From Boredom to Engagement: Why the Credit Hour Must Be Reformed

Even as public schools enter a period of extreme uncertainty, there are exciting developments underway to rethink the school day and to develop new ways to measure what students are learning.Listening to a stimulating conversation about new directions in education  with Timothy Knowles, president of the Carnege Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Laura Slover, managing director of Skills for the Future, a joint initiative of ETS and the Carnegie Foundation.  The foundation is now at the forefront of trying to nudge schools to move away from measuring learning based on how much time students  spend in the classroom, and to a more "competency-based" system, which takes into account skills they may have acquired through  interdisciplinary projects, internships, work experience and so on.  Also important are what educators call "durable skills" that studies show can make a huge difference in students' future success, such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and leadership. Hosted by Pedro Noguera, dean of the USC Rossier School of Education and Louis Freedberg, director of the Advancing Education Success Initiative. Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.