TM
OUR WHY
Our society is at an inflection point We need look no further than the headlines
to be reminded that DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN
PROGRESS ARE FRAGILE THINGS .
Our communities, democracy and planet
REQUIRE INFORMED, CARING, CAPABLE AND CURIOUS YOUNG CITIZENS TO THRIVE. But our industrial school system is failing to deliver this result.
2
OUR WHY
Warning signs that our instructional model is flawed CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY
98%
of youth are unable to detect fake news - Unicef, 2021
62%
of GenZ are concerned for democracy - IOP, 2023
CRISIS OF LEARNING
51%
of students feel a sense of belonging at school
85%
of students are stressed and/or bored -Yale, 2020
- Qualtrics, 2022
COMPLICATED BY THE NEW REALITIES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND AI 3
OUR WHY
The root cause of these crises? A systemic neglect of how kids learn. History is particularly ineffective. D e s i g n e d i n t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y a s a s u b j e c t for nation-building, its instructional model has never worked for young people.
What do they experience? Boring Textbooks. Simplified narratives. Outdated power structures. No connection to self or present. No room for wonder and curiosity.*
~83% of students have been non-proficient in history for over 100 years.** Why? Because we focused on content and ignored the science of learning.
We put the biology of learning at the center of our model. *History Co:Lab Survey, 2020; **Sam Wineburg, SHEG 2019
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INSIGHT #1
Each child must be seen as an individual learner The acquisition of skills and knowledge only work if learning experiences develop a young person’s core pillars of self. These “building blocks of learning” include:
Identity
Connection
Belonging
Curiosity
Self-efficacy
Agency
Particularly in a world of rapid change and on the move, we must focus on delivering these pillars to all children, regardless of who they are, where they are and where they are from.
P. Cantor and B. Stafford-Brizard, Turnaround for Children, 2017
OUR PARTNERS AT TURNAROUND FOR CHILDREN, ITHRIVE AND REIMAGINING MIGRATION ARE PIONEERS IN FIELD
5
INSIGHT #2
Learning must be designed as an experience Learning has been proven to work best when it is designed as a journey that has four core features:
HIGH INTEREST
PROJECT-BASED
COMMUNITY-CONNECTED
RIGOROUS
These experiences build competencies, develop knowledge, convey concepts.
OUR PARTNERS, CARNEGIE FOUNDATION AND XQ, ARE ADVANCING LXs AS THE UNIT OF EFFECTIVE LEARNING
6
INSIGHT #3
Learning is an inherently emotional process Along this journey, learning works best—regardless of the age group!—when it leverages the power of play, place and people people to tap into and develop positive emotions and social skills.
PLAY
See LEGO Foundation Research
PLACE
See “The Power of Place”, Tom Vander Ark et al.
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY
PEOPLE
See Julia Freeland Fischer Research at the Christensen Institute
Without a deep understanding of the psychological underpinnings of learning, civic learning is doomed to fail.
WE USE PLAY AND PLACE-BASED PROJECTS TO DELIVER HIGH IMPACT LEARNING
7
History without learning science is not neutral. It is toxic. •
Presenting narratives that exclude multiple perspectives
•
Shutting down questions
•
Ignoring student interests and needs
•
Asking students to memorize catalogs of facts without context
•
Discouraging exploration and discourse All of these things
Breed indifference Kill curiosity and engagement And rob students of the ability to navigate complexity
OUR GOAL
To transform learning to reignite and renew democracy
OUR 10 YEAR VISION
HOW WE GET THERE
A world of young people ready to be effective civic participants and changemakers with history learning as their foundation, guide and inspiration.
By working with partners across the system to make catalytic learning experiences that unlock the power of history for young people the norm.
___
___
9
OUR WHY
We exist to transform the model of instruction… CURRENT MODEL
FUTURE MODEL
+ Outdated pedagogies
+ Learning experiences designed based on science of learning
+ Content-overload with dates and facts
+ Focus = building competencies, concepts and content
+ Disconnect from issues of present + Not skills-oriented
+ Connected to real-world issues and people
+ Youth voice and choice ignored in learning + Impact of good history learning (agency, belonging, connection, community) not measured by schools
OUTCOME: 35% FEEL INFORMED ENOUGH TO ENGAGE CIVICALLY
+ Youth lead and participate in learning co-creation + Student agency and belonging are metrics of school success
OUTCOME: 100% OF YOUNG PEOPLE GRADUATE READY TO ENGAGE AND CREATE
“The hurdle we have had that explains our terrible numbers is that we haven’t activated the biology of learning.” - DR. PAM CANTOR -
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OUR WHY
…and to model a new way of organizing for systems change CURRENT MODEL OF CIVIC ORGS
NEW MODEL
+ Competition with other organizations
+ Radical collaboration in a weaving network
+ Internal hierarchical systems with old power model
+ Team-of-teams with distributed leadership
+ Creation of content for broken school system
+ Connected to systems-change efforts on future of school
+ Focus on creating product in a crowded market
+ Reimagining the market in close coordination with museums and libraries
+ Not connected to community organizations (museums, libraries etc.) + Little connection to learning science and whole-child learning
OUTCOME: A ”PUSH” STRATEGY, FOCUSED ON GAINING MARKET SHARE IN BROKEN MARKET
+ Civics defined as holistic human societal readiness built through a combination of the building blocks of learning, competencies, concepts and content
OUTCOME: RAPID TRANSFORMATION OF SYSTEM THROUGH CO:CREATION
“Life, in all its evolutionary wisdom, manages ecosystems of unfathomable beauty, ever evolving toward more wholeness, complexity, and consciousness.” - FREDERIC LALOUX -
11
OUR APPROACH
Our formula for systemschange is unique The History Co:Lab was founded in 2019 to strengthen democracy by rearchitecting education to help young people grow up thriving and ready to engage in democracy.
THE POWER OF
Learning Science
THE POWER OF
THE POWER OF
Community
Youth Voice
THE POWER OF
A new way of organizing for systems change
WE ARE A CO:LAB TO CHANGE HISTORY The learning of history and the history of education. 12
OUR WHAT
We aim to create a new operating system for learning Storytelling, campaigning and movement building to create demand
DEMAND
Define next gen assessment tools and practices Build networked improved community/data gathering systems across system Build learning management system to support project management and assessment
MEASURING LEARNING OUTCOMES
Build platform for learner centered community connections and badging or alternative forms of assessment Craft systems for data sharing, collaboration, co-creation, and community of practice
WEAVING COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM
WE ARE IN A HISTORIC MOMENT OF INNOVATION IN ALL OF THESE AREAS
Ensure recognition of competencybased transcript by higher learning institutions
CLEAR LEARNING GOALS
LEARNING FOR THRIVING
Define learning experiences and pedagogies that will enable the development of skills, knowledge, concepts and habits
SCIENCE-BACKED PEDAGOGIES
Train teachers/admin to create, implement and support New leadership to architect and support change
ENGAGED COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Create common vision and language with community partners who can partner in delivering learning Train/align educators/leaders 13
OUR WHAT
And build branded partnerships for excellence and scale CLEAR LEARNING GOALS
MEASURING LEARNING OUTCOMES
WEAVING COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM
LEARNING FOR THRIVING
LEARNING SCIENCE-BACKED PEDAGOGIES
ENGAGED COMMUNITY PARTNERS
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OUR WHAT
In this system, we center the importance of civics and democracy Ensure democracy conversation in US education system is held with a global view
Help establish a new norm for what is measured as success in school systems, including agency, wellbeing and belonging
Weave and connect local civic learning ecosystems to scale access of all young people to high quality learning
Connect content of history learning to competency frameworks
HOLISTIC COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK
NEW SYSTEMS METRICS FOR THRIVING
COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM
AMPLIFY YOUR VOICE
SCIENCE-BACKED LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Co-create learning experiences for and with young people in history based on learning science Codify and spread teaching practices needed to deliver these LXs Create opportunities and products that amplify the voice of young people
ENGAGED COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Upskill and activate museums and libraries as partners in delivering these learning experiences to young people with shared understanding of goals and pedagogies
15
OUR WHAT
Our five strategic programs to transform learning at scale LX LAB
THE WEAVING HUB NETWORK SYSTEMS Catalyze concrete and output-oriented, cross- connections and collaborations between innovators in system to accelerate change; Map and expand network
STORYTELLING Capture and share stories to expand community, convene communities to weave separate threads into a common force moving towards key vision and values
Operate a collaborative design lab to support co-creation of engaging and inspiring • LXs that work for all learners • Adaptive learning modules to spread implementation of LXs at scale (and with that learner-centered education as a whole)
NETWORKED COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE Host and nurture a community of practice of educators in museums and libraries supporting learner-centered, science-based learning
REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS Support spread of model of civic learning ecosystems to all regional networks focused on learner-centered education; support implementation of learning science-backed, community connected LXs around historical content
YOUTH MEDIA LAB Create a collaborative media hub to host and scale UnTextbooked and other youth led efforts to amplify student voice
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OUR PLAN
01. A Weaving and Storytelling Hub THE OBJECTIVE To weave the architecture of collaborative innovation, by aligning innovators towards a shared vision, with shared language, knowledge of learning, and set of competencies
THE NEED
OUR OFFERING
Weaving is critical to evolving from well intentioned one-off initiatives into a powerful new paradigm-shifting system.
_ The administrative and technical infrastructure of a network of networks for systems transformation in the field of democracy education
To do so requires creating a highly intentional infrastructure to support the development of people practices, internal systems for learning, collaboration and knowledge management, and highly skilled communications for mindset shift. Without this support, the model cannot achieve accelerated scale.
CURRENT COLLABORATORS
_ The infrastructure to guarantee the smooth merger of several innovative civic entrepreneurial organizations _ A communications and product design team to craft effective messages and streamline the creation of tools that activate networks members as changemakers
THE NETWORK WEAVERS
RESOURCES NEEDED
~$1.3 M PER YEAR
OUR VALUE + IMPACT OPPORTUNITY -
The ability to identify and build relationships with leading innovators and entrepreneurs
-
The ability to support the execution of collaborative projects with precision and excellence.
-
Deep expertise and history in collaborative co-creation
17
OUR WHAT
02. The LX Lab THE OBJECTIVE To enable community members to create and implement high quality learning experiences leveraging the science of learning, particularly in and with history.
THE NEED
THE OFFERING
Educators have neither access to models nor the ability to create or implement high impact learning experiences in history.
_ Co-creation workshops
CURRENT COLLABORATORS
_ Product development support _ Weaving collaborations and coaching to create the highest quality products including LX and adaptive, modular educator training online
DEVELOPMENT COSTS
$1M-2M per year OUR VALUE + IMPACT OPPORTUNITY - Relationships with leading content and tech providers - Project design and execution expertise. - Learning science and futureorientation and youth co-design
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OUR WHAT
03. Networked Community for Transformation of Learning THE OBJECTIVE To build and nurture a network of community institutions (particularly museums and libraries) with shared language, goals and commitment.
THE NEED
THE OFFERING
Community institutions are critical partners to support teachers in providing the kind of place- and project-based learning that nurtures the growth of young people as individuals and community members, but they are not trained in learning science and pedagogies that work.
- Strengthen networked community of practice so museums can become hubs of science-backed civic learning experiences
CURRENT COLLABORATORS
- Toolkits and training modules on learning science and LX design (aligned with LX Lab) - Lead mindset shift (publications, presentations) among museums
RESOURCES NEEDED
$1M
PER YEAR
OUR VALUE + IMPACT OPPORTUNITY _ A deep bench of collaborating cultural institutions _ Collaborations with sciencebacked learning experts _ Expertise in high-impact learning in museums _ The capacity to create connections and projects
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OUR WHAT
04. Regional Ecosystems THE OBJECTIVE To activate local civic learning ecosystems in order to accelerate adoption of new formats of learning history and civics
THE NEED
THE OFFERING
Community organizations and outof-school-time providers have capacity to deliver elements of highly effective LXs but are not integrated into formal learning.
_ Scale the model we have for building local ecosystems for civic learning to three new regions
Culture of learning in communities is not focused on building capacity of young people to thrive in and contribute to democracy
CURRENT COLLABORATORS
_ Refine model for including young people in community conversations - Integrate civic dimension to national conversation on ecosystems
RESOURCES NEEDED
$500K
PER YEAR
OUR VALUE + IMPACT OPPORTUNITY - Successful local model and two new pilot regions launching (Pittsburgh, Dallas) - Connections with leaders of global and national learning ecosystem movement
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OUR WHAT
05. Youth Media Lab THE OBJECTIVE To unleash the power of young people to co-create breakthrough media on the the topics that matter most to them today.
THE NEED
THE OFFERING
Adults need to recognize the power of young people as learners and conversation partners on future
_ A youth program in the summer to expand on our award-winning podcast
Young people need to see the power of individualized, passionfueled learning to inspire changemaking
_ Opportunities for young people to bring student voice to conferences on future of learning _ Opportunities for youth to co-create learning
CURRENT COLLABORATORS
RESOURCES NEEDED
$500K
PER YEAR
OUR VALUE + IMPACT OPPORTUNITY - Experience with creating opportunities for young people to lead - Expertise in intergenerational project design and relationship building
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OUR WHAT
0verarching: Global Democracy THE OBJECTIVE To ensure our US-based work to revive democracy education through learning science is linked to global efforts, crossfertilizing and co-learning for impact.
THE NEED
THE OFFERING
In a world of rapid change and uncertainty, understanding global issues is essential for effective problem solving and to mitigate fear and anxiety.
_ A global coalition (ReWind) to enhance democracy education with learning science
In addition, democracy challenges are global, so spreading the power of learning science to support democracy is a matter of international peace and security CURRENT COLLABORATORS
_ Targeted support for learning science backed democracy education in Ukraine _ LXs on global history and project-based modules - Advocacy for globalizing US History education
RESOURCES NEEDED
$250K
PER YEAR
OUR VALUE + IMPACT OPPORTUNITY - A strategic partnership with EuroClio with whom we cofounded ReWind - Strong ties to Russian and Ukrainian pro-democracy education movements - Strong ties with Foreign Policy and global history community
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OUR WHAT’S NEXT
Our Moonshot: Reaching ~ 4m Students in 3 years 3 YEAR GOAL
IMPACT GOALS
The LX Lab
Co-create 30 history LXs and adaptive modules for educator training with partners
Educators everywhere will be able to transition to post-Carnegie unit, engaging history learning
CoP
Integrate 300 museums into a vibrant community of practice that can support LX implementation and deliver science-backed learning
“New Learning” museums will reach 100-500 teachers and 100,000 visitors each, resulting in over 30m people affected
Civic Ecosystems
Integrate civic learning networks into 5 regional ecosystems that implement LXs
5 Regional ecosystems will engage >1m young people with transformative history learning experiences
Youth Media
Expand podcast and add additional media channels
>1M listeners reached with youth media on history and civic learning
Weaving Lab
Cross connect funders to channel a collective $100M into transformation of education that advances better history
All of metrics of learning shift towards capturing impact of good history education (agency, curiosity, identity, belonging etc.)
WE CAN REACH A TIPPING POINT IN JUST 3 YEARS BY LEVERAGING THE POWER OF CO
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OUR WHAT’S NEXT
What we are doing, where we are going
NOW
ACHIEVE A SEA CHANGE
IN
2023/24
10 years
+ Co-create a collection of Learning Experiences in history
+ New model of learning history through youth centered experiences is the norm
+ Create tools and a community of practice for museums to engage as hubs of high-impact learning
+ Model of civic learning ecosystems has spread across nation
+ Develop and deliver trainings teachers and educators + Weave local civic learning ecosystems (KC, Pittsburgh) + Expand podcast to museums
+ Podcast is powerful multi-media platform on youth learning + Museums and libraries are hubs of youthcentered learning + Global alliance for future-focused history is powerful antidote to rise of authoritarianism
24
OUR WHAT’S NEXT
What we are looking for PARTNERS
ENGINE FUEL
PURPOSE
PURPOSE
Membership in an alliance to transform learning with strong connection to history
Investment that allows us to build the engine of transformation
+ Participation in team-of-teams network to coordinate actions
+ Capital to grow UnTextbooked
+ Co-creation opportunities to adapt and scale pedagogies in existing institutions
+ Multi-year commitment to build out LXs and community of practice + Multi-year commitment to support weaving and team-of-teams operations
LET’S JOIN FORCES FOR A BETTER FUTURE WITH BETTER HISTORY 25
APPENDIX
APPENDIX ON IMPACT
We have systems-change partners and allies LX LAB
PLATFORMS
ECOSYSTEMS
YOUTH VOICE
COMMUNITY
METRICS
OUR SECRET SAUCE IS
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH INTELLIGENCE, INTEGRITY AND TRUST
27
APPENDIX ON IMPACT
Our Core Team
FERNANDE RAINE
CECE PAYNE
Founder, Historian, Weaver, Entrepreneur
JEFF Storyteller, Mindset Shifter DAVIDOFF
TESS Partnerships and Systems BENOIT Creator
Youth Accelerator, Communicator
EMILY Education Innovator, WEGNER Community
ROMANUS Systems Designer, Vision & Risk BERG Manager
Activator
28
APPENDIX ON IMPACT
Our current funders and advisors Kim Smith | Learning Studio
Stan McChrystal | Ret. General, US Army
Tom Vander Ark | Getting Smart
Matt Ogden | CEO, Building IP
Bill Drayton | CEO, Ashoka
Nick Pineda, | Tier1 and Board Member
Ulrik Juul Christensen | CEO, Area9
Jake Shapiro | CEO, PRX and Radiopublic
Stephanie Dua | CEO, Homerlearning
Professor Jeremi Suri | Univ. of Texas, Austin
Dr. Richard Foster | Yale University / McKinsey
Nina von Moltke | VP Penguin Random House
Ross Hall | The Weaving Lab
Andrea Foggy Paxton | EdLoc
Meredith Kellner | Board Member
Tara Roberts, | National Geograpics Explorer, Board
Peter Kellner | CEO, Richmond Financial
Victor Ye | Zeta Institute, Board
Professor Paul Kennedy | Yale University Esther Wojcicki | Tract.app
Stephen Heintz | Pres., Rockefeller Brothers Fund Jon Hile | VP, Hall Family Foundation
Bill Nicely | VP, Kauffman Foundation
Bo Stjerne Thomsen | VP, LEGO Foundation
Tim Knowles | President, Carnegie Foundation
Dr. Susan Rivers | iThrive Games
Dina Buchbinder | CEO, E4S, Board
Dr. Pamela Cantor | Turnaround for Children
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APPENDIX
Our journey: Mapping, weaving and testing what works
2019
2021
Established a local civic learning ecosystem in Kansas City
Built a national network of museums to support implementation of EAD, a bi-partisan democracy framework
Launched first ever youth-led history podcast UnTextbooked
2020
2023 Pilotted high-impact learning experiences in and with museums using power of play in U.S. and in 6 countries in Europe. Co-created booksnotbombs.org for Ukraine
Scaling learning experiences through expansion of ecosystems and museum network
2022 30
OUR HOW
The Power of A New Way of Organizing TEAM OF TEAMS STRUCTURE
WEAVING
COMMAND
SYSTEMS CHANGE SIX CONDITIONS OF SYSTEMS CHANGE
A traditional top-down structure. The connections that matter are between workers and their managers
Policies
COMMAND OF TEAMS
Practices
Relationships + Connections
Small teams operate independently but still within a more rigid superstructure
Resource Flows
Power Dynamics
Mental Models
STRUCTURAL CHANGE
RELATIONAL CHANGE
TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE
TEAM OF TEAMS The relationship among teams resembles the closeness among individuals on those teams Stanley McChrystal, Team of Teams (2018)
David Ehrlichmann, Impact Networks (2021)
P. Senge, J. Kania, M. Kramer, Waters of Systemschange (2017)
We built our model leveraging research and best-in-class practices from the community of innovators working for transformational change and collective impact
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THANK YOU FERNANDE RAINE
fernande@thehistorycolab.org | +1 617 875 2969