Anyone who knows me or has ever heard me speak knows that one of my all-time favorite infographics is the Foundations of Young Adult Success two pager that accompanies the full 2015 report prepared by the UChicago Consortium on School Research. Years ago, I turned the first page into animated slides that I use to move people quickly through the main messages about the importance of engaging all learners (all ages and abilities) with all adults (paid and volunteer) in all settings (family, school, community organizations, other public institutions) to optimize their possibilities for thriving and success.
More recently, I animated the flip page, which is a brilliantly concise visual of the key tasks associated with each stage of development from early childhood to young adulthood. Why? The messages about what it takes to optimize learning and development are breaking through, but they aren’t being broken down. Programs and practices designed for children are being used with teens with little or no adaptation. Teens then get blamed for low participation and poor results. Differences between young adolescents, older adolescents, and young adults are overly simplified to the point that no group is well served...