Future of Learning Top Reads for week of Feb 1 2021
“What Lurks Beneath,” by Triangle Associates, on the Leading Trends blog
“A glance back at a Triangle Associates slide deck from February 2020 points to a handful of ‘hot topics’ for almost every board and school administration in the pre-COVID days:
Enrollment challenges from shifting demography, increasing competition, and price-point resistance especially from parents with children in the younger grades;
Erosion of brand loyalty as a new generation of parents bring an increasingly consumerist mindset to admission and re-enrollment;
Student wellness and social and emotional well-being becoming top-of-mind for parents and teachers alike; and
Solidifying the school’s identity and articulating its message in the fluid social media landscape.
None of these has gone away or been rendered irrelevant by the coronavirus. They may feel distant and less urgent as school leaders grapple with remote learning, when and how to resume in-person learning, and the additional challenges from the institutional and systematic racism crises. Our expectation is that each will re-emerge in the months ahead, perhaps even with a heightened sense of seriousness and importance.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
One of the hardest parts of school leadership is thinking across multiple timelines.
That is why smart Boards of Trustees and Heads of School will revisit—either to ratify or refresh—pre-pandemic strategic plans, because tectonic shifts (noted by Triangle Associates) have been accelerated and exacerbated by COVID-19.
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“Why 2020 Led to a Surge in High School Entrepreneurship,” by Larry Alton, on Inc.com
“For starters, ‘entrepreneurial skills’ don't have to be used for entrepreneurship. Learning to research a business plan, manage your time, and lead others can help you in a wide variety of careers, classes, and life experiences. Better-trained entrepreneurs tend to be better performers in nearly all areas of life. […]
“Teaching entrepreneurial skills also allows high schoolers to become more independent. Rather than relying on a specific career path or a specific employer, people with entrepreneurial mindsets and abilities can always fall back on their abilities as self-starters.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
In a VUCA world, not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur, but everyone will need to think—and sometimes act—entrepreneurially.
If your students don’t learn that mindset and skillset with you, from whom will they learn it?
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”Will K-12 transcripts evolve like credit scores?” by Sanje Ratnavale, on Intrepid ED News
“Going beyond verification and control, the FICO and credit scores relied on the ability to digest frameworks and hierarchies of data to build a fast credit profile. How could that same evolution occur with transcripts so that the digestion issues at admissions offices can be addressed? […] The credit score world has evolved into major credit bureaus like Experian and Equifax, and perhaps we will see similar bureaus in education serving community colleges, selective colleges, Pell grant providers, and school voucher issuers.
“In the hands of the owner, a score and a transcript with transparency have enormous predictive and planning value for life decisions. It can test reality and expose bias. Is it too farfetched to see next-generation transcripts, credentials, and academic credit scores evolving into equity enabling applications like PayPal and Lending Tree, where consumers can apply without revealing their identity, and ask anonymously for bids of interest from lenders? Will we see a system in the next 10 years where a student can assert his/her credentials to an exchange that hides identity information but tests real interest from a college? Apply-Pal?”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
If someone promises to compress something as nuanced and intricate as your learning and growth into the equivalent of a credit score, you should ask yourself: Who benefits?
Buyer, beware.
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