Discover what jazz and education have in common at ShapingEDU’s 2023 Global Community Solutioneering Summit
Stephanie King
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A good educator needs to be able to find a rhythm or flow, to teach with interest, heart and to delight. They need to be able to listen to their learners, understand their needs and improvise to meet them where they are. They need to create that connection with their students – harmonize – because when they do, that’s when the real learning – the beautiful music – is made.
And, just like in jazz, there are the innovative educators who take learning to the next level. Who strive for learner agency, access and education for all. There are also the intrapreneurs, who support these accelerating ideas and bring them to life and to scale.
At ShapingEDU’s Global Community Solutioneering Summit (GCSS23), to be held virtually on February 16 and in Scottsdale, Arizona, on February 22-24, education changemakers will have the opportunity to collaborate to explore “Education as jazz”, this year’s event theme. Attendees will familiarize themselves with ShapingEDU’s new Calls to Action and design the Community’s 2023 Grand Challenge Projects.
Not only is GCSS23 the first major event of 2023, it’s also the first time the Community has gathered together in-person since March 2020. “I couldn’t be more excited to host our global changemakers at GCSS23,” said Stephanie Pierotti, ASU’s Director, ShapingEDU. “To be able to create a space for dreamers, doers and drivers to gather and impact education in a positive way is fundamentally important to myself, ShapingEDU and ASU. The event can’t get here soon enough!”
How it works
First, educators, technologists, faculty and students around the world will have the opportunity to meet virtually, learn and brainstorm project ideas on February 16 during two time-zone-friendly gatherings.
Then, GCSS23 in-person attendees will use these ideas as fuel to catalyze Grand Challenge Projects for 2023 that address some of education’s trickiest, most pressing problems in education today.
About ShapingEDU’s new 5 Calls to Action
The Calls to Action that will inspire these projects include:
- Playful Learning: Developing Playful Pedagogy with Gamification & Game-Based Learning
- Dx (Digital Transformation) of Learning Environments: Educating With No Time or Space Boundaries
- Democratization of Education Paths: Designing Non-Traditional Lifelong (L)earner Journeys
- Integration of AI for Impactful Teaching & Learning: Building Effective & Ethical Human-Technology Ecosystems
- Wholistic Wellness of Learners & Educators: Prioritizing Mental Health, Resiliency and Retention
Pierotti developed these Calls to Action by researching the latest education futures studies and forecasts, developing a foundation for which we can build around these core areas in education. “If education futures are of interest to you, GCSS23 is a must-attend event for you this year,” said Pierotti.
What attendees can expect
In addition to activating new projects, GCSS23 participants will also learn from guest speakers, discover new initiatives at ShapingEDU and ASU and gain inspiration from those who are creating change in education globally. At the event in Scottsdale, Dr. Ruben Puentedura will help participants explore the Education As Jazz theme during his keynote on Friday, February 24. Attendees will learn about how the future of education needs intrapreneurs – just as much as innovators – and why it’s imperative to have both.
“I've been working with a wonderful Swedish research team over the past three years, and we've found that innovators who mediate change within an institution – call them intrapreneurs – are essential to developing antifragility. That is where jazz enters the picture: as an always-evolving musical genre across multiple eras, with audiences that have ranged from massive to niche, jazz has shown itself to be singularly capable of dealing with unexpected challenges – in other words, antifragile,” said Puentedura. “There is much that we can adapt from the world of jazz at learning organizations: for instance, innovators like Miles Davis have brought new idioms into the world of jazz - think of the impact of _Birth of the Cool_. But at the same time, Miles also acted as an intrapreneur within the world of jazz – consider, for instance, his mediation of Coltrane's innovative adaptation of Slonimsky's lexicon of musical scales and patterns into what eventually became modal jazz.”
Puentedura will host a series of workshops and shenanigans to aid the process of designing the Community’s 2023 Grand Challenge Projects.
More sessions and speaker to spotlight include:
- The Power of XR in Education: How Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Realities are Transforming Learning with Sara Filipčić (Be Human(e))
- The Brighter Side of AI: How Tech Can Help Us Address Student Mental Health, Equity and Diversity with Jennifer Lee (Microsoft)
- The Democratization and Decentralization of Education Journeys with Robert Bajor (Micro-credential Multiverse)
- Becoming Citizen Futurists with Sean Leahy (Education Futurists and Director of Creative and Emerging Technologies, Enterprise Technology at ASU)
When attendees aren’t harmonizing to develop concepts and discover new skills, there will be plenty of opportunities to mix, mingle and reconnect with ShapingEDU colleagues from around the world. “There’s something special that happens when this Community comes together,” said Pierotti. “Although I’ve only had the opportunity to witness it virtually so far, I’m energized by the creativity, innovative thinking and action that our participants will experience at GCSS23.”
Interested in making some music with some of today’s top education futurists and changemakers?
