Getting Smart hosted a town hall meeting on 19March focused on the theme of ‘What is it going to take to make learner-centered ecosystems.’ On the town hall were over 100 participants from across the US mostly, not sure if there were others besides me in Europe or elsewhere. The meeting was set up with the first half dedicated to four short presentations framing the discussion- the Why, the What, the How and the Why Now. Leading experts in the field shared their research and findings cohesively and following was a facilitated Q&A. The online chat flowed and on screen were some great examples of people in the US building or studying such ecosystems.
What I appreciated from what was shared was the extent to which people in the US are working on this challenge and considering system-wide changes. In many ways the approaches implemented were grounded in Design Thinking connecting learners’ needs and wants to preparing them for the unknown future. Key to bringing about these changes rests in public demand which also means that the public needs to be informed as to what they are demanding.
As time passes and we see more movement towards diversity in how we educate and design learner centered ecosystems I believe it is critical that we as a society have a common set of values that inform the direction. Karen Pittman shared in the Why section of the Town Hall the sentiment that we need to have common knowledge to power catalysts for change. In her report with Merita Irby, they cite the origins of our public education system and the importance of maintaining it to serve ALL members of the public. Within the report there is an excellent review of the current situation and challenges in the US along with examples of groups moving forward. The question below is one that I ask on a regular basis.
Pittman, Karen and Merita Irby. 2024. (page 9) Too Essential to Fail: Why our Big Bet on Public Education Needs a Bold
National Response. Education Reimagined
Another interesting resource shared was a report that described how biological ecosystems can be used to understand the educational ones. Here is a link.
The What– Emily Liebtag shared a great framework to help ponder the what of the challenge and from there build impactful solutions. Her work with her organization- Education Reimagined showcased how we as educator leaders working towards system change might take action.
Missing from the above framework is within the problem to identify more specifically the end-user/benefactors. In my work with school transformation we always start with the students first and capture their traits, challenges and strengths along with desired outcomes. Then we would identify the challenge, brainstorm solutions/proposals…
The How– was shared by Annalies Corbin from the PAST Foundation. In her sharing there was lots of mention of resources including how they not only organize learning but also measure it. What is curious is why the PAST program is not considered a full time school program- I think there is more to learn here and opportunity to expand on.
For measuring student achievement and reporting it there are several groups besides Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) developing learner profiles/portraits. Getting Smart has one model. XQ Competencies has another model to consider. Personally what I like about MTC is the opportunity for schools to design their own competencies and the organization, MTC helps make the connection to higher education in the US and globally. Having this partnership provides a bit more ‘validity’ and solidarity that the schools engaged are not just one-offs but instead part of a bigger system change. Here is the link to their work.
Finally Val Brown with the Carnegie Foundation shared the Why Now perspective. Her intro absolutely nailed the urgency in that she shared her own child’s perspective when she picked him up from school early for a dentist appointment. His comment to her was “Free at Last.” Does this mean our schools do not feel like places kids want to go and learn? or more like ‘prisons’? As a former principal I do understand the notion that we need to keep our students safe and we have a false impression that by keeping them within the confines of the building they are safe. As a parent with a 13 year old who attends a hub where she arrives and leaves per her desire and during the day can go out for a walk or grab a snack at the local market…. having this ‘freedom’ means both I and the learning institution trust she will make the right decisions and that the surrounding area is safe.
The other aspect about Val’s short presentation was providing a bit of the historical context of the carnegie unit to measure learning. I remember learning about this in my educational studies and am amazed that this unit continues to define our system. On the one hand it makes it ‘universal and transferable’ but on the other how we as educators implement it has been a bit limiting. From my experience living abroad the one key difference between the US and UK/Portugal is the role of third party assessments. In the US we use state assessment exams to measure the performance of the system and data provided to help inform ways to support students’ individually. These exam results (except in states such as New York) don’t dictate student outcomes. In the UK and Portugal the GCSE exams and national exams are reported by individual student and becomes ‘currency’ for the student. In the US student grades are the ‘currency.’ With the ‘currency’ sitting in the hands of educators i.e. grading student work and assigning value we have tremendous opportunity to re-design a system that puts learners at the center.
The town hall meeting inspired me to learn more, read the research and consider ways to be part of the re-design work bridging my expertise and knowledge in multiple educational systems. Here are some of the readings I will be following:
https://www.nacainspiredschoolsnetwork.org/
Unpacking Learning EcoSystems Framework
What about YOU? What are you reading that is inspiring renewal and hope for the future in education?
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