I’m super curious how web3 may transform teaching and learning. One challenge in this endeavor is that many of us shared very similar formal education experiences. We went to school, sat in rows, took classes by subject, did homework, and took lots of tests. Our experiences vary little from school to school, state to state, and even country to country. We share similar mental models for how we think teaching and learning should be.

So in order to make the most of web3 and the new technology coming out of that space we must shift our mental models. 2/Mental models are essential components of our daily lives. They not only shape what we think and how we understand things, but they shape how we connect things we already know. For a simple example think filing cabinet, we use drawers and folders already organized to store and collect information.

https://fs.blog/mental-models/

A simple experiment that can help illustrate this point is, when I say “school” what comes to mind? I would venture to guess that you came up with an image that looks like a typical classroom where desks were positioned in rows, the chalkboard at the front of the room and where the regular cadence of worksheets, quizzes, and tests are the norm. Carrying that image farther you probably remember bell schedules telling you when class was up and each class being siloed into specific subject areas.

I think there are two important steps we must take:

1. expand the range of mental models that we attach to the how we define education

2. be mindful that we don’t pigeon hole new tech in old systems.

When we talk about education, the immediate reaction is often to default to our traditional schooling. But if we take a step back, som reflection may lead us to some interesting places. If I asked you to describe the most powerful learning experience you’ve had you may be surprised where that leads. I can speak personally, and also through the research I’ve conducted with school leaders in the past and found that many times our most powerful learning didn’t take place in a school.

Chances are what you are imagining is an experience that was rich contextually, connected to real problems, required personal growth and maybe collaboration, may have very well taken place outside of a school. Perhaps you may have leveraged certain technologies to access a community or network to learn more about a topic.

If we use our most powerful learning experiences as a landmark we can help redefine our own personal mental model on what education is. This can be a helpful first step to begin to refresh our thinking.

Through my pursuit of understanding how we can lead towards more human centered design in education I found The 5 Elements: A North Star for Learner-Centered Education by Education Reimagined to be a particularly helpful resources for expanding my thinking on traditional education. The five elements of learner-centered education are meant to guide innovation in local communities rather than serve as a rigid model to be followed.

https://education-reimagined.org/five-elements-north-star-innovation/

In addition to updating our mental models we have to be thoughtful about how we leverage new technology in teaching and learning being careful not to try and shoehorn it into our traditional systems. The first wave of technology in schools provided a way to digitize what was once on paper. While innovations have led to an expansion of the use of technology, that impact has been in my opinion underwhelming. While the reason for the lack of change is complex, a key element has been the fact that technology has been made to fit the narrow views of learner achievement that were in place prior to the emergence of tech in the classroom.

An important first step to not committing web3 to the same fate as web2 in education is expanding our mental models. Education isn’t the only space where we need to be thinking more diversely. Similar conversations are occurring across the web3 space as many are making claims based on the assumption that digital currencies and fiat are the same. While they share some similarities they are fundamentally different assets. ‎Bankless episode 113, How to Be Early | Olaf Carlson-Wee, illustrates this point. Note ~52:00 mark

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bankless/id1499409058?i=1000557069638

Most likely the largest mega trend of our lives is just getting started. Collectively technologies that undergird web3 including , blockchain, distrubted ledger tech, crypto, decentralized finance, etc. have the potential to paint a new education canvas. To make the most of this opportunity we must not pin ourselves in with old thinking. How do we do that? While my cursory search didn’t reveal a ton of thoughts here, perhaps just more searching required, I came across an interesting article that had some unique insights.

https://sjms.nu/articles/10.31374/sjms.117/

This 2022 publication on how innovation has rooted in the Swedish military by analyzing mental models. Not a perfect analogy with education, but can help illuminate promising practices. The article is great, dense, but great. To cut to the chase though, the research conducted led to a couple of takeaways I find relevant to the conversation here:

1. The forming of shared mental models is critical.

2. Adoption becomes greater when discourse around diverging mental models is made visible.

In other words, adoption is more likely when we hold space to discuss mental models, and form new ones through shared experience. Wether you’re in education or not, you probably understand the importance of learning together, and this article further underscores that importance.

I’m super curious how web3 may transform teaching and learning. One challenge in this endeavor is that many of us shared very similar formal education experiences. We went to school, sat in rows, took classes by subject, did homework, and took lots of tests. Our experiences vary little from school to school, state to state, and even country to country. We share similar mental models for how we think teaching and learning should be.

So in order to make the most of web3 and the new technology coming out of that space we must shift our mental models. 2/Mental models are essential components of our daily lives. They not only shape what we think and how we understand things, but they shape how we connect things we already know. For a simple example think filing cabinet, we use drawers and folders already organized to store and collect information.

https://fs.blog/mental-models/

A simple experiment that can help illustrate this point is, when I say “school” what comes to mind? I would venture to guess that you came up with an image that looks like a typical classroom where desks were positioned in rows, the chalkboard at the front of the room and where the regular cadence of worksheets, quizzes, and tests are the norm. Carrying that image farther you probably remember bell schedules telling you when class was up and each class being siloed into specific subject areas.

I think there are two important steps we must take:

1. expand the range of mental models that we attach to the how we define education

2. be mindful that we don’t pigeon hole new tech in old systems.

When we talk about education, the immediate reaction is often to default to our traditional schooling. But if we take a step back, som reflection may lead us to some interesting places. If I asked you to describe the most powerful learning experience you’ve had you may be surprised where that leads. I can speak personally, and also through the research I’ve conducted with school leaders in the past and found that many times our most powerful learning didn’t take place in a school.

Chances are what you are imagining is an experience that was rich contextually, connected to real problems, required personal growth and maybe collaboration, may have very well taken place outside of a school. Perhaps you may have leveraged certain technologies to access a community or network to learn more about a topic.

If we use our most powerful learning experiences as a landmark we can help redefine our own personal mental model on what education is. This can be a helpful first step to begin to refresh our thinking.

Through my pursuit of understanding how we can lead towards more human centered design in education I found The 5 Elements: A North Star for Learner-Centered Education by Education Reimagined to be a particularly helpful resources for expanding my thinking on traditional education. The five elements of learner-centered education are meant to guide innovation in local communities rather than serve as a rigid model to be followed.

https://education-reimagined.org/five-elements-north-star-innovation/

In addition to updating our mental models we have to be thoughtful about how we leverage new technology in teaching and learning being careful not to try and shoehorn it into our traditional systems. The first wave of technology in schools provided a way to digitize what was once on paper. While innovations have led to an expansion of the use of technology, that impact has been in my opinion underwhelming. While the reason for the lack of change is complex, a key element has been the fact that technology has been made to fit the narrow views of learner achievement that were in place prior to the emergence of tech in the classroom.

An important first step to not committing web3 to the same fate as web2 in education is expanding our mental models. Education isn’t the only space where we need to be thinking more diversely. Similar conversations are occurring across the web3 space as many are making claims based on the assumption that digital currencies and fiat are the same. While they share some similarities they are fundamentally different assets. ‎Bankless episode 113, How to Be Early | Olaf Carlson-Wee, illustrates this point. Note ~52:00 mark

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bankless/id1499409058?i=1000557069638

Most likely the largest mega trend of our lives is just getting started. Collectively technologies that undergird web3 including , blockchain, distrubted ledger tech, crypto, decentralized finance, etc. have the potential to paint a new education canvas. To make the most of this opportunity we must not pin ourselves in with old thinking. How do we do that? While my cursory search didn’t reveal a ton of thoughts here, perhaps just more searching required, I came across an interesting article that had some unique insights.

https://sjms.nu/articles/10.31374/sjms.117/

This 2022 publication on how innovation has rooted in the Swedish military by analyzing mental models. Not a perfect analogy with education, but can help illuminate promising practices. The article is great, dense, but great. To cut to the chase though, the research conducted led to a couple of takeaways I find relevant to the conversation here:

1. The forming of shared mental models is critical.

2. Adoption becomes greater when discourse around diverging mental models is made visible.

In other words, adoption is more likely when we hold space to discuss mental models, and form new ones through shared experience. Wether you’re in education or not, you probably understand the importance of learning together, and this article further underscores that importance.