Primetime: Education: It's a Human Business

On our quest to reinvent K-12 education, have we lost track of some fundamental truths along the way? Outside the classroom, many think that algorithms and reasoning engines have the power to solve the challenges our nation’s schools face; that if we can just gather and analyze enough data, or “personalize” student needs with adaptive software and devices, we’ll reach a tipping point for success. Yet research reveals that teachers have the single greatest impact on improving outcomes – turns out that algorithms are not very good at determining whether a student was bullied in the hallway, missed breakfast or likes collaborative learning best. Jack Lynch, CEO, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and edtech veteran, will make the case for how we can root 21st century education in human experiences that cultivate student and teacher agency while simultaneously harnessing the true promise of technology to extend an educator's capacity and meet the needs of individual learners.

Jack Lynch, CEO, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt