list some solid ideas and experiments to try out — both for students and for teachers. Thanks Nate and Rachelle!

Also from Rachelle, see:

How Can We Prepare K-12 Students for the Future? — from rdene915.com by Rachelle Dené Poth

From DSC:
Below is another example of the need for Design Thinking as we rethink a cradle-to-grave learning ecosystem.

The United States Needs a Comprehensive Approach to Youth Policy — from cew.georgetown.edu

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

On the education front, federal legislation serves as an umbrella for many state and local policies and programs. Education policy is further fragmented into K–12 and postsecondary silos.

An all-one-system approach to youth policy would support young people along the entire continuum of their journey from school to work. It would help them attain both postsecondary education and quality work experience to support their transitions from education to good jobs. In this modernized approach, preschools, elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, four-year universities, employers, and governments would all follow an integrated playbook, helping to smooth out young people’s path from pre-K–12 to college and work. To transform youth policy, systemic reforms should incorporate the following:

Subject: The Edge: Today’s Issues in Schools; Tomorrow’s Higher-Ed Challenges

Excerpts:

Issues like chronic absenteeism in big urban and rural districts, the impact of classroom shootings on kids, and schools’ struggles to handle teenagers’ mental-health challenges might not be day-to-day concerns for college leaders and those who work with them. But these will matter to higher ed in the not-so-distant future, as those K-to-12 students make their way to college. And they could matter even more if those students don’t ever even make it to college.

Words of wisdom:

Those of us who might be a little higher-ed siloed in our thinking on education would do well to widen our perspective.

From DSC:
And it isn’t just about the impacts of COVID-19 either — though those things are very important. We would do well to get out of our siloes and practice some high-level design thinking to implement a cradle-to-grave, lifelong learning ecosystem. The vocational and corporate training worlds are highly relevant here as well.

Any politician about to vote on significant education-related policies, laws, etc. must first teach or observe for at least a month [Christian]

On 12/30/2022, in change, changing business models, collaboration, Daniel S. Christian, Design Thinking, education, education reform, experimentation, face-to-face, future, K-12 related, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, love of learning, more voice more choice more control, participation, passions, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, productivity / tips and tricks, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
For me, I wish politicians and legislators would stay out of the way and let public and private educators make the decisions. But if any politician is about to vote on significant education-related policies, laws, etc. — I would like to suggest that society require them to either:

teach a K12-based class for at least one month
or
be in the classroom for the entire day to observe — and do this for at least one month

Perhaps we would have far less standardized testing. Perhaps we would have far more joy and wonder — for the teachers as well as for the students. Perhaps lifelong learning — and the love of learning — would get the wind in its sails that it so desperately needs.
.

From DSC:
Along these lines of enjoyment in everyday things, could this type of thing happen more within education?

Great idea! pic.twitter.com/udcL0nxbc3

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) December 26, 2022

Interesting conversations/brainstorming here: An Award-Winning Vision for A School of the Future

On 12/24/2022, in Design Thinking, education, education reform, future, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, love of learning, more voice more choice more control, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

DC: Interesting conversations/brainstorming here:

An Award-Winning Vision for A School of the Future | Tech & Learning#future #education #designthinking #innovation #change #learningecosystems https://t.co/Ordaqn63Zq

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) December 23, 2022

Also see:

Redbridge | The future of lifelong learning — from redbridgesf.org and with thanks to Michael Horn for this resource

Excerpts from their home page:

Red Bridge is a school that teaches students to set goals, work together, reflect, and own their learning.
For families who value lifelong learning and share a sense of responsibility for their community.
Our vision is for all students to graduate with a sense of ownership over their learning and their lives – so that no matter what the future looks like, they have the capacity to adapt and flourish.

The fastest growing segment of K–12 education is also one of the newest and least familiar: #microschools. @donsoifer, who was a leader in the charter school movement and has been advocating for microschools for many years now runs the @microschooling – https://t.co/CAC41TwLsu pic.twitter.com/pz9epOwXMD

— Michael B. Horn (@michaelbhorn) December 23, 2022

Learning Ecosystems

Want to Recruit Male Teachers of Color? Look to This New York City Leader [Klein & Walsh]

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