 |
| | | | | | | | |
The Initiative is a transnational programme to synthesize the best of research and development into the nature of human learning, and to examine its implications for education, work and the development of communities worldwide.
Current Activities
Lectures
Slide Packets John Abbott, Initiative President, lectures extensively throughout the year and across the globe. Conference participants can download slide presentations from the conference page here.
Radio
August 2008 During a recent trip to Australia, John Abbott was interviewed on 774 ABC Melbourne. Listen to the podcast here.
Initiative Update
July 2008 The Initiative In Changing Times, written by John Abbott in June 2008 provides a clear overview of where the Initiative stands with the publication of Overschooled but Undereducated and where we hope to go in the near future.
Training programs
The Initiative offers training programs for interested groups in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and elsewhere. Interested groups should contact the offices of the Initiative. We also work in partnership with various organizations around the world. Access the training program Initiative Staff
John Abbott, President History
A history of the 21st Century Learning Initiative Initiative-related Activities
The Peoples' Institute for Rethinking Education and Development -- in their own words, " a non-profit applied research institute committed to working with peoples throughout the [Indian] sub-continent to: 1) challenge and dismantle the existing monopoly system of factory-schooling in India; and 2) construct complex shared visions of Lifelong Societal Learning that lead to the creation of diverse open learning communities." TechKnowLogia is published bimonthly on the Internet in collaboration with UNESCO, OECD and GIIC. It provides policy makers, strategists, practitioners and technologists at the local, national and global levels with a strategic forum to share policies, strategies, experiences and tools in harnessing technologies for knowledge dissemination, effective learning, and efficient education services. It also reviews systematically the latest systems and products of technologies of today, and peeks into the world of tomorrow. New Horizons for learning offers numerous articles, contacts and links for those interested in issues related to K-12 education. World Education is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the poor through economic and social development programs. We provide training and technical assistance in informal education for adults and children, with special emphasis on income generation, small enterprise development, literacy, education for the workplace, environmental education, reproductive health, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS education, and refugee orientation. Projects are designed to contribute to individual growth, as well as to community and national development. Teachers Without Borders is a non-profit, non-denominational corporation/public foundation devoted to global educational change at the high-school level for an information age. We create an appropriate match between worldwide research on learning with effective, personalized educational solutions at the local level. The OECD groups 29 member countries in an organisation that, most importantly, provides governments a setting in which to discuss, develop and perfect economic and social policy. They compare experiences, seek answers to common problems and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies that increasingly in today's globalised world must form a web of even practice across nations. Their exchanges may lead to agreements to act in a formal way - for example, by establishing legally-binding codes for free flow of capital and services, agreements to crack down on bribery or to end subsidies for shipbuilding. But more often, their discussion makes for better informed work within their own governments on the spectrum of public policy and clarifies the impact of national policies on the international community. And it offers a chance to reflect and exchange perspectives with other countries similar to their own. |
Past Activities
Conference Participants
A list of participants at the Wingspread conferences between 1995 and 1997 Events
The struggle to deepen the discussion about how research into how humans learn could transform the way in which schooling is structured. Convening the Community of Stakeholders. As the process of globalization unfolds, an increasing number of stakeholders are attempting to enter the dialogue concerning global governance. This is a challenge of historic dimensions, requiring unprecedented sensitivity and respect for the viewpoints of all parties. Syllabus for the Biology of Learning The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Curriculum for a Training Program Introduction to the work of the Initiative for the Hammersmith and Fulham Primary Headteachers' Course (1999-2000) Results of the Hammersmith and Fulham Training Program. Leeds Education 2000 is working to take the ideas and concepts of the Initiative and put them into action in a real community. A group of Canadian educators, policy makers, and business and foundation leaders are taking the ideas of the Initiative and using them to create real change in the way young people are taught and prepared for adult responsibilities. John Abbott, President of the Initiative, is working with a group of Estonians in "Conducting an open discussion on Estonia's education alternatives: Estonian Education Scenarios 2015." A group within Winona is actively working to develop a true learning community that integrates the formal sector of schools into the larger life of the community. |