Composer Education

Now more than ever, we need to prepare all young people to be active participants in civic life, an increasingly interconnected global economy, and a just society. We see this reflected not only in the issues we face as a society (e.g. polarization, racism, etc.), but in student performance in civics and history that has been stagnant at best. Pockets of success exist, but most educators lack easy access to high quality resources for citizenship education.

The knowledge, mindsets and skills that enable effective citizenship should be taught as systematically as math and literacy. Through creating partnerships with leading content providers, and a breakthrough technology platform for designing three different kinds of learning experiences, Composer is building on the best of what already exists. We provide the access, rigor and scalability for citizenship education to be taught systematically and holistically across the globe. Our comprehensive collection of over 1,000 of the best learning experiences includes topics such as civics, social justice, social emotional learning, and global competence.

Since our public soft-launch last April, 1600 users, representing schools and youth serving organizations across the globe, have joined the platform. Our real-time feedback has been positive and highlighted the growing need for citizenship education curriculum. Core to our mission of access, Composer is free to educators and we are a philanthropically funded non-for-profit. To maximize impact, one of our central ambitions is to become a self-funding social venture - starting with supply-side revenues that support providers expanding their reach, focusing on what they do best, and saving costs.

Composer has four primary functions: Discover, Search, Create, and Coordinate. Educators can: -Discover relevant learning experiences for youth and professional development for educators. -Search lessons, activities and powerful sequences of learning experiences ("strings"). -Create and adapt customized learning experiences ("strings") and receive real-time feedback on curriculum design. -Coordinate logistics and download curriculum. Composer integrates learning science into curriculum planning: One of the main functions of the platform is to provide a system for building mastery of the core competencies of citizenship. -The platform prompts users to create "strings," sequences of different learning experiences to have lasting impact and change behaviors and outlooks among students. -Each "string" kick starts the learning journey with a "peak experience," a memorable intervention such as a powerful film. -The string then helps students build a deeper understanding of those ideas and skills through repeated practice. This provides opportunities for students to put their knowledge into practice through real-world applications such as community projects. -The platform uses a sophisticated algorithm to curate and optimize content based on this common framework that is illustrated using a simple visual language of three "element" types: peak experiences (triangle), repeated practice (square), and real-world application (circle).