New Report "Shift Happens 2" Takes Deep Dive Into The Future Of Learning And Assessment
A new report released by Innovate+Educate explores the future of learning and assessment as "working learners" and "learning workers" each exceeds the number of traditional students in the U.S.
PALO ALTO, Calif, Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Innovate+Educate (I+E) released SHIFT HAPPENS 2, its second publication released in three years on the rapid shift in education to employment in the United States. SHIFT HAPPENS 2 was released at the Institute for the Future's Gallery of the Future Colloquium on the Future of Assessment. The report takes an in-depth look at the shifts in credentialing and assessment, trends that are moving learning inexorably closer to a competency-based system. I+E studies and works within this SHIFT, both in the U.S. and globally.
Shift Happens 2 is co-authored by Dr. Merrilea Mayo, Director of Mayo Enterprises and Jamai Blivin, CEO of Innovate+Educate. The report provides the reader a comprehensive overview of the changes in the learning-to-employment landscape, why it has happened, highlighting the dramatic increase in working learners and learning workers. These two populations – one pursuing traditional degrees while holding down jobs, and the other pursuing small increments of education to advance within their jobs – are responsible for the tremendous gains seen in online learning (520% in 10 years), MOOCs (910% in 5 years), micro-credentials, and more. The ecosystem changes drill all the way down to assessment within courses, which is starting to focus much less on "how much of the material do you remember?" and much more on demonstrations of skill mastery –i.e., "prove to us how well you know this, by what you can do with it." The report then calls out the need for improvements in assessment to that will enable automated systems to consistently recognize and calibrate the "know" and "do" skills across the future worlds of learning and work. In response to the report Dr Edan Jorgensen, Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, reflected, "The world is not stagnant. Hiring practices have been. Its time to shift from traditional methods that do not predict success, and look towards the future. The future is an emerging workforce that is more dynamic than degree and [job] references. They are about change and making a difference through their employment."
According to the report, the working learner population is 1.3 times larger than traditional learner population (meaning, full-time students working less than 20 hrs a week.) The learning worker population is 4.5 times larger. Together, the two populations are enormous drivers of change in higher education. The report elevates the need for just-in-time, bite-sized learning that makes sense for someone working and learning at the same time. It also points to the societal forces of middle class stagnation and college debt as factors for the shift that is quickly happening in education to employment, stating: "Simply put, few Americans are able to afford four years of time and four years of tuition money, ESPECIALLY at the same time."
"We've never seen a more dysfunctional labor market than the current time," said Jamai Blivin, co-author of the report. "Employers are continuing to use degrees as the proxy, although they complain that they don't know what these degrees actually mean when it comes to the knowledge ("know") and skills ("do) of the future of work. This paper elevates competencies and credentials as the new currency for learning. It is time for disruption -- from policy to practice—to insure equity and access in learning and work."
Holly Zanville, Senior Director for Credentialing and Workforce Development for the Lumina Foundation noted, "The timing of this report is important, coming on the heels of many reports about the future of work and learning. The future is already here: the lines between working and learning are blurring and credentials come in many shapes and sizes. The mix of degrees, certificates, industry certifications, badges and other micro credentials will require trusted signaling to describe the learning that stands behind them. And, assessment will loom large in the evolving work and learn ecosystem, focusing on appraising the knowledge ("know) and skill ("do") competencies behind these credentials. The metrics of assessment will also signal employer use of credentials and identify which credentials are of value."
Shift Happens 2 Finding Strong Footing: The Future of Assessment in the Learning-to-Employment Landscape includes reviews by Frank Britt (CEO of Penn Foster), Dr. Parminder Jassal (Director of Work & Learn Futures Lab, at The Institute for the Future), and Dr. Hope Clark, an expert in assessment and learning.
About Innovate+Educate
Innovate+Educate is a decade-old nonprofit focused on shifting the future of education to employment based on skills and competencies. They are located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with offices in Albuquerque, Denver and Dallas. They are also the producer of the Close It Summit (http://www.closeit.org).
About IFTF
IFTF is the world's leading futures thinking organization. For over 50 years, businesses, governments, and social impact organizations have depended upon IFTF global forecasts, custom research, and foresight training to navigate complex change and develop world-ready strategies.
Live Link to publication: https://issuu.com/innovate-educate/docs/shfithappens2
SOURCE Innovate+Educate
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