Remake Learning

COME ONE, COME ALL—kids, tweens, teens, makers and tinkerers, creatives, designers, and digital tech fans! Thanks to Remake Learning, learning is happening everywhere, all the time in Pittsburgh—in museums, labs, libraries, parks, community centers, schools, and online.

In 2007, a diverse group of Pittsburgh’s educators, funders, academics, and citizens gathered to exchange ideas and look for novel ways to build up the region’s learning ecosystem. They envisioned a living, learning community—alive with creativity and opportunity. They wanted to nurture and celebrate imaginative thinking, curiosity, and exploration for all children. What they sought was a 21st century model of creativity, collaboration, and community. Learners in the Pittsburgh region now have a ton of ways to pursue their curiosities, challenge themselves, and deepen their learning experiences both inside and outside the walls of school. And best of all—these experiences count!

From the beginning, this forward-thinking group of educators and innovators saw that learning does not stop when a kid leaves the school building—the playground for learning spans the entire community. This demands a network of open-walled experiences, creating a comprehensive, citywide learning ecosystem. How do you do this? One way is to use digital badges to recognize deeper learning.

To help its member organizations develop a common language across diverse learning programs, Remake Learning endeavored to develop a rigorous competency-based framework for issuing badges when learners can demonstrate that a particular set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions have been achieved. The Remake Learning Competencies, developed through the active engagement of more than 100 local subject matter experts, informal and formal educators, youth workers, and program managers, form the foundation of learning pathways that connect learners to the opportunities offered by schools, afterschool programs, cultural organizations, and online learning resources.

These bountiful opportunities are designed to delight, enrich, and inspire learners—setting them up to be lifelong learners who thrive in school, college, and the workforce. With millions of dollars invested, thousands of children engaged, and hundreds of practitioners leading dozens of projects, Remake Learning is yielding tangible results for children and youth in communities throughout the region.

This growing, living, open learning system is part of an emerging movement across the country to reimagine and remake learning—inspiring others to look at their communities with new lenses and see a world of opportunities right in their own backyards.