Future Ready Learner Design Process Overview
In the words of Jonathan Swift, “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” It’s no secret that a dynamic vision for learning, whether provided in person, remotely, or some combination thereof, is a first step in creating the types of experiences today’s modern learners need to thrive far into their future. As districts wrestle with their vision for teaching and learning while remaining focused on the shared values of the school community, an authentic and versatile process is needed to meet the unique needs of any community.
As such, Future Ready SchoolsⓇ (FRS) and the Readiness Institute at Penn State have created the Future Ready Learner Design Process, which utilizes a human-centered design (HCD) model. HCD is a highly creative, people-oriented approach to solving relevant problems and developing action-oriented solutions. This approach builds deep empathy for participants and maintains a humanistic mindset at its core. The process is used to generate a myriad of essentials and human capacity to innovate for better results in our school systems. The Future Ready Learner Design Process guides school communities in answering the critical question: What are the essential skills, knowledge, characteristics, and dispositions that learners need to possess in order to be future ready?
This brand new toolset, the Future Ready Learner Design Process, is designed purposefully to:
- cultivate the voices and values of each participant in a meaningful and visual way in the following areas: characteristics, knowledge, skills, and dispositions;
- leverage input through a democratization process to indicate the beliefs and values of each participant, thus promoting agency for all who are involved;
- identify new practical and relevant essentials that intersect distinct categories through the utilization of the FRS framework and Future Ready Learner Ideastorm matrix;
- collaborate to build a shared understanding of how the Future Ready Learner Design Process will function within a team’s system and structure;
- create a customized Future Ready Learner design that represents the goals of your school’s or district’s community;
- leverage the Future Ready Learner Design Process to move from essentials to actions; and
- develop a shared vision of a Future Ready Headline for 5 to 10 years postgraduation.
Justin Aglio, the Executive Director at the Readiness Institute and Penn State and Future Ready’s Thomas C. Murray discussed the launch of this new tool, its development, and this free, new resource that schools and districts now have at their fingertips!
Facilitators:
- Justin Aglio, Executive Director, Readiness Institute at Penn State (PA), @JustinAglio
- Thomas C. Murray, Director of Innovation, Future Ready Schools (DC), @thomascmurray
