Michelle R. Weise's Blog, page 5

Pandemic Lockdowns of 2020 Revealed the Biggest Challenge for Upstart Education Efforts: Time

Featured in EdSurge

As we close out 2020, we the people are tired. Essential workers, healthcare heroes and frontline warriors have been bearing the brunt of the impact on our education and hospital systems, as well as businesses and organizations, both private and public. Non-essential workers are tired from zoom fatigue, quarantine orders, the election and justice-seeking. A crevasse divides red from blue, and we are tapped out of empathy for the other side.

Working parents are exhausted from having to blur the lines between caregiving and work—juggling both at once … 24/7. Even before the pandemic, as many as 73 percent of employees reported having some type of caregiving responsibility that could take up anywhere from 24 to 40 hours of their week. Now we’re doing both simultaneously.

But it was all hidden from view, especially from employers—all of the work revolving around caring for our children and aging parents, our sick, injured and disabled loved ones. And then in one fell swoop, there we were in one another’s kitchens, garages and basements, with kids and pets interrupting our video calls as we attempted to balance work, education and survival all at once.

In the midst of all of this juggling, it became clear that only a select few can actually “buy time” away from this frenzy. More affluent families are able to buy their way out of “time poverty”—the phenomenon of having too many things to do and not enough time to complete them. They can substitute money for time by purchasing goods and services that save time—paying for childcare and learning pods, for example. The implications are immense because we know that parental wealth and socioeconomic status are the strongest indicators of children’s educational outcomes in the U.S.

But what about everyone else? The bottom quarter of wage earners—those making less than $27,000 a year—have lost almost 11 million jobs since April, according to Harvard University economist Raj Chetty. The poorest half of Americans accounted for approximately 80 percent of those lost jobs. Without recourse to school and child care, women exited the workforce at alarming rates, prompting C. Nicole Mason, president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, to name the mass exodus a “shecession.” Women, especially women of color, have borne the brunt of caregiving responsibilities.

It’s all out there in plain sight—the devastating effects of COVID-19 and the inadequacies of the American education and workforce infrastructure.

Rapid reskilling efforts have therefore become the latest buzz. Lower-wage workers need better support, guidance, funding and skills training—yesterday. But greater investments in education and training will not work until we solve for this first-order constraint of time.

Time is the biggest barrier—the biggest point of friction when it comes to companies allocating time for learning new skills. Organizations often do not carve out time for reskilling or upskilling. For instance, despite all of the new-fangled upskilling initiatives or the hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into new programs by Amazon and JPMorgan Chase, the tacit expectation is that employees will magically find extra time to upskill themselves on top of the myriad other responsibilities they are juggling.

But many working parents, who make up roughly half of our workforce, have lost their child care, and they do not have “time off” to develop new skills on their own. Employers must therefore embed more learning opportunities that are integrated into workdays—learning experiences that are hands-on, experiential, work-based, contextualized in the real-world and tied to clear performance outcomes.

University programs, too, must evolve to serve working parents and student parents, who make up one in five college students or 22 percent of all undergraduates. Our systems are not set up for people to navigate just-in-time learning pathways that teach lean manufacturing, data management, cloud computing or whatever the hot skill may be, and actually fit into the schedules of students who are also parents.

So, despite how tired we all are, we cannot let ourselves off the hook. The problem to solve is in plain sight. Workers and learners will never be able to advance unless companies and educators develop new strategies to salvage working learners’ most precious and limited resource: time.

How to Redesign Our Educational System for Lifelong Learning

Michelle connects with EdSurge Podcast host Jeffrey Young to discuss how we look ahead to a time of unprecedented uncertainty.

Who can "buy time" during a pandemic?

Published by Imaginable Futures

With the number of new COVID-19 cases vaulting over 200,000 per day, we can anticipate that child care and schooling options will become even more limited as states move to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Throughout most of 2020, many families have had to blur the lines between caregiving and work. For many families with lower incomes, adult-child interactions have been fraying from the added and exacerbated challenges of having to balance work, education and survival all at once.

Half of Americans with the lowest incomes account for approximately 80% of jobs gone. According to economist Raj Chetty, the bottom quarter of wage earners have lost almost 11 million jobs since April—three times the number lost by the top quarter.

The ramifications are staggering, especially when we consider that parental wealth and socioeconomic status are the strongest indicators of children’s educational outcomes in the U.S. The vicious cycle worsens. Even pre-COVID, the prospects were grim for children from low-income households: Only two out of every 25 children reached the top rungs of the economic ladder.

In order to strengthen family success and remove obstacles to intergenerational mobility, we must make sure to deal with “time poverty”—the phenomenon of having too many things to do, and not enough time to complete them. For the millions of recently laid-off and furloughed workers seeking new work through more training, the cost of education extends far beyond the cost of foregone wages, or tuition and fees. More education and training tugs on people’s most precious and limited resource of all: time.

Adults, especially parents and caregivers, are inundated with responsibilities as they struggle to stay afloat. Without recourse to school and child care, women have borne the brunt of caregiving responsibilities. C. Nicole Mason, president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), a partner of Imaginable Futures, names the mass exodus of women from the workforce a “shecession.”

Layer on the additional responsibility of schooling, and you have 3.8 million student parents currently enrolled in degree programs who find it challenging to take on the added time commitment of pursuing postsecondary education, along with the tens of millions of others who have some credit but no degree. The struggles only compound when we consider that the median age of student parents is 32. They mostly are women (70%) and people of color (56%), also grappling personally with the racial and social unrest in our country.

Without “enough hours in a day,” as one student parent described it, mothers admit to feeling torn, unable to focus on school. One woman from our Imaginable Futures partner Ascend described her pattern of starting and then inevitably failing to persist because: “It was a struggle—just the hours of having to sit in the classroom, when I had little kids at home. I was still working full-time. And years later [when I tried again], it was the same. I kind of fell back again.”

Another parent shared the lengths she would go to in order to squeeze in education into her week: “I lived across the street from campus, so I would go home to bring [my baby] the bottles that I had pumped in between classes. I would stack my classes to be all in one day, so that way, I could work the other days. Sometimes I would be on campus from 8:00 am till 10:00 pm at night. I would just have classes all day long.”

Universities weren’t originally designed to serve student parents, but there’s no reason they can’t evolve to be more learner-centered. According to a study from IWPR on the time demands of mothers, student parents who used a campus child care center “had an on-time graduation rate that was more than three times higher than those who did not use campus child care.” Rather than leave learners to force-fit nonlinear realities into a rigidly linear system, schools can make it easier for people to return, retrain and navigate just-in-time learning pathways that are directly aligned to workforce needs.

At the same time, employers are equally challenged when it comes to solving this first-order constraint of time. Time is the biggest barrier—the biggest point of friction when it comes to companies allocating time for learning new skills. Many simply don’t carve out time for reskilling or upskilling. Instead, they expect employees to layer learning on top of the myriad other responsibilities they are juggling—and outside of or in addition to work. But how exactly are people supposed to find time for rapid reskilling in their already limited time?

It is imperative that employers embed more learning opportunities that are integrated into workdays—learning experiences that are hands-on, work-based, contextualized in the real-world and tied to clear performance outcomes. Time during the workday for integrated earning and learning is crucial for low-wage workers seeking to advance.

We must—and can—do better. Learning providers and employers must engage with student parents and working parents differently than before. Millions of people have lost and are losing their jobs, and their focus is on survival and moving as quickly as possible toward something sustainable, and hopefully, better. Many working parents, who make up roughly half of our workforce, have lost their child care, and they do not have “time off” to develop new skills on their own.

As we move into 2021 still grappling with an unrelenting virus, companies and educators must develop new strategies to salvage working learners’ most precious resource of time. Solving for intergenerational poverty means tackling time poverty.

Harvard Business School: The Disruptive Voice (podcast)

The Disruptive Voice explores the theories of disruptive innovation across a broad set of industries and circumstances with academics, researchers, and practitioners who have been inspired and taught by Harvard Business School Professor Clayton M. Christensen, the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration and one of the world’s top experts on growth and innovation.

The robots are coming - are you ready for the #futureofwork?

This week on "Dr. Dawn on Careers" we speak about Dr. Michelle Weise's new book "Long Life Learning" and how you can start to prepare for jobs that don't even exist yet!

Dr. Dawn Graham is the Career Director for the Executive MBA Program at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and host of the live call-in show “Dr. Dawn on Careers” on SiriusXM Radio.

Getting Smart Podcast

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark sits down with author and advisor Michelle Weise to discuss her new book Long Life Learning: Preparing For Jobs that Don’t Even Exist Yet.

In this conversation, Tom and Michelle discuss her background in the arts and innovation; how and why she came to write her new book, Long Life Learning; what long life learning means to her; what she predicts to be the future of business models for long life learning; and her advice on how we can all make good decisions about what to learn next no matter where we are on our long life learning journey.

On one of the most important lessons learned in her time at the Christensen institute: “It doesn’t matter the data you bring to the table if you cannot figure out a way to tell the story that captivates people.”

In response to the question, What are the business models for long life learning going to be? “We shouldn’t always be recruiting externally. [We should be asking] what talent do we have access to right now? They are not talking about solving for time, they are talking about solving for skills. The onus can’t be on the individual, employers need to carve out parts of the day. They used to train workers at least 2.5 weeks/year and now it’s not skill training, it’s behavioral training and far less time.” This leads to a discussion about time poverty.

Michelle also discusses one of the many benefits of AI in education, that you can coordinate with AI to discover and name competencies that were previously hidden. With this support, we can better envision pathways forward for ourselves.
On how to keep getting smarter: “Write a lot. I have to start pulling thoughts together on the page.”

Also, check out one of Michelle’s favorite Louise Glück poems.

Long Life Learning Book Summary:
Long Life Learning offers readers a fascinating glimpse into a future where the average working life has no beginning, middle, or end. Contemplating a shift from the educational all-you-can-eat buffet of college and university to an “as-you-need-it” approach to delivering education, author Michelle Weise explains why and how worker education is overdue for momentous changes.
Written in two parts, Long Life Learning begins by imagining a world where increased lifespans have contributed to creating working lives that span over 100 years. The book asks the question that naturally arises as a result: Will a four-year education taken at the beginning of a 100-year career adequately prepare a worker for their entire working life?
After providing readers a thorough explanation of why our current education system is poorly equipped to educate workers for such a long journey, Weise outlines the solutions to the shortcomings of the existing framework. From wraparound supports for workers to targeted education, integrated earning and learning, and transparent and fair hiring, Long Life Learning describes exactly how the existing education system must adapt in order to meet the needs of a new generation of workers. The book makes a compelling case for the coming need for ongoing, periodic education, as well as training that is seamlessly integrated into our future jobs.
Perfect for workers, young and old, and the educators and employers preparing talent as the ground shifts underneath their feet, Long Life Learning belongs on the bookshelves of anyone with an interest in the future of work, education, and the labor market.
Key Takeaways:
[:10] About today’s episode with Michelle Weise.
[:55] Tom Vander Ark welcomes Michelle to the podcast.
[1:37] When did Michelle’s interest in language, literature, and poetry begin?
[2:27] Michelle elaborates on her deep passion for poetry and how both reading and writing it helped her get through the death of her 10th-grade chemistry teacher.
[3:07] Michelle’s exploration of Asian-American and African-American poetry and fiction in graduate school.
[5:14] How and why Michelle came to be a Fulbright Scholar in Seoul, South Korea.
[6:20] Michelle’s path after coming from Korea and why she decided to join an ed-tech start-up with Gunnar Counselman.
[9:15] After a short stint at Fidelis, Michelle joined the Clayton Christensen Institute as a Senior Research Fellow of Higher Education for nearly 2½ years. There, she also had the opportunity to write a book with him called, Education: Mastery, Modularization, and the Workforce Revolution.
[9:38] Michelle’s experience working with Clayton on their book together.
[10:57] Tom reflects on a past experience with Clay and Michelle shares an important lesson that she learned through working with him.
[13:16] After Christensen Institute, Michelle did another three-year stint at Strada, a non-profit impact fund in Indianapolis.
[13:50] About Michelle’s role at Strada and how it led to her writing her new book, Long Life Learning
[15:53] At Strada, Michelle had the opportunity to interview hundreds of people. Was this specific to Long Life Learning or was it more for the R&D center at Strada?
[17:00] Young people today are not only going to live longer but they’re also going to experience more change in their lifetimes than previous generations. The old model of education and work is already becoming obsolete. As Michelle shares in her book, we need to begin thinking about long life learning.
[20:22] With this knowledge, is it becoming less critical to make a decision about where you go to college immediately after high school?
[22:44] Would Michelle agree or disagree with the sentiment Ryan Craig expressed in his 2018 book, A New U, that unless you can get a free or subsidized education at a selective university you really should think about a hard sprint to a good first job as an entry point to an earn-and-learn ladder?
[25:58] Does Michelle foresee Gen Zers having careers somewhat resembling her own? I.e. taking a “tour of duty” approach?
[28:17] What are the business models for long life learning going to be?
[32:03] What advice do people need to make good decisions about what to learn next?
[37:24] Does Michelle see AI making it easier for us to learn in the direction we point to?
[40:28] Is Michelle optimistic about adaptive learning?
[42:17] Some of the other ways Michelle sees AI aiding us in the future.
[43:58] Does AI have the potential to make hiring more equitable? Or is Michelle concerned that more inequity will surface in AI-driven systems?
[46:11] As a long-life learner herself, how does Michelle continue her journey every day in “getting smart?”
[48:23] Tom thanks Michelle for joining the podcast.
Mentioned in This Episode:

Michelle Weise ’ s LinkedIn
Long Life Learning : Preparing for Jobs that Don ‘ t Even Exist Yet , by Michelle Weise
Imaginable Futures
The Omidyar Group
Education : Mastery , Modularization , and the Workforce Revolution , by Clayton Christensen and Michelle Weise
The Power of Place : Authentic Learning Through Place – Based Education , by Tom Vander Ark , Emily Liebtag , and Nate McClennon
Emily Dickinson ( Poet )
The Art of Hunger : Essays , Prefaces , Interviews , by Paul Auster
Kamau Brathwaite ( Poet )
Rita Dove ( Poet )
Fulbright Korea
Gunnar Counselman
Michael Horn
Strada Education Network
Derek Thompson on The Atlantic
Crazy / Genius Podcast by Derek Thompson
Stanford d . school
Harvard Extension School
A New U : Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College , by Ryan Craig
David Blake
Learn In
Louise Glück Wins the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature
Getting Smart Podcast Ep . 285: “ Amy Klement on Equity and Imaginable Futures ”
Difference Making at the Heart of Learning : Students , Schools , and Communities Alive With Possibility , by Tom Vander Ark and Emily Liebtag

University Innovation Alliance Author Spotlight

Bridget Burns, the Executive Director of the University Innovation Alliance, chats with Michelle about the implications of Long Life Learning on universities, educators, and practitioners.

Rebuilding the learning ecosystem for the future of work

Ramona Schindelheim interviews Michelle all about her new book for Working Nation's podcast, Work in Progress. Listen here:

Click here for more information from Working Nation: https://workingnation.com/rebuilding-...

How Workers Shift from One Industry to Another (Harvard Business Review)

With unemployment claims in the United States now reaching more than 45 million, the pandemic is laying bare the great deficiencies of the American education and workforce infrastructure, which has never been well-suited to helping low-wage workers navigate to higher economic ground.

But we can now map the trajectories of people who have successfully made the leap to different industries and higher-wage roles. And we can see which skills have been particularly valuable in propelling those career switches.

Read more of Michelle's article on ,,Harvard Business Review.

,,https://hbr.org/2020/07/research-how-workers-shift-from-one-industry-to-another

A New Learning Ecosystem Is More Important Than Ever (Forbes)

Published in Forbes

Even before this global pandemic, we were confronted with a dire problem of social (im)mobility for our most vulnerable citizens. Since 1979, the gains of the wealthiest Americans had grown four times as fast as those of the bottom 10 percent of the population, widening inequality. Globally, the top 10 percent in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries had been earning ten times more than the bottom 10 percent. That, coupled with increased automation and advancements in technology, already had economists in a frenzy trying to put a finger on the massive job losses to come, especially for low-wage workers. 

That was then. This is now. 

Today, that worrisome future of work—of massive job obsolescence and unemployment—has become our present.

Click here to r ,ead more .