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“Opportunity to learn” has evolved into an umbrella phrase for describing a large range of settings, resources, structures, and processes. Laura Perry discusses a conceptual framework that can accommodate a wide range of opportunities to learn, not just those provided by teachers in classrooms.

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 28, 2024

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This video video discusses the concept of "opportunity to learn," which is essential in educational research. It emphasizes the importance of exposure to knowledge as a prerequisite for learning and argues that learning extends beyond traditional subjects like mathematics to include diverse experiences in various environments, such as home, community, and interpersonal interactions.

The speaker mentions the evolution of the concept from a focus primarily on time spent teaching specific subjects to a broader understanding that includes various types of learning and contexts. They propose a comprehensive model, inspired by previous research, consisting of a 3D cube that captures different dimensions of learning opportunities, such as what is taught, where it occurs, and who provides it.

The model also accounts for the conditions that facilitate learning, stressing the need to address opportunity gaps, rather than just achievement gaps, as a matter of educational justice and equity. By including both traditional and expansive forms of learning, the model aims to hold accountable not just teachers and students but also policymakers and educational authorities.

Furthermore, the model acknowledges the interactions among various stakeholders in the educational ecosystem and the significance of understanding how social factors influence learning opportunities. Ultimately, this approach encourages discussions on inclusivity, diversity in learning experiences, and the implications of emerging technologies like AI on education, emphasizing the need for human skills that machines cannot replicate. The goal is to create a visible framework that fosters accountability and equity in educational opportunities.

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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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Well, opportunity to learn is a, is an actual concept

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that's used in educational research.

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And what it means is, you know, it gets at this idea

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that you can't really learn something if you

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haven't been exposed to it.

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And so it's trying to capture this notion of, you know,

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the opportunity that someone has had to, to learn something.

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Um, and so it's typically meant the learning

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of disciplines like mathematics in classrooms.

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Um, but we also know that

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that learning is really much more than just math or reading.

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It's much more than what's taught in schools.

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You know, we as humans learn all the time.

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And so we wanted to kind of create a model

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that would capture all of that in one place.

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So kind of like a, you know, like a uni, a map

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of the universe or of the globe, you know, to have it all

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located, just to make visible all

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of these different types of, of learning and,

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and where they happen and who they're done by.

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On the one hand, the way it started,

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back in the 1960s is that it was very much about

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capturing time on task.

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So the amount of hours that are spent teaching algebra,

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for example, to 13 year olds.

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Um, and,

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and then over time it became, it started to include,

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you know, what type of topics are being taught.

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So it was very much about time on task, as well as

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what are the actual kind of specific areas

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that are being taught in any given subject

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that's being examined.

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Um, and it is still used in that way quite often.

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Um, but that's a little bit more of a kind

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of narrower conception,

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and it's easier to operationalize,

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because we can actually measure it,

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we can measure the amount of time, we can measure

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that what's being taught.

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But over time, people have started to,

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in the field have started to say,

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well, actually, okay, that's great.

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Sure. But we also know that learning happens at home.

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We know that learning happens in the community,

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learning happens in churches, learning happens from peers.

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Um, so there's,

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and it is not just math, it's,

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you know, it's also about teamwork.

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It's about how to interact with your peers,

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all of those types of things.

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And so over time, more

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and more researchers have been calling

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or been saying that, you know, opportunity

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to learn is much more expansive than what, these kind

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of more narrow conceptions, are doing.

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And so even though there are these different calls

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and different conceptualizations, there hasn't been to date

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one kind of place that captures all of that in one model.

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So that's what we're trying to do is really say, yes,

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there are these kind of more traditional narrower co,

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operation operationalization of, of opportunity to learn

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as well as these more kind of expansive

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or less tangible, forms of opportunity to learn.

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And rather than having, you know,

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some people talk about one form

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and another person, other people talking about another form

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and not having them talk together.

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We wanted that to be in one place.

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So what we've done with this model is, is we were inspired

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by a cube model that was developed by Gray

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and Thomas, couple decades ago.

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We were also inspired by the work of Broth

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and Brenner in his ecological model.

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So what we've done is, is, is taken the cube.

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So we have a 3D model with, with, that's just like a cube.

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Each cube is the same in dimensions.

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Um, and each cube has six levels.

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And those six levels, you know, capture on one side,

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one dimension captures the what is being taught.

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So that's the traditional curriculum subjects as well as,

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you know, other subjects

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that maybe are considered less core, but

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but obviously still quite important, like various forms

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of vocational education, sports, music, you know, et cetera.

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Uh, then we have that kind of cultural knowledge.

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And this is stuff that might, may

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or may not be taught in school,

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but obviously could be very important place-based knowledge

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that the knowledge that's held by communities,

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it may be particular communities.

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And then, the kind of more

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what often gets put under the umbrella

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of 21st century learning skills.

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So we have your cognitive skills, you know, the ability

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to think critically, creatively, make connections,

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as well as interpersonal and interpersonal skills.

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So teamwork as well as perseverance

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and grit, self-efficacy, all of those types of things.

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So that's one dimension,

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and we're trying to capture everything there.

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Um, and then another dimension is where is it being done?

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So where is that opportunity being given is,

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so it's at home, it's at school, it's in the classroom,

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it's in the community.

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And then the other, the other kind of dimension is

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who is providing it.

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So, and that reflects to a certain extent the, the place.

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So we have parents, family members,

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we have community members, peers, teachers, community,

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but it also policy makers

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and education authorities as well as, you know,

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national governments that, that perhaps are setting national

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curriculum standards,

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or supernational organizations like the OECD

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that are promulgating certain ideas like global citizenship

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or global competence.

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So those are a bit more indirect,

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but they nevertheless, you know,

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can be playing quite a big role.

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Um, so those are the dimensions of, of the model.

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One of the things that we're really doing with this model

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that I think extends it

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and captures some of the things

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that people have been talking about,

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but perhaps more obliquely, is this notion

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of conditions to learn.

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So, you know, we have opportunities, but those

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Opportunities are shaped by the conditions

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that underlie them, that enable those opportunities

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to be taken or not,

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or enable those opportunities to be, to be provided in more

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or less quality kind of way.

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And so, I guess one

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of the underlying principles in forming this work is, is

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that one of educational justice

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and equity, it's really not achievement gaps

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that we should be thinking about as much,

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it's opportunity gaps.

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And so the achievement gaps may be signaled to us,

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that something is amiss,

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but then what we need to do is look at the opportunity gap

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and the conditions by foregrounding that into the model.

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We're, we're really kind of making that visible

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and saying it's important.

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'cause if it's not there, it's easily kind of just pushed

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to the side or not talked about or not thought about.

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And, you know, I'm a little bit,

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what we also want really wanna do with this model is, is

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by making all of these aspects visible,

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we're holding people accountable as well.

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And again, this is something that, that researchers,

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like Linda Darling Hammond have talked about is, you know,

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it's, yes, parents are accountable for their children.

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Yes, teachers are, are held accountable.

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And we've had a whole accountability kind of, you know,

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discourse that's, that's lasted decades.

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Um, schools are being held

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accountable, and that's important.

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And I'm not saying it shouldn't be the case,

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but we also agree that that, you know, education authorities

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and policy makers need to be held accountable.

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And so by putting them in this model

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and by putting those conditions in the model as well,

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we're really making that visible.

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So it's harder to kind of, you know, ignore it or,

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or say that it doesn't exist.

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Listen, I mean, there, there, I guess there are some kind

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of underlying principles that we talked a little bit about

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that's captured in figure two.

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Um, and,

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and really those just kind of, you know, flesh out some

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of the ways that this model kind of,

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you know, could operate.

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So, you know, and

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so I guess we have 1, 2, 3, 6 different kind of, kind

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of underlying features.

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So one is that it's inclusive, so we're trying to include

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as many different kind of, places and,

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and subjects of learning as possible.

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Um, the other kind of notion is that it's,

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it's, it's not like things only exist in one level,

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so there might be some forms of learning that comprise

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various kind of levels of, of content.

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So if we look at, for example, global citizenship, that

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as a construct comprises disciplinary knowledge plus

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interpersonal knowledge plus, you know, some other things

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as well, you know, so, even though we've kind

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of created these six little levels, that doesn't mean

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that things at particular opportunity

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to learn can only exist at one given

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time in one of those levels.

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You know, it might be across multiple things.

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Um, so another, another I, idea is this idea of kind

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of proximal and distal,

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and again, we're drawing on the ecological model here.

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So some of these kind of, things

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that we've included in the model are very proximal.

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They're very direct. It's the teacher,

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for example, or it's the parent.

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But we think it's also important to include those,

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you know, less visible, more abstract,

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but nevertheless perhaps just as powerful, players

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who are shaping opportunities to learn

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as well as conditions.

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Um, so those are, for example, the education policy makers,

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public policy makers, people that set taxes,

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that fund schools, et cetera, et cetera.

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Um,

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and just like in any ecosystem, you know, there's this idea

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of interaction as well.

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So, you know, what, what one player does here impacts

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what happens at a lower level, which might also impact on

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what happens on the other side of the cube.

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So it's, you know, there's these quite possible,

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could be lots of different interactions,

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and those are things that people could tease out later on.

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Um, there's also this notion of multi directionality.

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So, you know, we don't want it to seem like just

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because something is more, distal,

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that it's always a, you know, always goes in one direction.

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So we could have, forces that go from

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top down to the bottom.

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So national government sets a curriculum framework,

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but we could also have going up bottom up to the top.

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So maybe there's particular, you know,

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school is doing something fantastic

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that inspires authorities

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to think in new ways about different things, for example.

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And then the, the last kind of, principle

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with this is the idea of intersectionality.

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And, and this really gets this idea of, conditions

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and that the conditions for opportunities to learn are not,

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they're not in any society, allocated equitably

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or completely evenly.

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So where one sits in the kind of social hierarchy,

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will determine to a certain extent, one's opportunities,

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and the conditions that allow those opportunities to happen.

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And so opportunity to learn

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and the conditions that support it don't happen in a vacuum.

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And we're just again, you know, wanting to make

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that explicit, wanting that to,

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to be explicitly in the framework to take away this notion

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of, that it's some kind of technical exercise that

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that's not political or, or not structural in any way.

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We're really, wanting

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to disrupt this idea that some forms of learning are,

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are privileged or, or more important than others.

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And, and so by bringing

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It in a visible way

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where we can see all these different places

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and objects of learning, we're hoping to really,

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bring in from the periphery some, some notions that,

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that maybe have been kind of sitting

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and haven't received as much attention.

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Um, we'd all, we'd also really like to kind

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of spark conversations and,

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and think about some deeper ways of thinking about things,

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which I think this model could facilitate.

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And the final thing I'd like to say,

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and this is just, this is not even anything I thought about

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until like about an hour ago,

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and we were not thinking about this when we wrote the

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article, is this whole idea of ai, right?

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So this, this, this AI kind of storm that's happening

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already, people are starting to kind of theorize what kind

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of learning's gonna be important

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and what kind of learning is gonna be automated

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and not as important, and then how do we, you know,

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what does that mean for schools

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and what does that mean for teachers

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and education more broadly?

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And I think, you know, the things that I've been hearing are

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that the manual, the practical are be, are,

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are really not gonna be affected that much,

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by all the machine learning.

12:56.655 --> 12:58.635
Um, but the very, you know, more kind

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of traditional disciplinary subjects probably will be,

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that knowledge will be easier kind of generated

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by, by a machine.

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Um, so what then really becomes important are the things

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that those machines can't do.

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And one of them is, you know, build things.

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And one of them is also talk to people and support people.

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And, as well as, you know, all the kind of creative

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and, empathetic things that humans can do that, that

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possibly machines can't do.

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Um, so again, if we take that notion, you know,

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this model just makes all of those things more visible

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and puts you on an even playing field.

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And I think that can be, maybe a necess

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or a useful roadmap going forward in this age of ai.

Expanding the Concept of Learning Opportunities

00:00:00 - Well, opportunity to learn is a, is an actual concept that's used in educational research. And what it means is, you know, it gets at this idea that you can't really learn something if you haven't been exposed to it. And so it's trying to capture this notion of, you know, the opportunity that someone has had to, to learn something. and so it's typically meant the learning of disciplines like mathematics in classrooms. but we also know that that learning is really much more than just math or reading.
00:00:36 - You know, we as humans learn all the time. And so we wanted to kind of create a model that would capture all of that in one place. So kind of like a, you know, like a uni, a map of the universe or of the globe, you know, to have it all located, just to make visible all of these different types of, of learning and, and where they happen and who they're done by. On the one hand, the way it started, back in the 1960s is that it was very much about
00:01:06 - So the amount of hours that are spent teaching algebra, for example, to 13 year olds. and, and then over time it became, it started to include, you know, what type of topics are being taught. So it was very much about time on task, as well as what are the actual kind of specific areas that are being taught in any given subject that's being examined. and it is still used in that way quite often.
00:01:37 - of narrower conception, and it's easier to operationalize, because we can actually measure it, we can measure the amount of time, we can measure that what's being taught. But over time, people have started to, in the field have started to say, well, actually, okay, that's great. Sure. But we also know that learning happens at home. We know that learning happens in the community, learning happens in churches, learning happens from peers. so there's,
00:02:06 - you know, it's also about teamwork. It's about how to interact with your peers, all of those types of things. And so over time, more and more researchers have been calling or been saying that, you know, opportunity to learn is much more expansive than what, these kind of more narrow conceptions, are doing. And so even though there are these different calls and different conceptualizations, there hasn't been to date one kind of place that captures all of that in one model.
00:02:40 - there are these kind of more traditional narrower co, operation operationalization of, of opportunity to learn as well as these more kind of expansive or less tangible, forms of opportunity to learn. And rather than having, you know, some people talk about one form and another person, other people talking about another form and not having them talk together. We wanted that to be in one place.

Expanding Learning Opportunities through 3D Modeling

00:03:11 - by a cube model that was developed by Gray and Thomas, couple decades ago. We were also inspired by the work of Broth and Brenner in his ecological model. So what we've done is, is, is taken the cube. So we have a 3D model with, with, that's just like a cube. Each cube is the same in dimensions. and each cube has six levels. And those six levels, you know, capture on one side,
00:03:42 - So that's the traditional curriculum subjects as well as, you know, other subjects that maybe are considered less core, but but obviously still quite important, like various forms of vocational education, sports, music, you know, et cetera. then we have that kind of cultural knowledge. And this is stuff that might, may or may not be taught in school, but obviously could be very important place-based knowledge that the knowledge that's held by communities,
00:04:15 - And then, the kind of more what often gets put under the umbrella of 21st century learning skills. So we have your cognitive skills, you know, the ability to think critically, creatively, make connections, as well as interpersonal and interpersonal skills. So teamwork as well as perseverance and grit, self-efficacy, all of those types of things. So that's one dimension, and we're trying to capture everything there.
00:04:48 - So where is that opportunity being given is, so it's at home, it's at school, it's in the classroom, it's in the community. And then the other, the other kind of dimension is who is providing it. So, and that reflects to a certain extent the, the place. So we have parents, family members, we have community members, peers, teachers, community, but it also policy makers and education authorities as well as, you know,
00:05:19 - curriculum standards, or supernational organizations like the OECD that are promulgating certain ideas like global citizenship or global competence. So those are a bit more indirect, but they nevertheless, you know, can be playing quite a big role. so those are the dimensions of, of the model. One of the things that we're really doing with this model that I think extends it and captures some of the things that people have been talking about,
00:05:50 - of conditions to learn. So, you know, we have opportunities, but those Opportunities are shaped by the conditions that underlie them, that enable those opportunities to be taken or not, or enable those opportunities to be, to be provided in more or less quality kind of way. And so, I guess one of the underlying principles in forming this work is, is that one of educational justice

Highlighting Opportunity Gaps in Education

00:06:19 - that we should be thinking about as much, it's opportunity gaps. And so the achievement gaps may be signaled to us, that something is amiss, but then what we need to do is look at the opportunity gap and the conditions by foregrounding that into the model. We're, we're really kind of making that visible and saying it's important. 'cause if it's not there, it's easily kind of just pushed to the side or not talked about or not thought about. And, you know, I'm a little bit,
00:06:50 - by making all of these aspects visible, we're holding people accountable as well. And again, this is something that, that researchers, like Linda Darling Hammond have talked about is, you know, it's, yes, parents are accountable for their children. Yes, teachers are, are held accountable. And we've had a whole accountability kind of, you know, discourse that's, that's lasted decades. schools are being held accountable, and that's important. And I'm not saying it shouldn't be the case,
00:07:23 - and policy makers need to be held accountable. And so by putting them in this model and by putting those conditions in the model as well, we're really making that visible. So it's harder to kind of, you know, ignore it or, or say that it doesn't exist. Listen, I mean, there, there, I guess there are some kind of underlying principles that we talked a little bit about that's captured in figure two. and, and really those just kind of, you know, flesh out some
00:07:55 - you know, could operate. So, you know, and so I guess we have 1, 2, 3, 6 different kind of, kind of underlying features. So one is that it's inclusive, so we're trying to include as many different kind of, places and, and subjects of learning as possible. the other kind of notion is that it's, it's, it's not like things only exist in one level, so there might be some forms of learning that comprise
00:08:29 - So if we look at, for example, global citizenship, that as a construct comprises disciplinary knowledge plus interpersonal knowledge plus, you know, some other things as well, you know, so, even though we've kind of created these six little levels, that doesn't mean that things at particular opportunity to learn can only exist at one given time in one of those levels. You know, it might be across multiple things.
00:09:03 - of proximal and distal, and again, we're drawing on the ecological model here. So some of these kind of, things that we've included in the model are very proximal. They're very direct. It's the teacher, for example, or it's the parent. But we think it's also important to include those, you know, less visible, more abstract, but nevertheless perhaps just as powerful, players

Exploring Learning Conditions and Policy Impacts

00:09:31 - as well as conditions. so those are, for example, the education policy makers, public policy makers, people that set taxes, that fund schools, et cetera, et cetera. and just like in any ecosystem, you know, there's this idea of interaction as well. So, you know, what, what one player does here impacts what happens at a lower level, which might also impact on what happens on the other side of the cube. So it's, you know, there's these quite possible,
00:10:03 - and those are things that people could tease out later on. there's also this notion of multi directionality. So, you know, we don't want it to seem like just because something is more, distal, that it's always a, you know, always goes in one direction. So we could have, forces that go from top down to the bottom. So national government sets a curriculum framework, but we could also have going up bottom up to the top.
00:10:35 - school is doing something fantastic that inspires authorities to think in new ways about different things, for example. And then the, the last kind of, principle with this is the idea of intersectionality. And, and this really gets this idea of, conditions and that the conditions for opportunities to learn are not, they're not in any society, allocated equitably or completely evenly.
00:11:10 - will determine to a certain extent, one's opportunities, and the conditions that allow those opportunities to happen. And so opportunity to learn and the conditions that support it don't happen in a vacuum. And we're just again, you know, wanting to make that explicit, wanting that to, to be explicitly in the framework to take away this notion of, that it's some kind of technical exercise that
00:11:40 - We're really, wanting to disrupt this idea that some forms of learning are, are privileged or, or more important than others. And, and so by bringing It in a visible way where we can see all these different places and objects of learning, we're hoping to really, bring in from the periphery some, some notions that, that maybe have been kind of sitting and haven't received as much attention.
00:12:10 - of spark conversations and, and think about some deeper ways of thinking about things, which I think this model could facilitate. And the final thing I'd like to say, and this is just, this is not even anything I thought about until like about an hour ago, and we were not thinking about this when we wrote the article, is this whole idea of ai, right? So this, this, this AI kind of storm that's happening already, people are starting to kind of theorize what kind of learning's gonna be important and what kind of learning is gonna be automated

Navigating Education in the Age of AI

00:12:42 - what does that mean for schools and what does that mean for teachers and education more broadly? And I think, you know, the things that I've been hearing are that the manual, the practical are be, are, are really not gonna be affected that much, by all the machine learning. but the very, you know, more kind of traditional disciplinary subjects probably will be, that knowledge will be easier kind of generated by, by a machine. so what then really becomes important are the things that those machines can't do.
00:13:39 - And one of them is also talk to people and support people. And, as well as, you know, all the kind of creative and, empathetic things that humans can do that, that possibly machines can't do. so again, if we take that notion, you know, this model just makes all of those things more visible and puts you on an even playing field. And I think that can be, maybe a necess or a useful roadmap going forward in this age of ai.

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