Future of Learning
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This podcast highlights developing trends in K-12 education, postsecondary and lifelong learning. Each week, Getting Smart team members interview students, leading authors, experts and practitioners in research, tech, entrepreneurship and leadership to bring listeners innovative and actionable strategies in education leadership.
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Steward Stories: Spotlight on Providence After School Alliance
What does it look like when a city becomes a learning campus? The Providence After School Alliance spent two decades answering that question, aligning schools, city agencies, and community organizations so young people could access high-quality learning far beyond the school day. This Steward Story traces PASA's evolution from a bold response to a local crisis into a nationally recognized model for ecosystem building, credit-bearing out-of-school learning, and the kind of coordination that outlasts leadership transitions. For education leaders navigating fragmented systems, PASA's journey is both a blueprint and a call to action.
We’ve Been Judging Symphony Rehearsals by the Last Note: Why Multimodal AI Can Finally Measure Mathematical Practice
For decades, math assessments have measured the residue of thinking rather than thinking itself. In this sharp, research-grounded piece, Eric Tucker argues that multimodal AI can finally make the Standards for Mathematical Practice visible, capturing spoken arguments, strategic shifts, and productive struggle in real time. For district leaders and curriculum directors rethinking assessment infrastructure, this is essential reading on what it means to measure what actually matters.
What Ecosystem Stewards Know That System Leaders Don’t — Yet
What does it actually take to steward a learning ecosystem, and how is that different from leading a system? Karen Pittman and Merita Irby spent a year inside four community intermediaries, including CommunityShare, the PAST Foundation, and Heart of Oregon Corps, and surfaced three prerequisites that change everything: trust, time, and idea translation. This post is essential reading for any leader working to connect education, youth development, and workforce systems into something greater than the sum of their parts.
Designing for Belonging: Lessons from Districts Building What Technology Can’t Replace
Discover how districts are wrestling with what AI can't replace, prioritizing human skills like belonging, judgment, and connection through systemic redesign.