Yes, Learning is Rocket Science

Dean K. Richard Young, BYU

Dean K. Richard Young, Brigham Young University, took the floor at the Washington, DC Interoperability Forum to introduce a round of working discussions. He focused on leadership and the need to employ a “science of learning” to better American education.
Going back to when Kennedy said we were going to put a man on the moon, Dean Young drew an important parallel to the state of American education and the science that will be needed to make the system cohesive.
“Imagine for a minute if a team was assembled to complete that task, that we brought together brilliant engineers, scientists, pilots…and they were going to work on this project. But their instructions were, they would come together and use their knowledge…but they could not use scientific data and information. I suspect we wouldn’t have gotten to the moon.”
Dean Young said he was troubled by people saying, ‘This is not rocket science,’ when they discuss the nationwide and individual state efforts to make education operable and connected through the use of data, information and technology.  H
He added: “Yes, it is. If we don’t think it is, we are missing the whole point. If we don’t attend to the science of learning, everything else we talk about here today is not going to happen.”
That’s a strong message for leadership that exists, and for leadership to come. There must be systems put in place that are rigorously tested, and that leverage our vast scientific and analytical capabilities.

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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