What Will Really Disrupt Education? Powerful Learning Experiences

EdSurge recently published an op-ed by Jim Lobdell called, "Where EdTech and Its Investors Miss the Mark" that really resonated with us.

Lobdell argues that all of the glitz and glamour of innovations that promise to "disrupt" education are useless without what matters most: "equipping teachers with the recipes and ingredients, in the form of quality curriculum, to light that fire for students." To investors and policy makers, he laments, "I wish you shared my deep conviction that supporting caring, skilled teachers with great curriculum, along with relevant professional development, is the most immediate and meaningful way to improve education."

We couldn't agree more. In fact, our CMO, John Jorgenson, recently blogged on this very topic. He wrote, "Let’s stop looking for the shiny thing that focuses on getting edtech investors, many of whom have no education or research experience, excited. Instead, let’s focus on what we know works, empower teachers to prioritize that kind of learning, and then have the collective will as a society to make it happen. And yes, that most certainly includes investing in teachers like never before."

In his op-ed, Lobdell goes on to tell investors, "I wish you understood that creating great curriculum—lessons and units of study that produce memorable learning experiences—is a time-consuming, nuanced mix of science and art that is very, very difficult to do well, and nearly impossible to do daily as an isolated teacher. It’s a rare skill to be able to design learning experiences that are relevant, novel, inherently engaging, standards aligned, and energize a classroom of diverse learners. Done well, it’s magic."

That's exactly why our Instructional Design team labors tirelessly over every single lesson, activity and problem to create the right combination of focus, coherence and rigor that will make math come alive for students. There's no third party vendor here.

As Lobdell says, "It’s what all teachers deserve and what every teacher (and student) wants."