Observational Course Journal Entry #3

Part 1: Site Information

I visited Kahn Academy, a non-profit site that provided free learning materials in math, science, computing, humanities, and test prep. The audience for this site is students, teachers, parents, and school districts. The educational materials offered on the site consist primarily of videos, with some reading material, and practice quizzes. The site is also being localized into more than sixty languages including Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French.

Part 2: Observation

My visit to Kahn Academy occurred on March 31, 2021.

Description

This website featured dozens of courses in Math pre-K through college, physical and biological sciences, test prep, computing, arts and humanities, economics, reading and language arts through 9th grade (although the courses only included reading and vocabulary, with some grammar), and life skills including growth mindset. The major portion of the site was the learning materials, although there were significant portions dedicated to studies that showed how impactful the approach and learning materials have been, statistics showing impact, as well as testimonials from learners and teachers. Personnel pages featured 184 employees (and nineteen pets), 137 interns, about 300 content contributors from universities and other institutions, and twelve Executives, nine of whom were women, many from diverse backgrounds. Big sponsors, included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google. Finally, six up to date blogs that gave articles on computing, engineering, international news, plus articles for educators, and a "homeroom" with Sal Kahn himself doing feature stories.

Interaction

I saw plenty of evidence of interaction, from the social media channels to a page that featured hundreds of tiles from learners and teachers who shared their positive stories about using the content. A simply form allowed users to add yet more. Finally, a support community gave articles on how to access content and troubleshoot issues.

Analysis

This site is full of useful content that is made even more potent because it is free and curated by what seems like a group of highly invested people who are doing what they are doing not to become rich or build up their own kingdom, but to help students around the world to learn. On their "About" page, they said "Education is a human right." This noble cause is amplified by their work translating site lesson material into over sixty languages, as well as layering interactive elements into the learning content including practice questions and engagement points. The gamification that ensues from these points helps add even more allure to this alternative to the traditional school setting.

Part 3: Readings

Sutton, R. I., & Rao, H. (2014). Scaling up excellence: Getting to more without settling for less. Crown Business.

Decisions that affect how scaling unfolds(preface)

Catholic of Buddhist approach?
Go more and better.

Site Visit #3 connection: Kahn Academy doesn't seem to just want to stuff itself with content. What I have seen it fairly high quality.

Talk and act as if you're in a manageable mess and be OK with that
It starts and ends with individuals

Fight not just an air war, but a ground war. Know when to shift gears, accelerate, and brake. All of those steps are equally important.
In Buddhism v. Catholicism, they key is embodied in a framework I already know well: pastured learning. Here, you can strike a balance between what can't vary (the fences) and what can (the pasture). All of this enterprise is still observable.
Hot causes, cool solutions means that you can rally around a great cause, and you should do that, but it needs to be tempered by the contemplative, smart plumbing where the rubber meets the road. Like Buddhism V. Catholicism, there is a balance. Smart organizations know how to do that.
To cut cognitive load but deal with necessary complexity, it is important to know when and where to cut/expand. I have seen this happen as we have expanded the complexity of our curriculum 2.0 only now to be scaling it back to profound simplicity. Also, I feel like where I work is running us close to capacity, so hopefully we can take some breaks.
Contrasting United Airlines with JetBlue. JetBlue employees not only had personal accountability and buy-in to make the company great wherever they worked, but they influenced each other to do the same. Thus, two factors are important: this accountability, and bringing in talent in the first place (139)
Netflix wants to hire stars in every position. They pay top of the market. It's not just about talent, but creativity and drive. Just take orders and coast? You're out (141)

Site Visit #3 connection: Kahn Academy seems to have staked its ranks with great talent who know how to be creative.

Tamago-Ya lunches. Market research done by high school drop-out van drivers who make up to 80K. They look at the leftovers and help plan for the next day along with the bosses. (142)
We feel more constrained and accountable in self-managing systems (145)
Hiring Talent isn't enough, especially when the focus is on individual merit at the expense of collaboration and mutual accountability (149).
You own the place, and the place owns you
Talent x Accountability = Scaling Capacity

Squelch free riding. The free rider rule comes when we feel our minuscule contribution to the whole is less attractive than coasting. And it infects the social contract felt by others (150).
Inject pride and righteous anger. General Ridgeway in Korea. (158).
Bring in guilt-prone leaders who are very attentive to their own limitations and the success of their efforts and the people with whom they work. (160) It's a vaccine against brazenness. But the guilt is more centered around the success of the org than the preservation of underperforming employees. (162)
Help people know they are being watched, but in subtle ways (163).
Create the right gene pool. Change the organization for good, but let it change you in the process (166).
Use other orgs as your HR. Think universities and non-profits (169).

Example of extreme accountability at during the terrorist attack at the Taj hotel in India in 2008 (171).
Look for people who can help things scale at the right amount and with the right timing. Some of these include master multipliers, who are not always charismatic leaders, but are adept at proselytizing.

Site Visit #3 connection: Kahn Academy's executive board are 75% women. Many of these women seem to come from diverse backgrounds. I feel this may be why the organization is doing so well as it needs to find a way to compliment, not compete with traditional schools.

Bad is stronger than good. It's not always necessary to cut out the bad if the bad can be remediated, or at least shuttled to a corner where they can still be productive, but not as toxic, but if not, cut the bad.
Imagine it's a year or so down the road, speak in future perfect tense, and describe what will have happened. Do it two ways, one where it's a roaring success, and one where it is a dismal failure. What factors "led" to this end? How can you work with them now?

Part 4: Integrations

Kahn Academy could try to keep itself with a tiny footprint, but it has wisely expanded its footprint to include a variety of educational and technical support positions, including legal counsel, financial officers, and a host of philanthropy workers. The site feels right-sized, as if it has the kind of guardrails spoken of by Sutton & Rao.

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