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The world has changed. Our schools have not . . .

Reboot Learning!
THE CHARTER SCHOOL GROWTH FUND: A Breakthrough Retreat on 21st Century Learning
June 4 - 6, 2008 Vail, Colorado

The snow had barely melted from the Rockies when a small group of innovators descended
“We need to further our on Vail mountain village to brainstorm a vision for 21st century learning. Brought together
disruptive thinking.” by the Charter School Growth Fund with support from a number of leading foundations, the
diverse cross section of thinkers ranged from educators, parents, politicians and youth advo-
Gov. Bob Wise, cates to entrepreneurs, social change agents and futurists. Tasked with addressing the ways in
Alliance for Excellent Education which learning and our understanding of it are changing for 21st century youth, participants
explored how education should transform as a result.

“This is a key time for this group,” said Gov. Bob Wise. “We need to further our disruptive
thinking.” Wise was referring to author Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation,
in which an innovation transforms a market with complicated and expensive services into one
where simplicity, accessibility and affordability are the rule.

As they entered the meeting room, the two-dozen participants knew immediately that the
gathering would focus on learners and on revolutionizing education. Large posters of bright-
eyed, hopeful children lined three walls. Across the fourth, a graphic artist had begun creat-
ing an evolving pictorial tableau to reflect the group’s emerging ideas. (Click here to see the
illustrations.)
Who Was There?
Retreat Participants The World Has Changed, Our Schools Have Not
Larry Berger, CEO, Wireless Generation
Kevin Carroll, Katalyst Consulting Within the first few minutes, consensus on one topic became clear: while the world has
Michael Carter, Director of Special Projects, changed, our schools have not. Too many students drop out of high school, and too few
MITE
David Coleman, CEO, Student Achievement graduates have the skills they need to succeed in college or obtain a decent job. Designed more
Partners
Thomas Frey, Executive Director and Senior
than a century ago, today’s education system is failing our children.
Futurist, DaVinci Institute
Mike Gelhausen, COO, Charter School
Growth Fund Because of ongoing immigration from around the globe, the United States is a heterogeneous
Anastasia Goodstein, Founder and Editor, country of diverse learners with unique educational needs, learning styles and objectives. Re-
Ypulse
Gerald Harris, Senior Consultant, search presented by participants suggests that learners develop behaviorally and intellectually
Global Business Network in different ways and at different rates, which accents the importance of instruction tailored
Michael Horn, Co-Founder and Executive
Director, Innosight Institute to the individual.
Gerald Huff, Technology Innovation Architect,
Intuit
Mindy L. Kornhaber, Associate Professor, In order to move beyond the conventional mass delivery of instruction, some proposed lever-
Pennsylvania State University aging new technologies that support a customized approach focused on each learner’s needs
Katherine Lewis, Independent Consultant
and Mother and goals. Virtual learning forums, online coursework, e-books, multimedia, multi-user games,
Nick Nagel, Senior Developer and Architect, interactive forums and social networking sites can enhance each individual’s learning experi-
Grid Institute
Larry Rosenstock, CEO, High Tech High ence. Of course, new technologies emerge at an accelerating rate and offer their own set of
Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, K12 Inc.
Roger Schank, Executive Director and
challenges. As one technology gives way to the next, we must be at the ready to adapt.
Founder, Engines for Education
Tom Vander Ark, Trustee, The X Prize
Foundation Participants also noted that learning one set of skills for a lifelong occupation is no longer a
Aaron E. Walsh, Founding Director and Lead viable option for most young people. Students today look forward to many jobs and different
Architect, Grid Institute
careers during their lifetimes.
Observers
Kevin Gentry, Director of Special Projects,
Koch Industries With these and other issues in mind, the group spent two days brainstorming the skills, knowl-
Gisèle Huff, Executive Director, Jaquelin Hume edge and learning experiences children need to succeed in the 21st century. Early in the discus-
Foundation
Benjamin Lindquist, Partner, Charter School sion, everyone agreed on breaking away from preconceived notions of student, teacher and
Growth Fund school, choosing instead to use such concepts as learners, guides, advisors, mentors, domain
John Lock, CEO, Charter School Growth Fund
Kellie Peters, Lovett & Ruth Peters Foundation experts and learning environments. They also agreed on the potential of leveraging widely
Jennifer Stern, Partner, Charter School distributed technologies, such as cell phones and laptops, to disrupt old ways of learning.
Growth Fund
Gov. Bob Wise, President, Alliance for
Excellent Education

Financial Support Provided By Leveraging Technology in all Facets of the Education Process
Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation
Jaquelin Hume Foundation Initial discussions among participants centered on the necessity of intelligently utilizing tech-
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation nology and recognizing that its impact reaches far beyond simply enhancing the individual
Lovett & Ruth Peters Foundation
learner’s experience. Existing technologies allow for adaptive digital content with rapid, inex-
pensive updates in place of costly, hard copy textbooks and a static curriculum. The internet
“It’s the best way to get rid open source movement is advancing rapidly, and the free content it provides can be supple-
of the old stuff: classrooms, mented by a commercial content marketplace.

standards, competence tests,


Technology also holds promise in tracking and assessing each learner’s progress. The stu-
and lectures.” dent academic record becomes a portable portfolio, and assessment delivery is easily adapted
Roger Schank, to what parents, guides and community councils need to understand learners’ strengths and
Engines for Education challenges.

2
Start Your Own Discussion Flashpoints
You can have the same type of Over the course of the first day, several flashpoints emerged. Some participants advocated that
thought-provoking discussion as the
the existing education system be abandoned. “We can put it all online,” said virtual education
participants at the Vail retreat.
innovator Roger Schank. “It’s the best way to get rid of the old stuff: classrooms, standards,
Here are a few questions to get you
started: competence tests, and lectures.” Other participants urged caution. Katherine Lewis, mother of
three children, noted that there were practical concerns in eliminating classrooms and schools.
• How is the world changing in the “We need a safe place or learning center for our kids,” she said.
21st century?
• What skills, knowledge and learning When immersive education expert Aaron Walsh suggested eliminating test scores as a cri-
experiences do children need to teria for college admission, another hotly debated topic emerged: the efficacy and relevance
succeed in this new era and beyond?
of standardized testing. Education professor Mindy Kornhaber asserted that “college admis-
• How will the roles of teacher,
student and parent change? sions tests (i.e., the SAT) predict only 16 percent of the variance in students’ first-year college
• What role will technology play? grades.” Dissenters contended that, while there is always room for improvement, standardized
• Describe a typical day in the life of testing is a necessary part of student assessment and college admissions. “The progressive
a 21st century learner. movement needs to avoid a destructive opposition to standardized assessments and instead
demonstrate superior performance against those assessments even as we work to improve the
You can also join the conversation tests,” said expert on student achievement David Coleman.
begun in Vail at
www.rebootlearning.org,
an open forum and posting place, To make headway in the best approaches to learning, some participants felt that young adults
launching soon. needed to be more adequately represented in the conversation. “We need this to be a col-
laborative effort with the students to come up with something that is magic,” said author and
consultant Kevin Carroll. While some agreed that getting input from youth would be fruitful,
Schank disagreed: “ As Alan Kay said, ‘I’m not sure who invented water, but it wasn’t a fish.’”

In addition to questioning the relevance of involving learners in the visioning process, some
“The progressive participants maintained that one of the biggest hindrances to changing education is actually
the learners’ parents. “Parents are not on the same page [about] the ideal learning environ-
movement needs to avoid ment,” said new technologies and learning expert Michael Carter. “Yet they’re the funders and
a destructive opposition to the supporters. They decide whether something happens or not.”
standardized assessments
After spending time in small groups, participants reconvened to discuss how to define “quality
and instead demonstrate education.” Here, areas of divergence ranged from what the learning environment should look
superior performance like to how learners best interact and learn. Instead of the routine learning cycle of lectures,
against those assessents tests and grades, some proposed project-based learning in a real world environment so that
learners gain the necessary skills to become productive members of society. Others countered
even as we work to that this might lead to deficient critical skills development. “As we embark on project-based
improve the tests.” learning, we need to ensure that reading difficult texts comprises an essential component of
David Coleman, student work,” said Coleman.
Student Achievement Partners
The reliance on technology in education made some participants uncomfortable, while others
argued for going much further. Since young people are creating content online, they could be
engaged in developing formal learning content with collaborative filtering. “Youth get cel-
ebrated for their ingenuity and aspire to do what their peers are doing,” said youth and tech-
nology advocate Anastasia Goodstein. The day ended with more questions than answers, and
informal discussions lasted late into the night.
3
Learner Scenarios Fuel Disruptive Thinking
The next morning, participants divided into small groups again and were asked to imagine a
day in the life of a 21st century learner. The four scenarios that the groups came up with were
as varied as the types of learners they hoped to reach. The first learner went to a project site in-
stead of a classroom. The second had an individual work plan, created during a home visit by
an educational guide, which reflected the learner’s interests and goals. The third scenario was
set in the year 2020 and featured a fully synthesized real and virtual educational experience. For
the fourth child, who was learning English as a second language and living with a large family
in a one room home, a typical day involved working on a documentary film and collaborating
with peers online. (Click here to see synopses of the full scenarios.)

Reflections
At the end of the three-day retreat, participants had explored a wide range of perspectives,
debated significant points of dissent and experienced a unique learning environment of their
own making. The shared vision was one where more innovative educational options are made
Charter School Growth Fund available to meet diverse learners’ educational needs, learning styles and objectives.
The Charter School Growth Fund is
a social venture investment fund that The gathering also led to unexpected collaborations between people who otherwise might not
makes grants and loans to high- have met. “Well done,” said philanthropy leader Gisèle Huff. “I haven’t had this much fun
quality charter management and since graduate school.”
support organizations in order to
increase the number and scale of Participants agreed on several next steps for themselves, the Charter School Growth Fund and
innovative, highly effective education the field, such as documenting and sharing stories about successful, scalable school models.
options for children and families. Finding and supporting education leaders, parents and youth who can implement the vision
will be an ongoing challenge. With this in mind, participants called for a follow-on retreat.
“We’re considering hosting other forums where diverse groups of participants can explore
“I haven’t had this what education could look like for 21st century children and youth,” said venture philanthro-
pist John Lock.
much fun since
graduate school.” In the brief moment of spring, high in the Colorado Rockies, this small cadre of innovators
focused on a vision for the 21st century learner, and they left with a strong message that they
Gisèle Huff,
created together on the last day of the retreat:
Jaquelin Hume Foundation

Writing: Rebecca K. Rowe, Photography: Tory Read, Graphic Illustratoin: Sheryl Nigro,
The world has changed. Schools have not. Reboot learning!
Design: Monica Petty Aiello. Produced by Tory Read Studio, Inc.

4
A Breakthrough Retreat on 21st Century Learning
June 4 - 6, 2008
Vail, Colorado

Graphic Illustrations by Sheryl Nigro


Charter School Growth Fund:
A Breakthrough Retreat on 21st Century Learning
Vail, Colorado
June 4-6, 2008

Scenario Synopses – A Day in the Life of a 21st Century Learner

Scenario 1
Group Members: Kevin Carroll, Tom Frey, Anastasia Goodstein, Gerald Huff, Tom Vander Ark, Kevin Gentry
(observer), Todd Kern (facilitator)

The year is 2020, and our student is 12 years old. A new economy delivers effective education to students with different
needs and interests, keeping the best and most relevant parts of 2008 public education, but also including incentives to
produce new and improved educational options.

Our student chooses from a diversity of learning experiences, because the new economy acknowledges that different
students bring different strengths, weaknesses, interests and preferences to their own education. Our student leverages a
panoply of technologies including computers, immersive environments, hand-held devices, cameras and others. These
technologies play a key supportive role in education. They do not replace people. Adults play a number of critical roles
in our 12-year-old’s development, including those of coach, guide and mentor.

On any given day, our student learns in a range of different environments. For example, she can work on her own in a
customized, immersive computer environment where game-like design engages and motivates her, and avatars lead her
on interest-based learning experiences. Game-like design facilitates our student’s engagement and motivation.

Our student also has regular opportunities to work with others in groups - online and in the real world - engaging in
discussions and team-based project work. An adult guide plays a supportive and facilitative role. Our student also has
active learning experiences out in the world, on nature walks and other field trips.

Our 12-year-old uses a vast technology platform that supports “student online learning profiles.” This universal platform
enables her and her teachers and parents to view her educational progress online. She regularly collects and uploads
evidence of her progress along a range of dimensions, including academic performance, leadership skills, character traits
and special talents. She earns points or currency that enables her to purchase various benefits and helps raise her status
among peers. The online student profile makes it possible for her to move at her own pace, rather than moving through
curriculum based on age or grade.

The education system overall has been dramatically restructured, and communities are organized to support the
development and delivery of high-quality educational experiences to all children. The state still has a fundamental
obligation to provide a high-quality education to all young people. It is responsible for providing funding, defining core
learning objectives, certifying eligible providers and meeting the needs of specific student groups such as ESL and
special needs children. Funding follows the student.

A local community council representing a broad set of community stakeholders has replaced the school board and has
assumed responsibility for delivering a range of options to match the needs and interests of students and families in the
community. The council has adopted a portfolio approach to managing schools to ensure that it provides the right mix
of learning options, extra curricular activities and student and family supports.

Incentives encourage the creation of high-quality content (including lessons, modules and full curricula), which is
available online in an “iTunes” for educational content. Our 12-year-old has a range of places to learn, including at
home, in group learning centers and in traditional school buildings.

These synopses were edited and prepared by Tory Read, based on reports submitted to the Charter School
Growth Fund by the small-group facilitators at the retreat.
Charter School Growth Fund:
A Breakthrough Retreat on 21st Century Learning
Vail, Colorado
June 4-6, 2008

Scenario Synopses – A Day in the Life of a 21st Century Learner

Scenario 2
Group Members: Michael Carter, Michael Gelhausen, Nicholas Nagel, Roger Schank, Gov. Bob Wise (Observer),
Romana Vysatova (facilitator)

There are no classrooms, no lectures and no standardized tests. Students and teachers across the country are mobilized
within their communities to solve problems. Every day, students gather with their project team at its team headquarters,
located at a local learning center that is accessible by public transportation. Every child has a place to go each day, with
the services and resources they need, such as adult mentors, healthy meals, computers and other technology, art studios
and access to sports facilities.

Project teams work on important community issues and problems, with support from local professionals. Each student
has a learning plan and schedule, developed with the assistance of parents and adult mentors. Teams are made up of
students based on geographic proximity and interests. They are guided by mentors, who remain with a project team
throughout the life of the project, whether it is two weeks or two years. Experts interact with project teams in person or
online to guide the project. Periodically, mentors check in with students to review their work, project plans and goals.
Curriculum developers, who help plan projects, work with mentors and administrators who allocate funding and
resources and assist with scheduling.

The world itself becomes the classroom. To cite an example, the local marina in a coastal city makes an ideal project site.
One project team is designing and building a boat, another is working with university marine biologists to plot the
biodiversity of local marine species, and yet another is working with the coast guard on boat traffic patterns using tidal
charts, maps and satellites. Projects involve hands-on experience and analysis, and students document their work to
share with the broader community.

Every child engages in a “cultural ambassadors project,” in which they describe themselves, their family and their
community for a group of students on the other side of the globe or somewhere else in the U.S. The teams employ a
range of multimedia and communication technologies, and they work with a variety of creative professionals, such as
journalists and filmmakers. Students judge and comment on each other’s work, providing inspiration and motivation. In
the course of the project, students learn a range of important research and communication skills as they explain their
community and culture. Partner groups may decide to plan a trip to visit each other, working out a plan and budget and
even raising money for an exchange.

Universities and employers accept students based on what they have accomplished and what they know how to do. A
student’s work and projects are available online, creating a virtual, living portfolio. Technology - including desktops,
digital cameras, hammers and nails, laptops and cell phones - is used every step of the way for communication, self-
expression and research, linking students to each other and to experts to get the job done.
Charter School Growth Fund:
A Breakthrough Retreat on 21st Century Learning
Vail, Colorado
June 4-6, 2008

Scenario Synopses – A Day in the Life of a 21st Century Learner

Scenario 3
Group Members: Larry Berger, Gerald Harris, Mindy Kornhaber, Larry Rosenstock, Aaron Walsh, Kellie Peters
(observer), Mara Rose (facilitator)

Michael Martinez is a capable but shy 14-year-old. He lives in Los Angeles in a 450-square-foot apartment with eight
family members. Michael, who moved to the United States from Mexico when he was eleven, is undocumented, and his
mother is a single parent. Michael works hard to learn, but he has some linguistic challenges because English is his
second language.

For the first time in his life, Michael is learning outside of the context of traditional schools or grade levels. Instead, he
learns with guides, with whom he has learning agreements, and he progresses through numerous long-term projects to
master new skills. Michael has stopped learning in order to “pass.” Rather, learning has become a lifelong enterprise that
feels relevant and useful to him. He learns almost anywhere and anytime, and his new learning community exists both
virtually and in the real world. Technology plays an important role in Michael’s experience, and he has easy access to
necessary tools, including broadband, a current laptop or desktop computer and a cell phone.

Michael is developing essential skills and habits that will increase the chances of his success in the 21st century as both a
student and a citizen. These skills include inventiveness and empathy, the ability to manage and evaluate multiple
perspectives, delight and wonder in the face of ambiguity, perseverance, the ability to work in solitude on something
difficult and building, modeling and simulating.

Michael’s learning experiences are project-based and include a sustained relationship with a mentor or guide, high
expectations, challenges, significant support, fear of failure, community involvement, public presentations, feedback and
recognition of successes. Michael has two home visits per calendar year from his metaguide, an adult who has a
sustained relationship with him throughout his teen years. The metaguide facilitates Michael’s overall learning
experience, acts as Michael’s champion and helps him identify and achieve his learning goals.

The home visit serves three purposes. First, the metaguide learns about Michael’s family and his home environment, as
well as about who Michael is, what motivates him and what kinds of activities interest him. Second, the metaguide works
with Michael and his family to develop a learning agreement for the next phase of Michael’s education. Finally, the home
visit engages Michael’s mother in setting learning goals and high expectations for her son.

The learning agreement - the tangible outcome of all home visits - is between Michael, his mother and Michael’s
metaguide. The agreement will later be reviewed by an outside source. As the learning agreement is fulfilled and projects
are completed, the agreement is revised and new projects are initiated. Literacy and math standards are integrated into
the agreement. In the agreement Michael makes a commitment to show up and have high expectations of himself, take
intellectual risks and participate in virtual and real-world collaborative environments. In turn, the metaguide makes a
commitment to have consistently high expectations, provide high-level and dependable support, recognize Michael as an
individual and celebrate his successes.

Once the agreement is established, the project-based learning begins. Each project is managed by a guide with relevant
subject-area knowledge. To jump-start Michael’s learning process, the guide proposes the first topic. Subsequently,
Michael identifies his own project topics. Each project includes four stages: observation, reflection, documentation and
exhibition. A project agreement includes a clear statement of the problem Michael is examining, expectations about
research and documenting work and a list of possible resources.

Throughout the learning process, Michael will need to choose the ways in which he will use a wide array of tools to
learn. With support from his guide, Michael will determine when it’s time for him to be alone with a book, collaborate
with others or spend time in a virtual world. A key to the success of this project-based approach is that we are going
through Michael to get to the content, not through the content to get to Michael.
Charter School Growth Fund:
A Breakthrough Retreat on 21st Century Learning
Vail, Colorado
June 4-6, 2008

Scenario Synopses – A Day in the Life of a 21st Century Learner

Scenario 4
Group Members: David Coleman, Michael Horn, Katherine Lewis, Bror Saxberg, Gisele Huff (observer),
Cat Alexander (facilitator)

Dylan is a 12-year-old only child who lives with his father in a U.S. city. His father has lost his job, and, as a result, he
must move to another city to find work. Until his father finds housing and a permanent job, Dylan will stay behind and
move in with his grandmother on the other side of town. Dylan realizes that he and his mentor will need to make
adjustments to his educational plan during this stressful transition.

Dylan arrives at the learning center to meet with his mentor. He has participated in these work planning meetings since
he was five years old, so he finds comfort in the familiar process. Dylan and his mentor review his online individualized
work plan, which includes his most recent assessment results and his next set of content learning goals. The work plan
lists his academic goals as well as his personal interest goals, such as improving his sight-reading so that he can play
keyboard in a band and his ball control so that he can try out for a soccer team next season. In the “comments” section
of the work plan, they see that his father and his grandmother have just logged into his plan to review and comment on
his most recent assessment results and projects.

Dylan works on his individualized learning at home and at the learning center. Activities can range from critical reading
to math drills and science labs. At this point in his education, Dylan is able to have decision-making authority over 50%
of the learning content in his work plan. By the end of high school or the equivalent, Dylan will have decision-making
authority over 99% of his learning content.

Dylan and his mentor agree to adjust his goals during the difficult transition, and they decide that he will do most of his
work for the next few months from his grandmother’s house, on his personal terminal. He will stay in touch with his
instructors via email and instant messaging. Dylan and his mentor also discuss virtual projects like science lab
experiments and video game sessions that he will complete with other students who are assigned to and logged into the
same online sessions.

After meeting with his mentor, Dylan spends the rest of the day in customized learning blocks. Since his concentration is
at its peak in the morning, he begins with “deliberate practice,” a daily two-hour block of time in which he engages in
solitary, undisturbed learning. Deliberate practice is required of all students.

After deliberate practice, Dylan sees a friend from soccer practice and they go together to a learning center for a guided
learning block. At the center, Dylan logs into his work plan and then clicks on “math.” His remote math instructor’s
phone lights up, and he knows that he is on call for any questions or guided instruction that Dylan may require during
his math session. Once Dylan completes his math assignment, he writes an essay on leadership, which summarizes the
critical reading and analysis he did during his deliberate practice session earlier in the day.

Once he has developed his thesis statement, Dylan clicks on his ELA instructor’s instant messaging icon and pings him
to see if he can verify that he is on the right track. They chat on the phone for half an hour. Then Dylan takes a lunch
break where he socializes with a group of his friends before returning to his terminal to finish up the essay.

After Dylan logs off for the day, the database analyzes the work he did earlier. Once this data is processed, the system
sends an e-mail to the people who subscribe to Dylan’s work plan, including his father, his grandmother, his mentor and
his instructors. With this information, each stakeholder is able to give feedback and stay engaged in Dylan’s learning
process.

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