Harvard University Professor Richard Elmore says the nature of learning will be transformed over the next decade. He says the development of the neuroscience of learning and the increasing presence of digital culture will likely result in a steadily increasing divergence between “learning” as an individual and social activity and “schooling” as the formal institutionalized form of learning.

“What are the likely social and economic implications of these changes for society at large and for established institutions of schooling?” he asks. He believes the “learning sector” will expand exponentially in the foreseeable future while the “schooling sector” is unlikely to expand beyond its present size. He will discuss such issues as the development of new modes of learning and the challenges posed for schooling.