Measuring Human Return: Understand and Assess What Really Matters for Deeper Learning

Human return is the human capacity to contribute to other people's lives and to the world.

It's incredibly important in the lives of every one of us, because when we contribute―when we add to the world―that gives us meaning, fulfillment, and well-being. So, what does it take to contribute?

It takes four learning outcomes that all schools can develop:

• Self-understanding. Who am I, how do I fit into the world, and how can I contribute back to humanity?
• Connection. How am I connected to others, my environments, the whole of humanity, and the world all around us?
• Knowledge. What do I need to know about the world and its workings to contribute in the ways that I want to contribute?
• Competency. What are the competencies that will help me learn what I need to and use it to contribute?

Measuring Human Return deeply explores these four outcomes and how to develop them across schools and school systems. It includes diverse vignettes and case studies from all over the world, strategies and processes for your work with your students, and a comprehensive system of tools to help you develop and measure the outcomes that matter.

A powerful resource for teachers, principals, and school system leaders who are interested in bringing deeper learning to life, this book will help your students learn what they need to succeed―now, and over the course of their lives.

Joanne McEachen is founder and CEO of The Learner First (thelearnerfirst.com), an international education consultancy based in Seattle, Washington. She leads a team of dedicated education and evaluation specialists who support school systems through the processes of assessment, measurement, and whole-system change. Her methodology interrogates systems through the eyes of their least-served learners, supporting them to embrace and celebrate students’ cultural identities and individual interests and needs. Joanne also serves as the Global New Measures Director for New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL), an international partnership focused on measuring and developing six global competencies of deep learning (the “6Cs”), where she works alongside and in partnership with Michael Fullan, Joanne Quinn, and other educators and system leaders worldwide. With her NPDL cofounders, Joanne coauthored Deep Learning: Engage the World, Change the World, which shares and celebrates the learning emerging from throughout NPDL.

 

Joanne’s expertise spans every level of the educational system. She has been a teacher, principal, superintendent, and national-school-system leader in her home country of New Zealand and around the world, and she has worked with multiple large and diverse school districts in the US to bring deeper learning to life. Drawing from rich and varied experiences tackling the issues faced by schools, districts, education departments, and the individuals within them, Joanne shares measures, tools, approaches, and insights that deepen learning for every learner.

Matthew Kane is the Director of Research and Writing at The Learner First, where he focuses on the role and experiences of school systems in developing the learning outcomes that contribute to lifelong success, connect us with one another, and make a difference in our communities. He has partnered with diverse schools and school systems globally to develop deeper learning tools, language, and practices, and he works as a senior project manager with the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) global partnership. Matthew graduated from the University of Notre Dame and lives in Seattle, Washington.