There’s a lot of energy and conversation in education
circles about the power of early learning—from head start to advanced early
childhood development programs. In short, I’m a fan. However, what I’m talking
about here is opening the doors to early learning options for students further
along the path. As we continue to break through the boundaries of time-based
learning – argued for so well by Terry O’Banion back in the Learning College for the21st Century days – we have to continue to push the boundaries all along
the K-20 pathway. One particular boundary to push is bringing even more early
learning later.
Clearly competency-based programs like Western GovernorsUniversity, Southern New Hampshire’s College for America, or the emerging
programs such as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s initiative with South Texas College and Texas A&M Commerce, are going to make
acceleration more common. By allowing students to advance based on learning-competency
achievement as opposed to 16-week-calendar advancement, they’re helping earlier
learning take shape. More integrated and accelerated programs in
developmental/college readiness programs like MathMyWay at Foothill-De Anza
College District or the soon-to-be “largest math emporium in the galaxy,” as
Austin Community College president Richard Rhodes calls it, are using early
learning to bring more students into their purposeful education pathways sooner
by helping them engage learning on demand, show what they know, and then go on
to the next learning challenge. But there are still too few of these options.
But the story of Alexander Gilman, a 15-year old from AZ,
struck me this morning. At 15 he is graduating with multiple associates degrees thanks to the early college programs in place through the Maricopa Community Colleges and is now poised to enter Arizona State University’s honor’s college as a junior! As
you read the story you realize that we have to do more to help bring
early learning to those ready for it. The Early College High School movement has
been around for some time now and is taking clearer shape across the country.
The folks at Educate Texas have been a key catalyst for these here in Texas –
and have helped bring together the insight from rolling out over 100 of these
schools over the last decade. But, again, there are still too few of these
options.
What we’ve learned from the competency-based, accelerated
developmental education, and ECHS work is that there are thousands, if not
millions, of young people ready to be challenged to learn earlier. There are
thousands, if not millions, of returning adults that are seriously delayed or
derailed on higher education pathways because of course-based, calendar-tied
curricular paths. They too are ready to learn sooner. Early learning matters to
both of these cohorts—and more--and we need to do even more to make it more
common.
Of course there are lots of questions and key issues to
consider. How do we effectively identify the students ready for early learning
options? How do we tune and time their learning journey’s to make sure the
moments that require more capstone experiences and reflection are met? How do
we balance these efforts with or weave them into the necessary efforts to help
students who are falling behind or completely off their educational path? How
do we fund these models with secondary and postsecondary funding formulas and financial
aid models? What is the best facilities and technology mix to make it happen?
No easy answers to these, but there is exciting early
learning happening on these fronts as well. From the emerging Competency-BasedEducation Network to continuing work of Educate Texas, there are a growing
number of voices in the chorus asking how we bring more early learning later!
