curriculum

Here is Brandon’s post out on linkedin:

Something Big is Happening [Shumer] + reflections on it by the BIG Questions Institute

On 02/18/2026, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, corporate / business world, creativity, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, design, disruption, education, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, graphics, health, K-12 related, law schools, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, lifelong learning, pace of change, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, reinvent, skills, society, sociology, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teachers, trends, United States, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Something Big Is Happening — from shumer.dev by Matt Shumer; see below from the BIG Questions Institute, where I got this article from

I’ve spent six years building an AI startup and investing in the space. I live in this world. And I’m writing this for the people in my life who don’t… my family, my friends, the people I care about who keep asking me “so what’s the deal with AI?” and getting an answer that doesn’t do justice to what’s actually happening. I keep giving them the polite version. The cocktail-party version. Because the honest version sounds like I’ve lost my mind. And for a while, I told myself that was a good enough reason to keep what’s truly happening to myself. But the gap between what I’ve been saying and what is actually happening has gotten far too big. The people I care about deserve to hear what is coming, even if it sounds crazy.

…
They’ve now done it. And they’re moving on to everything else.

The experience that tech workers have had over the past year, of watching AI go from “helpful tool” to “does my job better than I do”, is the experience everyone else is about to have. Law, finance, medicine, accounting, consulting, writing, design, analysis, customer service. Not in ten years. The people building these systems say one to five years. Some say less. And given what I’ve seen in just the last couple of months, I think “less” is more likely.
…

The models available today are unrecognizable from what existed even six months ago. The debate about whether AI is “really getting better” or “hitting a wall” — which has been going on for over a year — is over. It’s done. Anyone still making that argument either hasn’t used the current models, has an incentive to downplay what’s happening, or is evaluating based on an experience from 2024 that is no longer relevant. I don’t say that to be dismissive. I say it because the gap between public perception and current reality is now enormous, and that gap is dangerous… because it’s preventing people from preparing.

What “Something Big Is Happening” Means for Schools — from/by the BIG Questions Institute
Matt Shumer’s newsletter post Something Big is Happening has been read over 80 million times within the week when it was published, on February 9.
…
Still, it’s worth reading Shumer’s post. Given the claims and warnings in Something Big Is Happening (and countless other articles), how would you truly, honestly respond to these questions:

What will the purpose of school be in 5 years?
What are we doing now that we must leave behind right away?
What can we leave behind gradually?
What does rigor look like in this AI-powered world?
Does our strategy look like making adjustments at the margins or are we preparing our students for a fundamental shift?
What is our definition of success? How do the the implications of AI and jobs (and other important forces, from geopolitical shifts and climate change, to mental health needs and shifting generational values) impact the outcomes we prioritize? What is the story of success we want to pass on to our students and wider community?

The Campus AI Crisis — by Jeffrey Selingo; via Ryan Craig
Young graduates can’t find jobs. Colleges know they have to do something. But what?

Only now are colleges realizing that the implications of AI are much greater and are already outrunning their institutional ability to respond. As schools struggle to update their curricula and classroom policies, they also confront a deeper problem: the suddenly enormous gap between what they say a degree is for and what the labor market now demands. In that mismatch, students are left to absorb the risk. Alina McMahon and millions of other Gen-Zers like her are caught in a muddled in-between moment: colleges only just beginning to think about how to adapt and redefine their mission in the post-AI world, and a job market that’s changing much, much faster.

“Colleges and universities face an existential issue before them,” said Ryan Craig, author of Apprentice Nation and managing director of a firm that invests in new educational models. “They need to figure out how to integrate relevant, in-field, and hopefully paid work experience for every student, and hopefully multiple experiences before they graduate.”

What’s Happening to Jobs for New Grads — from linkedin.com by Jeff Selingo

No matter where you go to college, the job market math for new graduates is grim right now, as I write in a new article out yesterday in New York magazine.

There were 15% fewer entry-level and internship job postings in 2025 than the year before, according to Handshake, a job-search platform popular with college students; meanwhile, applications per posting rose 26%.

How much AI is to blame for the fragile entry-level job market is unclear. Several research studies show AI is hitting young college-educated workers disproportionately, but broader economic forces are part of the story, too.

As Christine Y. Cruzvergara, Handshake’s chief education strategy officer, told me, AI isn’t “taking” jobs so much as employers are “choosing” to replace parts of jobs with automation rather than redesign roles around workers. “They’re replacing people instead of enabling their workforce,” she said.

Today’s graduates are stuck in an in-between moment. Many started college before AI mattered and graduated into a labor market reshaped almost overnight, where entry-level roles are disappearing faster than students can adapt.

Major Changes Reshape Law Schools Nationwide in 2026 [Fatima]

On 01/12/2026, in accreditation, assessment, career development, change, corporate / business world, curriculum, faculty/staff, health, higher education, law schools, leadership, policy, real-world assignments, skills, strategy, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Major Changes Reshape Law Schools Nationwide in 2026 — from jdjournal.com by Ma Fatima

Law schools across the United States are entering one of the most transformative periods in recent memory. In 2026, legal education is being reshaped by leadership turnover, shifting accreditation standards, changes to student loan policies, and the introduction of a redesigned bar exam. Together, these developments are forcing law schools to rethink how they educate students and prepare future lawyers for a rapidly evolving legal profession.

Also from jdjournal.com, see:

Healthcare Industry Legal Careers: High-Growth Roles and Paths — from jdjournal.com by Ma Fatima
The healthcare industry is rapidly emerging as one of the most promising and resilient sectors for legal professionals, driven by expanding regulations, technological innovation, and an increasingly complex healthcare delivery system. As hospitals, life sciences companies, insurers, and digital health platforms navigate constant regulatory change, demand for experienced legal talent continues to rise.

Community colleges are training the next generation of manufacturing workers [No]

On 01/06/2026, in apprenticeships, collaboration, community colleges, curriculum, higher education, ideas, internships, real-world assignments, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Community colleges are training the next generation of manufacturing workers — from manufacturingdive.com by Michelle No
Rutgers University explored how community colleges are responding to regional workforce training demands. Clark State College and Columbus State Community College are among those leading the way.

One underrated option may hold the most promise for workforce growth: the local community college.

That’s according to a series of reports by The Rutgers Education and Employment Research Center released in October, which examines the “hidden innovative structure” of America’s community colleges.

Community colleges excel in ways conducive to a successful manufacturing career, said Shalin Jyotishi, founder of the Future of Work & Innovation Economy Initiative at think tank New America.

Caring for Patients for 26 Years—and Still Not a Nurse — from workshift.org/ by Colleen Connolly

Arnett’s experience spending decades in a job she intended as a first step is common among CNAs, medical assistants, and other entry-level healthcare workers, many of them women of color from low-income backgrounds. Amid a nationwide nursing shortage, elevating those workers seems like an obvious solution, but the path from CNA to nurse isn’t so much a ladder as it is a huge leap.

And obstacle after obstacle is strewn in the way. The high cost of nursing school, lengthy prerequisite requirements, rigid schedules, and unpaid clinical hours make it difficult for many CNAs to advance in their careers, despite their willingness and ability and the dire need of healthcare facilities.

While there are no national statistics about the number of entry-level healthcare workers who move on to higher-paid positions, a study of federal grants for CNA training showed that only 3% of those who completed the training went on to pursue further education to become an LPN or RN. Only 1% obtained an associate degree or above. A similar study in California showed that 22% of people who completed CNA certificate programs at community colleges went on to get a higher-level educational credential in health, but only 13% became registered nurses within six years.

That reality perpetuates chronic shortages in nursing, and it also keeps hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers locked below a living wage, often for decades.

A New AI Career Ladder — from ssir.org (Stanford Social Innovation Review) by Bruno V. Manno; via Matt Tower
The changing nature of jobs means workers need new education and training infrastructure to match.

AI has cannibalized the routine, low-risk work tasks that used to teach newcomers how to operate in complex organizations. Without those task rungs, the climb up the opportunity ladder into better employment options becomes steeper—and for many, impossible. This is not a temporary glitch. AI is reorganizing work, reshaping what knowledge and skills matter, and redefining how people are expected to acquire them.

The consequences ripple from individual career starts to the broader American promise of economic and social mobility, which includes both financial wealth and social wealth that comes from the networks and relationships we build. Yet the same technology that complicates the first job can help us reinvent how experience is earned, validated, and scaled. If we use AI to widen—not narrow—access to education, training, and proof of knowledge and skill, we can build a stronger career ladder to the middle class and beyond. A key part of doing this is a redesign of education, training, and hiring infrastructure.

…

What’s needed is a redesigned model that treats work as a primary venue for learning, validates capability with evidence, and helps people keep climbing after their first job. Here are ten design principles for a reinvented education and training infrastructure for the AI era.

Create hybrid institutions that erase boundaries. …
Make work-based learning the default, not the exception. …
Create skill adjacencies to speed transitions. …
Place performance-based hiring at the core. …
Ongoing supports and post-placement mobility. …
Portable, machine-readable credentials with proof attached. …
…plus several more…

Resilient by Design: The Future of America’s Community Colleges — from aacc.nche.edu

This report highlights several truths:

Leadership capacity must expand. Presidents and leaders are now expected to be fundraisers, policy navigators, cultural change agents, and data-informed strategists. Leadership can no longer be about a single individual—it must be a team sport. AACC is charged with helping you and your teams build these capacities through leadership academies, peer learning communities, and practical toolkits.
The strength of our network is our greatest asset. No college faces its challenges alone, because within our membership there are leaders who have already innovated, stumbled, and succeeded. Resilient by Design urges AACC to serve as the connector and amplifier of this collective wisdom, developing playbooks and scaling proven practices in areas from guided pathways to artificial intelligence to workforce partnerships.
Innovation in models and tools is urgent. Budgets must be strategic, business models must be reimagined, and ROI must be proven—not only to funders and policymakers, but to the students and communities we serve. Community colleges must claim their role as engines of economic vitality and social mobility, advancing both immediate workforce needs and long-term wealth-building for students.
Policy engagement must be deepened. Federal advocacy remains essential, but the daily realities of our institutions are shaped by state and regional policy. AACC will increasingly support members with state-level resources, legislative templates, and partnerships that equip you to advocate effectively in your unique contexts.
Employer engagement must become transformational. Students deserve not just degrees, but careers. The report challenges us to create career-connected colleges where employers co-design curricula, offer meaningful work-based learning, and help ensure graduates are not just prepared for today’s jobs but resilient for tomorrow’s.

70% of Americans say feds shouldn’t control admissions, curriculum [Schwartz]

On 10/27/2025, in colleges, community colleges, curriculum, faculty/staff, funding / grants, future of higher education, higher education, learning ecosystem, legislatures / government / legal, policy, political science, research, society, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

70% of Americans say feds shouldn’t control admissions, curriculum — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
The Public Religion Research Institute poll comes as the Trump administration is pressuring colleges to change their policies.

Dive Brief:

Most polled Americans, 70%, disagreed that the federal government should control “admissions, faculty hiring, and curriculum at U.S. colleges and universities to ensure they do not teach inappropriate material,” according to a survey released Wednesday by the Public Religion Research Institute.
The majority of Americans across political parties — 84% of Democrats, 75% of independents and 58% of Republicans — disagreed with federal control over these elements of college operations.
The poll’s results come as the Trump administration seeks to exert control over college workings, including in its recent offer of priority for federal research funding in exchange for making sweeping policy changes aligned with the government’s priorities.

Also see:

‘Nothing less than government control’: Higher ed responds to Trump’s compact — from highereddive.com by Ben Unglesbee
Federal officials offered preferential funding treatment to nine initial colleges in exchange for sweeping changes. Here’s how they replied.

Entrepreneurship: The New Core Curriculum [Vander Ark]

On 10/27/2025, in apprenticeships, collaboration, curriculum, education, entrepreneurship, future, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, real-world assignments, skills, student-related, teachers, United States, by Daniel Christian

Entrepreneurship: The New Core Curriculum — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark

Key Points

Entrepreneurship education fosters resilience, creativity, and financial literacy—skills critical for success in an unpredictable, tech-driven world.
Programs like NFTE, Junior Achievement, and Uncharted Learning empower students by offering real-world entrepreneurial experiences and mentorship.

“Entrepreneurship is the job of the future.”

— Charles Fadel, Education for the Age of AI

This shift requires a radical re-evaluation of what we teach. Education leaders across the country are realizing that the most valuable skill we can impart is not accounting or marketing, but the entrepreneurial mindset. This mindset—built on resilience, creative problem-solving, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to pivot—is essential in startups, as an intrapreuer in big organizations, or as a citizen working for the common good.

Why Co-Teaching Will Be A Hot New Trend In Higher Education — from forbes.com by Brandon Busteed

When it comes to innovation in higher education, most bets are being placed on technology platforms and AI. But the innovation students, faculty and industry need most can be found in a much more human dimension: co-teaching. And specifically, a certain kind of co-teaching – between industry experts and educators.

While higher education has largely embraced the value of interdisciplinary teaching across different majors or fields of study, it has yet to embrace the value of co-teaching between industry and academia. Examples of co-teaching through industry-education collaborations are rare and underutilized across today’s higher ed landscape. But they may be the most valuable and relevant way to prepare students for success. And leveraging these collaborations can help institutions struggling to satisfy unfulfilled student demand for immersive work experiences such as internships.

From DSC:
It’s along these lines that I think that ADJUNCT faculty members should be highly sought after and paid much better — as the up-to-date knowledge and experience they bring into the classroom is very valuable. They should have equal say in terms of curriculum/programs and in the way a college or university is run.

Law Punx: The Future of the Legal Profession, With Electra Japonas — from artificiallawyer.com by Richard Tromans aand Electra Japonas

Takeaways:

The legal profession is undergoing significant changes due to AI.
Lawyers must adapt their skill sets to thrive in the future.
Drafting will become less important as AI takes over.
Understanding the ‘why’ behind legal work is crucial.
Lawyers will need to design systems and guardrails for AI.
The role of lawyers is shifting from executors to architects.
Law schools need to teach legal technology and systems design.
Client demands are changing the way law firms operate.
Law firms must adapt to new client expectations for efficiency.
The future of law will require a blend of legal knowledge and tech skills.

“We don’t want an opinion from you. We want a prompt from you.”

Legal Education Must Change Because of AI – Survey — from artificiallawyer.com
.

Guest Column: As AI Helps Close the Justice Gap, Will It Save the Legal Profession or Replace It? — from lawnexts.com by Bob Ambrogi

The numbers are stark: 92% of low-income Americans receive no help with substantial civil legal problems, while small claims filings have plummeted 32% in just four years. But AI is changing the game. By making legal procedures accessible to pro se litigants and supercharging legal aid organizations, these tools are reviving dormant disputes and opening courthouse doors that have been effectively closed to millions.

K-12 to Career [Fain]

On 09/29/2025, in career development, collaboration, community colleges, credentialing, curriculum, education, education reform, experimentation, ideas, K-12 related, United States, vocational / trades, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

K-12 to Career — from the-job.beehiiv.com by Paul Fain
Ohio eases eligibility rules for high school students to pursue college-level coursework in high-demand fields.

Three Ohio community colleges offer free industry-recognized credentials in manufacturing to more high school students. Also, new career-connected AP courses designed with industry input, a partnership on skilled trade prep for K-12 students, and essays on the race to define the future of credentials and how data and research can inform Workforce Pell.

Learning Ecosystems

Major Changes Reshape Law Schools Nationwide in 2026 [Fatima]

Community colleges are training the next generation of manufacturing workers [No]

70% of Americans say feds shouldn’t control admissions, curriculum [Schwartz]

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