Paced Education - Stanford 2025

Paced education was designed to promote academic exploration and then push rigor within disciplines. Students now moved through phases of learning based on ... Home Explore OpenLoopUniversity PacedEducation AxisFlip PurposeLearning Build About Part2(New!) PacedEducation In2100,weexaminetheeraswhenStanfordabolishedtheclassyearandembracedadaptivelearning.  TheSummaryTakeapeekintoarchivalfootagerescuedfromthefuturetodiscoverhowlearningoncampuswastransformedbyPacedEducation.  KeyDetails  HistoricalNotesTheSettingPrepare,apply,cram,conform,getthrough,graduate...thensearch,flounder,flail: thiswasthearchetypalexperienceofauniversitystudentattheturnofthe21stcentury. Disruptivetechnologieswerelaunchingfasterthanhumanscouldlearnthem,andthenewlyglobalizedeconomymeantanunprecedentedlevelofinterconnectedness.Itwasapolarized,class-divided,risk-averse,butthrill-seekingworld. Schoolsatthattime—society’scoremechanismforstrengtheningpeople’sabilitytoadapt—weremiredinconventionalapproachesandstruggling tochange. TheK-12educationsystemintheUnitedStateswasstillbuiltuponametronomic,industrialapproach,whiletheworkingworldwasmorechaoticandambiguousthaneverbefore. Theageofcomplexityhadbegun.Highereducationwasanexpensivestaginggroundbetweenanoverlysupervisedadolescenceandawildlycomplicatedadulthood.Collegeneededtoregainitsplaceastheexperiencethattaughtstudentshowtobeperpetuallearnersandtoapplyskillstotheworldoutsideitswalls.  TheShiftFrom1891-2019,studentsatStanfordwereslottedintooneoffourgroupsbasedonage:Freshman,Sophomore,Junior,andSenior.Theymovedthroughthislegacyorganizationalsystemyearafteryear,butin2019thelandscapechanged.   TheducksbeforetheducksUnliketoday,DuckSyndromeusedtobeapejorativeterm.Linguistichistoriansdeterminedthat,pre-2019,itwasusedtocharacterizetheappearanceofsun-soaked,laid-backeasewhileStanfordstudentswereactuallypaddlingfuriouslybelowthesurfacetokeepup.Thissyndrome,withcompletedisregardformentalhealth,wasnotonlyaccepted,butexpectedtoaffectallstudents. Intheearly2010s,multiplepilotswerelaunchedwiththeexpressintentofcurbingDuckSyndromeandbuildingstudents’resilience.Withincreasingsuccessfromnewprogramsonreflection,longevity,andpersonalizedlearning,Stanfordleadersconcludedthatthearbitrarydefinitionofprogressbasedonthecalendaryearandstudents’ageswasdrivingthe“getthrough”mentality,andsimplyoutdated. TheUniversitydecidedtopartwayswiththeclass-yearsystemandadoptPacededucation.Overtime,DuckSyndromebecamesynonymouswithpersonalgrowthandtheabilitytoadapttoavarietyofenvironments—towalk,run,swimorflyasneeded. Inotherwords,theprocessofbecoming. FromFrantictoPacedPacededucationwasdesignedtopromoteacademicexplorationandthenpushrigorwithindisciplines.Studentsnowmovedthroughphasesoflearningbasedontheirindividualreadiness,allowingthemtotransformattheirownpace. Thethreedistinctphaseswerecalled:Calibration,Elevation,andActivation.Whileundergraduates,studentscycledthroughthesephasesmultipletimes. Advancedlearningtechnologiesgavestudentsandfacultynewtypesofbio-cognitivefeedbacktogroundthisprocess.Tobalancetheseunparalleledtechnologicalresources,theUniversitymadeanequalcommitmenttomeditativemodeslikepersonalreflectionthroughthenowubiquitouszonesofdigitalsilence,not-spots.StanfordhumaniststhenhelpedpioneertheSlowCognitionmovement.   Calibration(6-18months)Wenowknowthatstudentsneedtolearnhowtheylearnbest.Calibrationofferedshort(onedaytooneweek),immersive,introductoryexperiencesdesignedbyfacultyandpractitioners,sostudentsexperiencedawiderangeofsubjectareas,learningmodels,andcareertrajectories. StudentsremainedinCalibrationmodeforvaryinglengthsoftimedependingonpersonalreadiness.Somestayedonlysixmonths,whileotherstooknearly18monthstosampleinterestareas,self-reflect(usingboththeirGritBitsandnon-technologicalmeans),findlearninggaps,andbuildtheconfidencetomoveforwardwithintention.Faculty,initiallywaryofofferingshortcourses,soondevelopedatasteforteachingbite-sizeintroductionsandexperimentalofferings.Notonlyintellectuallyinvigorating,thesecoursesalsoallowedprofessorstointeractwithawiderrangeofstudents.Theywereabletoidentifyandnurturethosewhowerebestsuitedtotheirdomainsofexpertisemoreeasily.  Elevation(12-24months)Elevationtookstudentsdeepintoacontentareawithasingularfocus.Inthisphase,intellectualrigorwasparamount.StudentsenteredtheElevationphasebycoordinatingwiththeirself-selectedpersonalBoardofAdvisors(BOA).Composedofacademicandpersonalmentors,aswellasmoreadvancedstudentsandtrustedconfidantes,theBOAhadreplacedallotherformsofacademicadvisingby2018. Elevationheldaspecialplaceintheheartsofbothfacultyandstudents.WhenStanfordguttedallofthelecturehallsintheMainQuadareaofcampusin2016,Elevation-specificlivingandlearningquarterswerecreated.IntrueStanfordtradition,thesequicklybecamereferredtoasthe“LivLerns.”Thenewhybridenvironmentswerelaudedfortheirabilitytofostermeaningfulrelationshipsbetweenprofessorsandstudents.Thoserelationshipscontributedtotheacceleratedachievement,oftenequivalenttoapre-2015PhD,thatstudentsreachedinjust18-24months.  Activation (12-18months)AfterlearninghowtoacquiredeepexpertiseinElevation,studentstranslatedtheirknowledgetoseveralreal-worldapplicationsthroughouttheActivationphase.Thisallowedthemtoexerciseanditerateupontheiracademicknowledgeinthecontextofinternships,serviceprojects,high-caliberresearch,andentrepreneurship. Activationwasatimetoapplyskillsandknowledgeinarangeofdifferentmodes.Studentscherishedtheopportunitytotryoncareervectorswhilestillwithinthecontextandexplorationalsafetyoftheuniversity.  TheAchievementInPacedEducation:Stanfordmovedfromthefour-yearsystemtothreephasesthatwereindividuallypaced:Calibration,Elevation,andActivation.Studentsmadebetterchoicesaboutwhattostudydeeply,andgraduatedwithmasterynotjustofwhattheylearned,butalsohowtheylearned.FacultydevelopednewCalibrationmicro-courses,allowingthemtoexperimentwithnewofferingsandbetteridentifypotentialstudentsfortheirElevationphase.Newspaceswerecreatedforreflection,aswellasrigorousprofessor-studentlearning. DuckSyndromebecamesynonymouswithbravery,resilience,andself-reflection.Taste,try,reflect,achieve,fail,reflect,pursue,succeed,apply,apply,apply...thenagain:thiswastheexperienceofaStanfordstudent intheeraofPacededucation. ExhibitArticleArchiveBrowsebelowtosearchthroughvideoarchivesoftheexhibitsdisplayedon May1st,2100.  ARTICLE67 GritBit&GrowthGridOrganicSemiconductors,&Molecularelectronics,AcetateApplicatorAppliedasatemporarytattoo,eventheseearly1stgenerationGritBitswereabletoprovidecontextaroundlearninggoals,helpingstudentsbecomeself-aware,adaptablelearners.TheoriginalGritBittrackedstress&mood,physical&socialactivity,andlocation.Detaileddatawereavailableonlytotheindividualstudent,whileasmallamountofanonymousaggregatedatawereavailabletotheuniversityonanopt-inbasis.StudentGrowthGrids(displayedhereonAppleiPads—early"tablet"computers)wereusedtosetlearninggoals,placethemincontext,andsetactivityreminders;allowingstudentstoreflectontheconditionscontributingtotheirlearningprogressandtoexperimentwithnewwaystolearnandlive. Viewfullsize GritBitsavailableforTimeTravelerstotakehome Viewfullsize FutureDocentexplainsGritBittoTimeTraveler  ARTICLE64 CALIBRATIONDASHBOARDDigitalinterfacesnapshotshowinglearninggoalsandmicro-coursesDuringtheCalibrationphase,everystudenthadapersonalizeddashboardtoset,track,andreflectupontheirlearninggoals.BecausethegoalofCalibrationwasforeachstudenttolearnhowtheylearnbest,studentsweretaskedwithsettinglearninggoalseveryweek.Thesegoalsincludedmasteryofspecificskills,practicewithdifferentstylesoflearning,attemptsatnewsoloandcollaborativebehaviors,aswellasexperienceinoccupationalsituations.Shownhereisasnapshotofonestudent’sCalibrationdashboardfromtheweekofMay1,2025.Noteshe’sattemptedeachlearninggoaltosomedegree.Followingthedashboardistheseriesofmicro-coursessheenrolledintofurtherattemptherlearninggoals.Eachmicro-coursemappedtoaspecificgoal.WatchVideoKellySchmutteexplainMicroCourses Viewfullsize Viewfullsize WATCHCALIBRATIONDASHBOARDDEMO ARTICLE12 CognitiveBiofeedbackMirrorHumanpresencesensor,chemicalbarrier,digitalreadoutAsstudentsbegantofeelthebenefitsofCalibrationviahyper-adaptiveandresponsivemonitoringdevicesliketheGritBitandCalibrationDashboard,numerousstartupssprangupinthenascentdomain.TheCognitiveBiofeedbackMirror,oftennicknamedthe“HormoneMirror,”wastheflagshipproductofonesuchcompanyledbyearly21stcenturystudentJesseDay. Thehormonemirrorwasanearlyattemptatmodernbio-mnemoniccalibration. Afterselectingtheiracademiccoursesandextra-curricularengagements,studentswouldperiodicallycheckinwiththehormonemirrortodetermineifanychangesneededtobemadetooptimizemental,emotional,andphysicalwellbeing.ThehormonemirrorwasfirstimplementedatStanfordin2020,afteritwasfoundthatthecortisol(stresshormone)levelwassohighintheundergraduatepopulationthatitwasinhibitingthefunctionnotonlyofserotonin(happinesshormone)butalsoofdopamine(rewardhormone),whichisakeyindicatoroflearning.WatchVideoofJessMunrouseaCognitiveBiofeedbackMirror ARTICLE17 SelectingAPersonalBoardofAdvisorsRecoveredtimecapsulephotographThetransitionmomentbetweenone’sCalibrationandElevationphasewascharacterizedbyafamedexperience,fondlyreferredtoas“TheMeeting,”withone’sPersonalBoardofAdvisors.Itwasthecollectivedecisionofthegroupwhetherthestudenthadself-calibratedandwaspreparedtomoveintoaphaseofdeepfocusinElevation.ThisphotographwasrecoveredfromthetimecapsuleofthefirstgrouptopilotthePersonalBoardofAdvisors.Anewconceptatthetime,thisgroupofmentors,coachesandconfidanteswasdesignedtoprovoke,challengeandcelebratethestudentinhisorherlearningjourney.WatchVideoofTaniaAnaissieexplainPersonalBoardofAdvisorsVIEWACTUALPBASELECTIONFORM Viewfullsize  ARTICLE59 NewSpacesforLivingandLearningDigitaldioramaofphase-specificlivingandlearningquartersWhenStanfordtransitionedtoPacedEducationandformatteditseducationalexperienceinto3distinctphasesofCalibration,Elevation,andActivation,italsorebuiltandrepurposedthespaceoncampus.Theimagesheredepictspacesthatweretailoredtothedistinctneedsofstudentsandfacultyineachphase. Stanfordbecameknownforpioneeringelegantandinnovativenewarchitecturaldesignsthatweremode-specific.WatchVideoofKellySchmutteexplainCalibrationSpacesVIEWLIVE/LEARNCONCEPTART  ExploreAnotherFuture