Resources | Getting Smart

Designing Personalized Pathways for Every Learner

Download Guide for State Leaders

Introduction

Home
0.1

Vision
Every learner deserves unlimited unbundled opportunities to explore, engage and define experiences that advance their progress along a co-designed educational pathway.
0.2

Introduction
Since the advent of formal education, learning has been bundled. The time for change is now.
0.3

Definitions
In order to shift to a truly unbundled system of learning, we must get some clarity and alignment on some core terms.
0.4

Principles
Six core principles guide the unbundled system. As each element of the system is built, designers should evaluate and reflect around these core principles.
0.5

Elements
For an unbundled system to meet all of the core principles, core structural elements must exist. A fully decentralized education system would entail a distributed set of learning experiences to which any education creator might contribute.

Building the Unbundled Ecosystem

1.0

Building the Unbundled Ecosystem
1.1

Unbundling the Ecosystem
Unbundling the learning ecosystem occurs at the policy and systems level. Policy includes laws and rules that allow for unbundled learning. Systems are structures that support unbundled learning.
1.2

Building Competencies
Most typical education ecosystems require permission. A fully unbundled ecosystem may be permissionless, that is a student can choose whatever pathway they like with whomever they would like and learn whatever they would like.
1.3

Designing Learning Experiences
Unbundled systems need to decrease the grain size to the learning experience level so that learners can build pathways that make sense relative to their future goals by reassembling a set of learning experiences.
1.4

Curating the Opportunities
Once the ecosystem is unbundled, the opportunities must be curated in an equitable, accessible format. A variety of efforts exist to begin to move this unbundled curation system forward.
1.5

Rebundling Learning
Learners in partnership with coaches co-design and bundle learning experience pathways that consist of content access, skill development, instruction, and assessment from a variety of sources.

Technology Enabled

Challenges and Recommendations

Mentions

Resources

Unbundling

Competencies

Technology Enabled

Ecosystem Map

Recent Unbundling Stories

© 2026 GettingSmart.com

What is the name of the school? *

What is their website? *

Why are you nominating this school? What is their superpower? *

If we were to write a blog or do a podcast with this school to highlight their innovation, what would it be? *

Who can we contact to learn more? *

What is their email? *

Enter an email.

Rate Your School Along the Following Innovative Shifts *

For more information about any of these shifts, check out our New Horizon Design Principles.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing