Future of Learning: A note to say goodbye

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By Tara García Mathewson

I have written more than 150 editions of this newsletter since the first one went out in September 2017. Today’s newsletter is, bittersweetly, a goodbye. I’m handing the Future of Learning off to my very capable colleague, Javeria Salman.

Over the last three years, I have heard from teachers, principals, students, instructional coaches, parents, superintendents and advocates about the ways schools are innovating to improve classrooms. Many of these conversations have been by phone, which has allowed me to hear about things happening in dozens of school districts, but I’ve also traveled all over the country. I’ve tried virtual reality over a 5G internet connection, observed how a New York City charter school has designed a whole-school personalized learning program with kids with disabilities in mind, and talked to students and teachers about an entirely project-based middle school curriculum in Massachusetts. I’ve also written dispatches from education conferences in San Francisco, Orlando, Boston, New York City, Nashville, Baltimore and Atlanta.

I’ve learned about policy changes – and policies that should be changed – to facilitate more innovative teaching and learning and shared those with you. I’ve dug into the intricacies of personalized learning and its impact on student outcomes, writing about how it has improved student achievement in some schools and reinforced educational inequity in others. I’ve investigated education technology companies, both the ways that they charge schools and the misleading ways that they market their products.

I hope this has been helpful to you, contributing to the ways you think about your own teaching, learning, coaching and leading. I hope that you have appreciated the look beyond technology itself to the changes it inspires in the lives of students and teachers as the focus of this newsletter.

Javeria will introduce herself and her reporting plans in the next newsletter, but I can tell you that she shares my vision for focusing on the people in classrooms and the innovative changes they are making to improve educational opportunity and outcomes. She also shares my passion for finding innovations that better serve the students our education system has historically left behind.

As for me and my next steps, I will be on maternity leave until January and will return to Hechinger to continue writing about K-12 education. You can keep up with my work by following me on Twitter (@taragarciam) and you’re welcome to stay in touch with me via email (tara@hechingerreport.org). This fall, look out for a project I’ve been working on for months that explores a so-far uncovered area of educational inequity nationwide.

Thank you for reading this newsletter, for sharing it with your friends, families and colleagues, and for writing to me when parts of it particularly resonated with you. It has been a pleasure to explore the Future of Learning with you!

Send story ideas and news tips to salman@hechingerreport.org. Tweet at @JaveriaSal. Read high-quality news about innovation and inequality in education at The Hechinger Report.

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The Shortlist

While school is remote, don’t forget the academics. In many state reopening plans for schools, student learning is an “afterthought,” according to a new analysis from The Center on Reinventing Public Education and Public Impact. The report found that while many state reopening plans focus on clarifying the health and safety requirements for students and school staff, the plans are lacking in information related to expectations that ensure student learning in the fall. The report does point out two state exceptions: Louisiana and Maryland. Both states’ plans provided detailed guidance for their school districts in how to address students’ academic needs and methods for how to adapt academic plans for teachers. Read the analysis here.
Or that students are “whole learners.” As teachers, students and families get ready for the start of what is shaping into a tumultuous school year, school officials, educators and policymakers also need to prioritize approaches that offer a holistic view of learning, according to a new Advancing Whole-Learner Education Initiative from America Forward. The group, an initiative of the venture philanthropy fund New Profit, launched a policy playbook, “Whole-Learner Education: A Policy Roadmap to Student Success,” that outlines its framework for whole-learner approaches to education that keep equity in mind. Deborah Smolover, executive director of America Forward, said of the roadmap, “To help students meet the unprecedented challenges they face today, we need education systems that are grounded in equity, that recognize the interconnected way social, emotional, cognitive, creative, and physical skills develop and that provide safe and supportive environments and relationships.” Read the policy roadmap here.
Online science labs while school is remote. Millions of educators have been thrown into the deep end of online learning, and it’s been hard for many to navigate the available resources and find high-quality options for remote work. Amgen Foundation developed LabXchange, a free online science education platform in partnership with Harvard University and Khan Academy. LabXchange provides teachers and schools the tools to create a blended science classroom depending on the education model at their school: in-person, remote or hybrid. LabXchange allows teachers to provide personalized science instruction including videos, assessments, and simulations with virtual lab experiences to keep students engaged. Learn more about it here.

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