Transforming the Education Sector into a Learning System: Reflections on the Pandemic
Published September 2021
In this third entry in a series about how we must prioritize adopting a learning system approach at all levels of the pk-12 education system, we explore how our learning system framework played out in our sector’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify both gaps — missed opportunities to advance a learning system and systemic shortcomings that deepened the challenges our schools faced — and bright spots — existing and new efforts where learning system approaches supported more effective action. Drawing on those lessons, we argue the pandemic has strengthened the case for a learning system approach, adding urgency to our recommendations for early action. This new brief also shares resources and examples to help educators do this hard but essential work.