Redesigning Schools for Real-World Learning and Student Engagement

The Problem with Traditional Schools

• 📉 A survey of 70,000 students revealed that less than half love school, two-thirds find it boring, and only 4% feel in charge of their learning.
• ⏳ The older students get, the less they enjoy school, with "fine" becoming the common, disheartening answer to "How was school today?"
• 🏭 Schools were designed for the factory age to standardize and sort students for predictable jobs, which is no longer relevant in today's AI-shaped world.

Transcend's Community-Based Design Approach

• 🤝 Transcend, a school design organization, advocates for community-based design, which combines lived experience with research and community assets.
• 💡 This approach moves beyond top-down reforms or solely bottom-up efforts, creating human and enduring change.
• 🛠️ It involves listening to students, families, educators, and employers to create learning experiences that are rigorous, relevant, and engaging.

Examples of Redesigned Schools

• 🏗️ The Brooklyn Steam Center offers a public high school model that resembles an engineering studio, where students create digital marketing campaigns, wire houses, and learn cybersecurity, earning both college-ready diplomas and industry credentials.
• 💖 Van Ness Elementary in Washington, DC, redesigned its school around the idea that kids learn best when they feel seen, integrating practices like morning circles and mindfulness, resulting in no suspensions and exceeding district averages in reading and math.
• blacksmithing, allowing him to apply math, science, and design to build his own business.

The Future of Education with AI

• 🚀 AI can accelerate learning and facilitate immersive experiences, sparking student passions and helping more students find their purpose.
• 🎯 Designing schools with student experience, engagement, and motivation at the center transforms learning, leading to higher grades, better attendance, and fewer behavior issues.
• 🌱 The goal is to cultivate schools that continuously evolve with the world, fostering students who are engaged, thriving, and transforming the world.