3 Eras of Education

Here’s a good quick read: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America (Teachers College, 2009), Allan Collins & Richard Halverson.  Doug’s post on three evolutions reminded me of chapter 6 of Rethinking: The Three Eras of Education.  With some additions here’s a summary of the current industrial-era education, what was before, and what’s next.

Factor From To To
Responsibility Parents State Individuals/parents
Expectations Social reproduction Success for all Individual choice
Expectations Practical sills Disciplinary knowledge Learning how to learn
Content Books Textbook Learning objects
Pedagogy Apprenticeship Didacticism Interaction
Assessment Observation Testing Embedded assessment
Location Home School Anywhere
Culture Adult culture Peer culture Mixed-age culture
Relationships Personal bonds Authority figures Computer-mediated interaction
Grouping Mixed-age Age cohorts Individual progress

Tom Vander Ark

Tom Vander Ark is the CEO of Getting Smart. He has written or co-authored more than 50 books and papers including Getting Smart, Smart Cities, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making. He served as a public school superintendent and the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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