Look into the future of learning!

How can trust and belonging build a positive future for learners?

Decades of research and practice have shown us that academics and personal well-being go hand-in-hand. This spotlight on Valor Collegiate Academy, a school achieving high levels of academic success, shows how integrating relationships, care and trust as part of the learning experience helps Valor students thrive personally and academically.

What if all learning environments were equipped with the tools and resources to build these critical skills with young people? What if all students received this level of emotional support? How can school be a place where vulnerability and trust allow students to be whole? Valor paves the way to prove what’s possible.

In this video, an A.P. U.S. history teacher has been given the time and resources to support students in the development of critical social and emotional skills even as she develops their strong academic knowledge and skills.

As you watch the video, consider “What’s possible?”:

• How does the culture of care and trust support academic learning? What does it mean for students to feel seen, connected, and valued?
• How can we avoid asking teachers to add one more responsibility on an already overflowing plate? Can we redesign the teaching profession to be more sustainable, joyful and fulfilling for teachers?

What does it look like for a student to be at the center of their own learning?

At Habitat for Aviation, Beth White shares how Big Picture Learning empowers students to follow their curiosity and passions, and how enabling active learning that builds on intrinsic motivation can propel deep and meaningful growth. What would it mean for all students to be given these opportunities?

This video also demonstrates that powerful learning can happen outside the four walls of a classroom. Instead, learning happens anywhere, and everywhere; Beth’s students pursue meaningful and relevant learning inside of an airplane hangar! If we embraced this idea, what would it mean for students to be able to get credit for and show off what they’ve worked so hard to learn, both in and out of a traditional school setting? What would it take to make transportation, nutrition, childcare and other school provided services more flexibly available at scale? While we don’t yet have all of the answers, we know that students grow a love of learning when they’re given choices and have agency to pursue what’s relevant to them.

What if students had a choice in what and how they learned?

Trying new and different things. Opportunities to tinker, create, lead, and teach. Learning by experiencing. These are all things that adults have the power to do. What if learners were empowered to use their agency, too? One Stone showcases a future of learning where students have a wide variety of opportunities to grow and develop their skills, academics, and personal power in real-world contexts. 

A core part of One Stone’s future-focused design is its emphasis on the Bold Learning Objectives (BLOB), the competencies and skills students need in addition to academic content in order to thrive. Importantly, students are learning how to learn (i.e.,“mastery of learning itself”), preparing them to tackle the challenges and opportunities of life well beyond graduation. By prioritizing developing critical skills like communication, creativity, problem-solving, and more, One Stone is truly setting its students up for success in life, not just on a test. And, One Stone is scaling its customizable Growth Framework to empower other schools to do the same.

In the future, we believe all students should have the opportunity to learn in environments that enable them to demonstrate progressive mastery of competencies that matter.  Across the country, many schools and districts are at the early stages of this work as they adopt other portraits of a graduate and mastery transcripts.  What might it take to scale these types of innovation and more?  

What if school was a place of belonging, connection, and joy?

Schools can be safe places, both physically and emotionally. What would schools look like if they were designed for equity and belonging? Imagine the power of a school that embraced and celebrated the unique identities and traditions of its students. Native American Community Academy (NACA) demonstrates what it means for a school to be founded on the principles of community, culture, and respect and how equity can be brought to life. Teachers talk about laughing, eating, and singing with their students; students talk about school as a place where they feel at home. NACA is an inspiring example of a future of learning in which an equitable learning environment inspires student success. 

NACA also showcases the importance of family agency in choosing the learning environment that best meets their child’s needs. Wouldn’t it be great for every family to have access to an affirming environment for their child? NACA’s design provides families the opportunity to opt into an environment that supports their children’s native identity development. The school’s indigenized curriculum provides students with opportunities to grow in their respect and understanding of their native culture and community. What would it look like for every family to have the agency to choose a school that meets their preferences and needs?

How can AI enhance humanity in teaching and learning?

Everyday across America, we’re seeing headlines about the challenges and opportunities of AI and education. But what if we could harness the power of AI to support teachers and students, empower deeper learning, and enable more sustainable teaching? How might AI help educators provide students personalized academic attention and increase the rigor of thinking and learning? What if AI could cultivate deeper human connections in the classroom and make teaching more joyful and invigorating?

This episode explores how educators like English teacher Adrian Antao are leveraging AI tools to personalize learning experiences and make teaching more impactful than ever.  Adrian utilizes Playlab to build AI support bots to augment his ability to reach every student. His classroom is a prime example of how teachers can use customizable AI tools to provide individualized attention and strong, timely feedback; an endeavor that is otherwise extremely difficult and time consuming in a high school English classroom. Imagine the possibilities for learners when educators embrace AI, have a hand in its development, and are able to use it in their classrooms to enhance student learning and make their jobs easier and more impactful.

Adrian’s classroom also demonstrates the importance of prioritizing humanity and connection as we embrace AI. Adrian’s use of AI as a complementary tool, rather than a replacement for human interaction, is an excellent example of this. Utilizing AI tools as a purposeful extension of the humans in the room can free up educator time, resources, and capacity and support deeper connections.  Adrian is able to use AI in a way that works for him, to create space to better connect with students and their families and “show them how good they are.” In the future of learning, we believe AI can uniquely enable educators and learners alike to spend more time on authentic learning and deeper human connections.

How can lifelong learning be a positive force for change?

The purposes of education are many and include ensuring students can thrive as individuals, attain family-sustaining careers, and contribute to healthy communities and a strong democracy. In Washington, D.C., Cardozo Education Campus is steadfast in fulfilling these critical promises. As seen in the video, by nurturing enthusiasm and curiosity among students, Cardozo provides opportunities for students to acquire real-life skills like financial literacy and problem-solving while also fostering an essential culture of joyful lifelong learning. It’s part of a district-wide effort to transform every high school in the district. 

As the nation’s pioneering all-Black business high school in the 1940s, Cardozo has played a pivotal role in shaping academic excellence and life triumphs beyond the classroom. Today, Cardozo’s approach honors its historical legacy while adapting to the ever-evolving set of future-ready skills students need to be successful. Their innovative model emphasizes entrepreneurship as a vehicle for breaking free from systemic barriers for all students. Principal Arthur Mola shares that “the norm is that students graduate from here feeling very confident about what their next step of life is going to be like, and that it includes creating an economic experience for their family, for the generations to follow.” 

What if every learner was equipped with the skills to thrive outside their formative years of schooling? Can schools foster a culture where learning is joyful and lifelong? How can all young people feel empowered and prepared to be a transformative force for their communities and our society as a whole?