What could learning in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region look like by 2036? Remake Learning wanted to start imagining the possibilities.

Developed in partnership with KnowledgeWorks, Nurturing What’s Next: Imagining the Future of Education in Southwestern Pennsylvania draws upon the organization’s seventh anchor forecast Charting a New Course for Education, while translating and refining that research to reflect the unique contexts, aspirations and realities of the Greater Pittsburgh region. The forecast is designed as a practical foresight tool for educators, school and system leaders, policymakers and families. It highlights key changes shaping the future of learning and invites the region to imagine and actively help shape new approaches to teaching and learning in the decade ahead.

What’s inside?

Co-created through a series of engagements with local educators, leaders, innovators, parents, higher education representatives and government representatives, you’ll find:

• Six drivers of change representing some of the most pressing forces shaping education at both the national and local levels
• A series of provocations – exploratory ideas that consider how learning might evolve as these forces intersect and unfold
• Present-day examples that illustrate how elements of possible futures are already taking shape across the region
• Opportunities to expand, connect and learn from innovative practices already in place

Nurturing education innovation

“This forecast reflects the power of pairing rigorous national research with deeply local engagement,” said Jason Swanson, senior director of strategic foresight. “Our seventh anchor forecast identified major drivers of change shaping the future of learning across the country. Through in-depth regional research, those broader insights were refined and reconfigured to better reflect Southwestern Pennsylvania’s lived realities. This work demonstrates how substantive foresight research can meaningfully inform local strategic planning and innovation, especially when things feel increasingly uncertain and turbulent.” Southwestern Pennsylvania has a long-standing legacy of innovation across industry, technology, culture and education. Nurturing What’s Next situates future possibilities alongside Remake Learning’s values and ongoing efforts to advance learner-centered, equitable education ecosystems.