Is K-12 education preparing kids for the workforce? (with The Fabulous Learning Nerds)

The whole point of school is to prepare kids for adult life, but many people worry we aren’t giving kids what they need.Whether kids go right into the workforce after high school or plan to attend college or trade school, they need certain skills to succeed at work. That’s why I wanted to have a discussion about the ins and outs of employee training and onboarding with experts in the learning and development field. In episode 133, I invited Scott Schuette, Zeta Gardner, and Daniel Coonrod from the Fabulous Learning Nerds podcast for a panel discussion on adult learning and employee training. Zeta Gardner is an illustrator and instructional designer. With over a decade of experience bringing client's ideas to life, her focus on design gives her an ability to create engaging and visually pleasing learning experiences.  She believes learning is a lifelong journey and aspires to be part of creating those journeys for others. Daniel Coonrod is a training strategist and instructional design manager who focuses on building great teams and creating effective training materials that drive business success. Daniel excels at using technology to solve traditionally difficult problems, and has a track record of great results.Scott Schuette is a learning and development executive with years of experience creating education programs for major corporate enterprise companies. He’s focused on building and empowering diverse cross-functional teams, creating comprehensive training strategies, and improving operations to increase revenue growth, productivity, and employee success.In this conversation, we discuss:✅What is adult learning theory? Is it different from the way we approach learning in K-12 education?✅How do good employee training programs look, and how do companies teach their employees on-the-job skills?✅What skill gaps may be present in new employees, and what are some skills K-12 staff can teach kids to prepare them for their first job?✅Defining terms like “competency” vs “mastery” and why this distinction is important to continuous adult learning.You can listen to the Fabulous Learning Nerds Podcast here: https://www.thelearningnerds.com/ where you can learn more about where to connect with Zeta, Daniel, and Scott. You can connect with them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/LearningNerds/You can listen to my guest appearance on the Fabulous Learning Nerds podcast, where we talk about professional development in K-12 education here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-75-professional-development-in-k12-featuring/id1555562692?i=1000619621947Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/In this episode, I mentioned the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps pediatric therapists and educators learn strategies for supporting executive functioning and deliver them in a model that supports generalization. Learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership  Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL and Renaissance:Learn more about Renaissance:As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.