Archive
component:whats-next.scaling
Small Schools Succeed
A major study by MDRC shows that small schools meet success in New York City.
Rocketing to Quality & Scale
A review of the Rocketship Education Advisory meeting and the potential for "smart engine" teaching for children.
Iterative Development
Qualcom technologist Marie Bjerede wonders if the top-down reform model doesn’t work, why there’s not more iterative development: In the software world, we address this dilemma through an iterative development model. That is, we assume that when we are thinking about what users might need or how they will…
7 Charter Investment Strategies
Seven suggested investment strategies for a charter-friendly foundation seeking broader impact
Hewlett Launches Deeper Learning Initiative to Promote Improved Curriculum & Assessment
The Hewlett Foundation team calls their new scope deeper learning – a combination of the fundamental knowledge and practical basic skills students will need to succeed in a fiercely competitive global economy.
Sleepless in Seattle…and NYC, San Francisco
Students deserve a generation of tools that make learning engaging, personalized, and effective. That's why it would be really great if i3 were venture investing.
Advice to a New Foundation
Launching a new foundation is about the most interesting work in the world. It’s a distinct privilege and a challenge. The most basic question is the extent to which you want to meet current needs or improve future conditions—charity or impact investing. They are both important but suggest very…
The Great Inflection & what it means for Edu-Philanthropy
We’re at a turning point. Thirty years ago, Fritjof Capra, who paved the systems thinking pathway for Senge and Wheatley, warned that mankind always sees itself at a turning point. But this time it’s really true. Expanded access to broadband, cheap…
Big Levers
There are plenty of theories about how to improve education. Most focus on what appear to be big levers—a point of entry and system intervention that appears to provide some improvement leverage. These theories usually involve ‘if-then’ statements: ‘if we improve this, then other good stuff will happen.’ Leading theories…
UK opens 200th sponsored academy
One of Tony Blair’s reforms that I’m fond of is the Academy program–the equivalent of a sponsored charter school in the US. The BBC reports that the 200th opened with 67 more to come this year. They’re dropping a feature that I liked–the requirement to invest at least 2 million…