LVenture Education Initiative

Here is an interesting article relating to school sports. It argues that, while sports can teach some valuable skills to students, something like robotics can teach all those skills and prepare students for a better future at the same time.

Youth Sports Teach Valuable Skills But Robotics Helps Every Kid Go Pro The pandemic has cast a spotlight on students’ need for greater experiential learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. It has also demonstrated the importance of preparing students to be adept in handling the unexpected — and to feel empowered to tackle an uncertain future. ...

Harvard professor Jal Mehta really gets what is needed in education. Read what he says about building a bright learner centered future.

Building a Bright Learner-Centered Future: Q & A with Jal Mehta - Education Reimagined Jal Mehta, Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, discusses his commitment to the learner-centered field.

In this study, high school students say they learn the most important skills outside of school.

High School Students Say They Learn The Most Important Skills Outside of School - EdSurge News If you ask middle school and high school students these days the most important skills they’re learning, they’re likely to name something they picked ...

Here is some new information that suggests high school graduates have been getting higher grades even though they are no better prepared.

Grade Inflation ‘Persistent, Systemic’ Even Prior to Pandemic, ACT Study Finds High school grade point averages have been on an uphill climb since 2016. But that doesn’t mean students are better prepared for college-level work. Their scores on the ACT, a college entrance exam taken annually by 1.7 million students, haven’t budged, according to a report released Monday. Bet...

Here is some additional perspective on what graduates really need in today's changing world.

Six Skills that Prepare Students for Work and Life in the Fourth… | NGLC The way to set young people up for success is to teach them durable, future-ready skills; these 6 skills will help students thrive in our fast-changing future.

Here is some feedback from leading US companies about what skills graduates need today.

What Do Top U.S. Companies Think Schools Could Do Better? We Asked Senior executives from Amazon, Salesforce, Southwest Airlines, and other companies identified problem-solving skills students should learn.

Sal Khan is forming his own online global high school to foster student-directed learning.

Sal Khan partners with Arizona State University to Launch New Online Global High School Khan World School @ ASU Prep will open its virtual doors to enthusiastic 9th grade students from around the world in August 2022. This full-time onlin

Here is a call for more aggressive changes in education. It asks the question "Are we transforming our education systems fast enough to save the human species?" The answer is not what one wants to hear.

Are We Transforming Education Fast Enough to Save Ourselves? | NGLC The NGLC community issues a clarion call for bravery: We must all work together to transform K-12 learning now, for our democracy and our planet to survive.

This may not be what many want to hear. Nevertheless, this apparently strong study indicates that masks do make a big difference for the spread of COVID-19 in schools.

Study: Masking greatly reduces COVID-19 spread in schools The study included 61 school districts, more than 3,000 schools, and more than 1.1 million students and adults from across nine states, according to Duke University, which released the findings and is a member of the collaborative.

Here is some interesting data suggesting that schools are giving higher grades without real learning gains for students.

Academic Mismatch: Students Earned Record-High GPAs as Scores Lagged on Achievement Tests. Here’s What the New Federal Data Could Mean The grade point averages of high school students hit an all-time high in 2019, and students earned more credits toward graduation than ever before. But those gains are belied by signs that students didn’t demonstrate greater achievement in tests of math and science, according to new national data ...

The daughter of Ken Robinson just completed a wonderful book he was working on that summarizes his perspectives on education. Here is an excerpt

https://www.edutopia.org/article/what-education?fbclid=IwAR0CugJYZWsR3Jvzs4GySQBK_4VYLiDLFrkB3jj2VPFlalF5TAR-NeqRFtQ

What Is Education For? Read an excerpt from a new book by Sir Ken Robinson and Kate Robinson, which calls for redesigning education for the future.

Here is some interesting data suggesting that charter schools, expecially in urban areas, provide academic gains not only for their students but also for students in nearby district schools.

Analysis: New Research Confirms that Charter Schools Drive Academic Gains for Their Own Students — and for Kids in Nearby District Schools Thirty years ago, when the charter school movement was just getting off the ground, devotees of big-city school systems worried that these new options would drain critical funding, hurt the kids who were left behind and make a system in which race played a central but often unacknowledged role even....