Resources
A highly compelling 30-minute video of Dr. Scott Looney explaining the misguided history of schools, the problem with grades, and why we need a paradigm shift.
Edutopia magazine presents a cogent introduction to Project Based Learning (PBL).
The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) offers an outstanding primer on 21st Century Learning and how schools can best position themselves to truly equip students for the future.
Dr. Scott Looney, Head of School at Hawken in Cleveland, is one of the leading agents for change in independent schools today. In his compelling piece on "The Future for Education," Looney first debunks the prevailing-yet-outmoded approach to secondary education and then argues that independent schools are best positioned (and even bear some responsibility) to lead the movement towards effective transformation.
The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce is a national policy group made up of high level policy makers, educational leaders, and business executives from across the country. That group issued a 2007 report entitled “Tough Choices or Tough Times,” wherein they made a number of serious assertions regarding the type of preparation needed to succeed in the highly-globalized, highly-competitive 21st century. Find the executive summary of that report below.
Tony Wagner serves as an Expert in Residence at Harvard University's new Innovation Lab. Formerly, Tony was the first Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, and the founder and co-director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for more than a decade. Tony's 2008 book The Global Achievement Gap stands as one of the landmark texts on 21st Century Learning. The following link opens to two different presentations. The first focuses on teaching innovation, and the second is a succinct primer on the future of schools.
Harvard University's Graduate School of Education recently published its landmark report Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions, focused on evolving the priorities involved in secondary school education. Along with over 85 noteworthy educational partners, Harvard is suggesting that "Ultimately, we cannot bring about a sea change in the messages our culture sends to young people unless educational institutions at every level elevate and embody a healthier set of values...In the face of deeply troubling trends that only seem to be worsening, it is time to say 'Enough.'" Find the executive summary of that report below:
The Challenge Success group at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education has been advocating a break from AP-driven programs towards a more engaging, student-centered approach to secondary school education for nearly a decade. They believe that "our society has become too focused on grades, test scores, and performance, leaving little time for kids to develop the necessary skills to become resilient, ethical, and motivated learners...After all, success is measured over the course of a lifetime, not at the end of a semester." Below, find a link to that group's website:
The New York Times presented a thoughtful piece on how colleges and universities are working to evolve towards a 21st century approach. In the linked article, entitled "Designed to Inspire," NYT reporter Alexandra Lange examines the ways new structures can promote an innovative, creative, and engaging education.