Exploring Critical Education Issues

How we work, teach, live and learn are changing almost as quickly as the technologies we rely on to make all of these activities possible. We live in a time of exponential change, which makes planning for the future of education a unique challenge. That’s why we look to the future to ensure that we’re ready and that tomorrow’s graduates will be, too.

 

In addition to publishing comprehensive 10-year forecasts that explore future trends in education, we also take deep dives into specific issues affecting the future of learning and explore how educators and community stakeholders can take action today to ensure all graduates cultivate the skills, knowledges and dispositions they need to succeed in an uncertain future.

Cover to Envisioning Human Centered Learning Systems. Illustrated people of varying ages, colors and genders stand together facing the reader

Envisioning Human-Centered Learning Systems

What would happen if we reoriented teaching and learning systems, expectations and experiences to put a comprehensive view of human development at the center? Envisioning Human-Centered Learning Systems describes a bold vision for education that would enable life-affirming experiences and outcomes for everyone involved in learning systems.
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The Future of Learning: Redefining Readiness from the Inside Out explores how career readiness may be redefined to better prepare students for an uncertain future.

Redefining Readiness from the Inside Out

Babies born this year will have graduated from college by 2040 and be entering the workforce. Will they be ready? In this paper, learn how career readiness may be redefined to better prepare students for an uncertain future, based on a series of in-depth interviews with employees at cutting-edge organizations, as well as site visits to workspaces and strategic foresight research into current trends.
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"Learning on the Block: Could Smart Transactional Models Help Power Personalized Learning?" is a deep dive into the smart transactional models driver of change from KnowledgeWorks most recent comprehensive future forecast.

Learning on the Block: Could Smart Transactional Models Help Power Personalized Learning?©

In this resource, we explore the potential for blockchain and smart contracts to open new opportunities to personalize learning including whether blockchain and smart contracts might provide the technical foundation for a new architecture for education and how emerging social conditions and cultural mindsets might motivate the adoption of these technologies.
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Shaping the Future of American Public Education: What’s Next for Changemakers?

Shaping the Future of American Public Education: What’s Next for Changemakers?©

This resource outlines four possible scenarios for the future of education changemaking, highlighting the potential for social, economic and policy shifts to bring new influencers and benefactors to the fore.
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This paper explores the potential for wearables, augmented reality and virtual reality to help create more responsive learning environments.

Leveraging Digital Depth for Responsive Learning Environments: Future Prospects for Wearables, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

This resource explores how we can work with emerging technologies to support the creation of more responsive learning environments.
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What can the future of learning look like in your community? Our strategic foresight team conducts local sensemaking workshops and works with community, regional and statewide groups to create customized future-of-learning forecasts adapting our key publications for specific contexts.