Place Based Education
Posts by Tom Vander Ark
Difference Making
Pandemic Innovation at Piper Schools
Tom explores how a small school district can come together, even in the middle of a health crisis, and innovate for equity.
Difference Making
Schools Alive With Possibility
Are schools alive with possibility? Tom explores four hopeful emerging K-12 education trends.
Future of Learning
Complexity: Fall 2021 Edition
Do we have a shot at showing what accountability looks like in learning? Tom shares the complexities to consider this fall that will have implications on the future of learning for all.
Future of Learning
The Great Education Unbundling and How Learning Will be Rebundled
What is the Great Unbundling of Education? Nate McClennen and Tom Vander Ark explore from K-12 through higher education.
Future of Learning
5 Steps to Boost Real World Learning in Your System
Would you like to see more real world learning in your community? Tom explores five steps to expand access to high-engagement valuable learning experiences.
Equity & Access
Students as Coauthors of Learning: A Resources Guide
By inviting learners to coauthor experiences we help them build the most important skills and dispositions they’ll need to succeed in a changing world. Tom shares coauthoring resources for project-based learning, teacher tools and competencies, a list of systems that are best in class.
Difference Making
Minerva University: Personalized, Global, Affordable and Now Independent
Minerva University offers the world’s smartest young people a reconceptualization of the ends and means of higher education at an affordable price.
Future of Learning
Rating the Value of Higher Education
There is a new way to think about the contribution of higher education--both for individuals and communities. Tom explores how equitable value can serve a higher purpose, particularly for underrepresented groups.
Difference Making
Putting the Science of Learning and Development Into Action
A new book offers a blueprint for elementary and secondary education. Tom shares insights on Design Principles for Schools: Putting the Science of Learning and Development Into Action.
Future of Learning
The Rise of Skills-Based Hiring And What it Means for Education
The pandemic broke some old conventions and accelerated other trends. One convention that, for many tech employers, fell by the wayside was requiring degrees for every position. A trend that accelerated during the pandemic was skills-based hiring. For decades, degree requirements have been added to more and more jobs. The…