A profound but mostly unrecognized demographic and economic trend is unfolding around the world says Dominic Endicott & Johns Sviokla in the Summer 2019 edition of Strategy + Business.

They note that an impact of increased average lifespan is that, for the first time in recorded history, four generations can routinely expect to be alive at the same time!

The longevity revolution, they state, is putting massive strains on all social systems- employment, retirement, healthcare, housing, transportation, and food as well as the environment and has significant implications for education.

It’s entirely possible right now for up to 5 generation to be represented in an education institution.  In fact here is a story of a 100 year-old woman from Massachusetts finally securing her high school diploma!…the number of generations co-existing could be 5!

Let’s imagine, if currently a school/ institution leader were in their 70’s (Boomer), staff could well be in their 40’s-50’s (Gen X) with early career teachers in their 20’s-30s (Gen Y) possibly supervising final year teaching graduates from Gen Z all of whom are now potentially teaching the Alpha generation .

The eldest members of this generation started kindergarten a couple of years ago but in 2050 (when they turn 40) the Generation Alpha population is predicted to reach 35 million. When all the members of this generation have been born, they will number almost two billion.

22MM+ millennial parents live in the U.S., with about 9K generation Alpha babies born to them each day. @cmichelcarter https://t.co/VP99R4EmK6

— Mark Sparvell (@sparvell) August 6, 2019

One of the most challenging aspects of managing multiple generations in the workplace is getting each group to respect the unique talents of the other says Janice Robinson-Celeste, contributor for Huffington Post

Mark

p.s. Interested in Social and Emotional Learning in Education? Join my open moderated Facebook Group here

Let’s help others and spread a bit more kindness *
This Altruistic August Action Calendar has daily suggested actions to do throughout August 2019 to help you spread a bit more kindness in the world around.
You can download it as an image file for sharing via social media or a PDF file for printing. Pass on to others and help to spread the word * Add your details below to receive future calendars *

TWEET IT

Spread a bit more #kindness.
This Altruistic August Action Calendar has daily suggested actions. https://t.co/Id8gEqcsBC #EmotionalIntelligence @AlexSalkever @SalzburgGlobal @microsoftedu @accessgeo @ImmersiveMind @eustace_stephen @marcbrackett #MIEExpert pic.twitter.com/Jf4qerYPzi

— Mark Sparvell (@sparvell) August 1, 2019

POP Quiz: What do these skills all have in common?
1. Critical thinking and Analysis
2. Complex Problem-Solving
3. Analytical-Thinking and Innovation
This list comes from The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report https://t.co/6mwSccAoDu @MicrosoftEDU @bnholzapfel pic.twitter.com/qCwXSGeiNs

— Mark Sparvell (@sparvell) July 28, 2019

HOT TOPICS THIS WEEK:  #KINDESS #PRINCIPALS #ACHIEVEMENT #FUTUREREADYSKILLS #SPARVELLOUS TWITTER @sparvell

Top 3 Edu Watch-List

Sharing the things I share on social, bookmark and ponder as potentially significant or intriguing.

• SCHOOL LEADERS MATTER– 85 MILLION DOLLAR 5 YEAR STUDY RELEASED

One theory for how to improve schools begins not with teachers in the classroom but with the principals who hire and oversee them. To that end, the Wallace Foundation spent $85 million on a five-year project to improve school principals in six cities and large urban counties, from New York to Denver, beginning in 2011.

READ IT   here

• THE FUTURE OF JOBS– WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM REPORT

Workforce transformations are no longer an aspect of the distant future. As shown in the five-year outlook of this report, these transformations are a feature of today’s workplaces and people’s current livelihoods and are set to continue in the near term

READ IT here

• KINDNESS CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER LEADER– INC OPINION PIECE with 3 TIPS

We live in a world with a lot of disagreement. And, in my opinion, that’s OK. Varying, even opposing, perceptions and ideas often lead us to the greatest results–both in life and at work

READ IT here

HOT TOPICS THIS WEEK: #SEL # WEBINAR #SALZBURG #FUTUREREADYSKILLS #A

My Weekly Top 5  Monday 18^th March

The things that caught my biased eye since last week.

Remember- this is biased- it’s the things that caught my attention  in the last week. The things I share on social, bookmark and ponder as potentially significant or intriguing.

0. MDR Insights: Education Market Information and Trends

Latest edition is focused on…guess what? Social and Emotional Skills referring to this as ‘ a growing trend in schools’ and notes a ‘shift from the guidance office to the classroom’.

State of the K-12 Market 2018 reports are essential reading for a thorough and up-to-date understanding of the market, and offer key takeaways for companies and organizations who provide products and services to K-12 schools in the U.S.

Read the State of the market 2018 report   here

1. SAVE YOUR SPOT: March 20^th Webinar Social and Emotional Skills   To coincide with the release of Emotion and Cognition in the Age of AI + the release of the Salzburg Global Statement on SEL + the UN Day       International Happiness Day , MSFT has sponsored an Education Week Webinar.

Register and share here

3. SALZBURG GLOBAL SEMINAR Social and Emotional Learning: Time for Action

This event held last week bought together policy makers, academics, practioners, experts from across the globe and had a particular focus on students living in complex, violent, mobile situates in conflict zones.

Microsoft was both a sponsor, co-chair, and working-group lead across the event.

Find out more

4. Finland, Switzerland and New Zealand lead the way at teaching skills for the future: Find out what the future skills needed are (hint: The Class of 2030 calls them out)

Finland is the world leader at the provision of future skills education, according to the Worldwide Educating for the Future Index (WEFFI), which is now in its second year, closely followed by Switzerland.

Find out more here

5. THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN AI AND VICE VERSA Interview with Jennifer Rexford, Princeton.

Princeton’s head of computer science, Jennifer Rexford, explains how artificial intelligence is set to change not only what teachers teach but how they teach.

Read it here

Past editions of the LIVEFIVE on my blog www.sparvell.com  PLUS my curated research articles on Modern Classrooms (physical spaces )

See you in around

Mark

Mark Sparvell

Marketing Education Leader

https://info.microsoft.com/ww-landing-teaching-happiness.html

My Weekly Top 5 Edu-live for Monday 11^th March

The things that caught my biased eye since last week.

Remember- this is biased- it’s the things that caught my attention  in the last week. The things I share on social, bookmark and ponder as potentially significant or intriguing.

GET OUTSIDE! Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood

This caught my attention. Modern learning spaces increasingly feature ‘green-classrooms/ outdoor learning spaces’ . This nation-wide study covering >900,000 people shows that children who grew up with the lowest levels of green space had up to 55% higher risk of developing a psychiatric disorder independent from effects of other known risk factors here

THANK YOU! neuroscience reveals how gratitude literally re-wires the brain   

According UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Centre, regularly expressing gratitude literally changes the molecular structure, keeps the grey matter functioning and makes us healthier and happier.

here

SO, HOW DO YOU LEARN STUFF? Why Teachers Should Help Students Learn Effective Study Strategies

I thought this was interesting especially around retrieval, spaced practice and successive relearning.

There are hundreds of teaching strategies, most of which can be effective in certain situations. Dunlosky was looking for strategies that are broadly applicable and don’t just aid memorization; he wanted to find the approaches that deepen understanding and help students transfer learning to new situations.

here

WHAT IS EXCUTIVE FUNCTIONING

Some people describe executive function as “the CEO of the brain.” That’s because these skills allow us to set goals, plan and get things done. When kids struggle with executive skills, it impacts them in school and in everyday life.

1. Working memory
2. Cognitive flexibility (also called flexible thinking)
3. Inhibitory control (which includes self-control)

More Here

EVIDENCE FRESNO UNIFIED 4^th largest school district in California’s Personalized Learning Initiative with Microsoft drives measurable achievement on state-based test and more!

It’s kind of a big deal. Since its first year of implementation, Fresno’s PLI has grown in both size and scope. In its first year, 220 teachers and 12,000 students were touched by the PLI; in Year 2 this number increased to 362 teachers and 17,045 students. PLI teachers applied to the program from schools across the district and were selected randomly within that application pool.1

http://bit.ly/fresno2

My Weekly Top 5 Edu-live for Monday 5^th March

The things that caught my biased eye since last week.

Remember- this is biased- it’s the things that caught my attention  in the last week. The things I share on social, bookmark and ponder as potentially significant or intriguing. This past week I’ve been noticing GAMING and, as always #SEL popping up.

1. GAMES LIKE MINECRAFT that are grabbing EDU ATTENTION

Sandbox Games i.e. online places which allow users to be creators of narratives.

1. DREAMS is an upcoming sandbox video game developed by Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4, scheduled for release in 2019,^[1] with the public beta released in 2018. The game puts focuses on ‘play, create and share’, and allows players to create user-generated content.

1. HYTALE combines the scope of a sandbox with the depth of a roleplaying game, immersing players in a procedurally generated world where teetering towers and deep dungeons promise rich rewards. https://hytale.com/

1. MINETEST An open source voxel game engine. Play one of our many games, mod a game to your liking, make your own game, or play on a multiplayer server. Available for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and Android. https://www.minetest.net/

Thanks to Steven Reid from Immersive Minds for the leads.

2. SAVE YOUR SPOT: March 20^th Webinar Social and Emotional Skills  To coincide with the release of Emotion and Cognition in the Age of AI + the release of the Salzburg Global Statement on SEL + the UN Day of Happiness, MSFT has sponsored an Education Week Webinar. Register and share here

3. 10 BIG INSIGHTS on Teaching, Learning, and STEM Education: 100Kin10’s Trends Report for 2018Ten Trends by COREeducation notes WELL-BEING numero uno

Thanks @Sam Reich for this one.

1. 1. TEACHER SHORTAGES GROW, ALONGSIDE STOP-GAPS AND EVEN SOME INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
   2. BRINGING THE M BACK TO STEM
   3. STEM IS ENGINEERING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT
   4. ANCHORING STEM IN JOY, CURIOSITY, AND EXPERIMENTATION
   5. BEYOND HARD SKILLS: STEM AS SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Get them all here

4. MINDFUL MARCH: The build up to our March 20^th release

Even you can achieve March the 5^th challenge!

Get the calendar in multiple languages here

5. DOES HIGHER ED NEED TO REDISCOVER GENEROSITY? Interview with Kathleen Fitzpatrick, a professor of English at Michigan State University, an influential digital-humanities scholar, and the author of Generous Thinking: A Radical Approach to Saving the University

Read the full piece here  Thanks to @Maria Langworthy for the lead.

Past editions of the LIVEFIVE on my blog www.sparvell.com

See you in around

Mark