“Six Strategies for Effective Learning: A Summary for Teachers,” by Megan Sumeracki, on The Learning Scientists blog

“Cognitive psychologists have identified six key strategies that promote learning in many situations, and this research can be implemented to promote long-term durable learning. These six strategies have been heavily investigated for decades, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest their effectiveness in a variety of situations.”

Why does this matter to the future of learning?

Every educator—and student—should know the following principles of learning:

1. Spacing

2. Interleaving

3. Retrieval practice

4. Concrete examples

5. Elaboration

6. Dual coding

This blog post is a wonderful, short introduction to each concept.

***

“New 2-Year Degree Promises Gen-Ed Basics and Fast-Track Career Skills,” by Alexander Kafka, in The Chronicle of Higher Education

“The nexus, the first new degree type in the United States in more than 100 years […] is a hybrid that is intended to compete with certifications and other so-called microcredentials by efficiently combining academic fundamentals with advanced niche skills that employers need now.

“The nexus is ‘stackable’ in that, in addition to being a stand-alone degree, it can be nested within a bachelor’s program or used to supplement bachelor’s or higher degrees for career advancement or change. But certifications can also be nested within it. For instance, the cybersecurity program will include at least five industry-standard certifications.”

Why does this matter to the future of learning?

Imagine: you enter a large room filled with screens flashing red alert. A powerful malware has infected the network. You and your team must find and isolate the virus, then disinfect the system.

This would be a company’s nightmare, but fortunately this is a project-based learning (PBL) experience: you are inside your college’s “cyberrange,” a virtual sandbox where you and your fellow students learn through simulations. And because these PBL simulations run for 8 weeks rather than a typical 16-week semester, you have twice as many opportunities to develop skills that get credited for a hybrid credential like “the nexus.”

Could PBL-first degrees be on the horizon? If so, what might happen to traditional degrees with heavy general education requirements?

***

“Reinventing Crediting,” by Jonathan Martin, on the Mastery Transcript Consortium blog

“In New Zealand, after about 15 years of implementation, many pitfalls have been uncovered. Among them is the concern that the baseline requirements of fundamental skills, literacy, and numeracy particularly may have been set too low, and too many students are graduating without these critical competencies. Another is that the assessment demands the system places on teachers can be onerous, and teachers need support to be more skilled and efficient in this work. A third parallels that of Lerner: changing the transcript doesn’t by itself necessarily change the form of instruction. Clare Amos, formerly of the aforementioned Hobsonville Point, suggests her colleagues are “sleepwalking through NCEA,” and using excuses to maintain the status quo, rather than leveraging the greater flexibility NCEA provides to creatively design curriculum to engage, challenge, and enrich students. Reinventing crediting permits but doesn’t by itself reinvent teaching.”

Why does this matter to the future of learning?

If you have decided to explore mastery-based learning:

1. Recognize that such an innovation will primarily appeal to Innovators and Early Adopters.

2. To hedge against your Early Market constituents sabotaging your efforts, avoid the following pitfalls:

• “Failing to articulate a philosophy and purpose statement for assessment in school.”

• “Neglecting to provide faculty assessment acumen, ongoing support, and supervision.”

• “Setting too low a bar for mandatory minimum thresholds of competency in essential academic domains.”

• “Believing that changing crediting and transcripts alone will be enough to transform student learning.”

***

Question of the week:

***

Thank you for reading this post from Basecamp's blog, Ed:Future. Do you know someone who would find the Ed:Future blog worthwhile reading? Please let them know that they can subscribe here.