That educational systems in nearly every industrialized country are facing a serious crisis in preparing students for the future is a common refrain we hear in our Ex nihilo conversations. When schools and universities issue certificates holding little more value than the paper they are printed on, when it’s difficult telling whether a homework assignment or Bachelor‛s thesis is a ChatGPT production or the student’s own work, and when students struggle to meet modularized educational standards — it’s easy to blame Computer Games, Social Media, and Artificial Intelligence for this decline. However, the signs of this downward trend have long been evident, becoming increasingly noticeable as students rebel by resisting classroom participation — or, worse, having their curiosity stifled by an educational system lacking relevance to real life. Because of this, we were especially interested to speak with an educational researcher who has dedicated her career to studying this phenomenon across many institutions and countries to better understand its underlying issues. Our conversation with Rebecca Winthrop was particularly enjoyable and insightful as she shared her perspectives and experiences on how to best use her findings to address the educational needs of preparing future generations for our rapidly changing, AI-driven World.
As a leading global expert on educational needs, Dr. Rebecca Winthrop has dedicated her career to working with various governmental and international organizations to find the best ways to support students in becoming constructive, connected citizens. She is the Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institute, a Senior Fellow in their Global Economy and Development Program, currently heads the Brookings Global Task Force on AI in Education, and is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. She has authored numerous works on educational research and needs, the most recent being The Disengaged Teen, co-authored with Jenny Anderson.
Rebecca Winthrop has published
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