Unpacking the Hurdles Accelerators, and Enablers in Education in 2024

At the 2024 CoSN Conference, I had the honor of joining my friends and fellow CoSN board members Dr. Stacy Hawthorne and Dr. Chad Stevens on this episode of the Perspectives: Finding Common Ground podcast sponsored by ClassLink. We shared our takeaways from CoSN’s 2024 Driving K-12 Innovation Report, which highlights the top three hurdles, accelerators, and enablers in education according to a panel of over 100 global education thought leaders.

ClassLink shares, “Together, we unpack the obstacles educators face, from budget limitations to accessibility concerns, and examine the innovative solutions driving progress. Discover the key drivers propelling innovation in classrooms nationwide, from adaptive learning platforms to emerging technologies.”

One of my key takeaways from the conversation concerning the Accelerator “Building the Human Capacity of Leaders” is:

“Building that human capacity in leaders really starts with our students and what goes on in our classrooms. Are we letting our students grow up in an environment where it’s ok to take those safe risks, to try something new, to fail at something but not stop when you fail, to learn what real learning is like. We’re all doctors on this panel; we all know how to “do” school. But doing school is not going to cut it in today’s world because you will fail in life and think it’s the end. That F on the report card or the F on the test is not the end. Building the capacity in students to have real experiences, real failures and a safe environment where we structure it for them to have the opportunity to go back, iterate, try again, and prove that they can persevere and find success. It doesn’t have to come that first time.”

Listen to the full episode and check out past topics at Perspectives: Finding Common Ground!

Unpacking the Hurdles Accelerators, and Enablers in Education in 2024