How John Dewey got his first job—and why it matters for the future of learning ecosystems
A school community is a precious and fragile ecosystem. Teachers and leaders must constantly perform a balancing act: build a healthy school-wide climate and culture, while also attempting to cater to each individual students’ academic strengths and needs. These twin values—of community and individual—have been around since the dawn of the Progressive Education Movement itself. […]
Cities as Learning Opportunities
In a world where sustainable growth is the ultimate lever or hack to being in the big lists, cities have begun to recognize the importance of education & learning as one of their top priorities. The value of Human Capital over Financial Capital has never been more evident for cities that want to stand the […]
Reclaiming the Learning City: Mobilizing Every-day and Expansive Learning for Urban Transformation
Cities are at the forefront of humanity’s responses to widespread and disruptive change. Within fifty years they will be home to over 50% of the world’s population. How cities respond to a warming climate, whether they enable transition to low carbon communities or continue to extract and exploit natural resources, how they relate to […]
Learning Ecosystem of Medellin
Medellín is a Colombian municipality, capital of the state of Antioquia. It is the second-most populous city in the country. The municipality is territorially organized in 6 geographical areas, which are made up of 16 Communes (275 official urban neighborhoods) and 5 Townships. With a population of 2,550,000 inhabitants, Medellín has a territorial extension of […]
A Letter to School Leaders
Dear School Leaders, I hope this letter finds you well in this challenging time we are all living. First of all, we want to recognize you and the entire school community for the amazing efforts displayed to keep the learning going through this pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a global crisis with holistic […]
Strengthening Instructional Leadership in Rwanda: A Collaborative Effort
The Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) has a strong vision to ensure that all schools have a quality school leader in place who supports teachers and holds learners’ aspirations high. As school leadership reform has nudged towards the top of policymakers’ agendas, the provision of continuous professional development (CPD) to school leaders in Rwanda has […]
Planning a City as a Living Lab for Learning
With the rise of developments in old cities and new cities, an emerging trend of maximizing the benefits of such developments at multiple levels includes economic, social, security, safety, and other benefits. Although this might not be a top priority for developers, one key element that should be considered when planning new developments is to […]
A Recipe for Empathy Partnerships
At what stage in an education or learning partnership, should we put people before the partnership? The assertion that all professional partnerships must be devoid of an emotional connection to the other partners limits us in authentically and qualitatively reaching our project goals in sustainable and innovative ways. Much has been written around the importance […]
Rethinking Test-Centric Admissions
In 2020, Asia’s GDP is forecasted to take over the rest of the world, with the emerging markets of China, India, and Southeast Asia driving the majority of the growth. Yet in much of the emerging world, students don’t have enough access to high-quality education domestically. Also, talented candidates from emerging market countries don’t have access to […]
How Might We Reimagine High School Education?
Think back to what you learned in high school. Was it amazing? Did it change your life, transforming your adolescent brain into a powerful multi-tool? Did it give you the independence and strength of character you needed to succeed in college, or whatever else you did? This is not a rhetorical question, but the fact […]