Deeper Learning | American Institutes for Research

This is a very encouraging set of ideas and findings.  Definitely goes against our current penchant for curricula and instruction that is a mile wide and an inch deep. -Angela



Deeper Learning | American Institutes for Research

Deeper Learning

What
do today’s students really need to learn in order to succeed, not only
in the classroom but also later on in college, careers, and as engaged
citizens?


Much of American education policy focuses on the need for students to
develop deeper content knowledge and an ability to apply their
knowledge and skills to tasks and situations inside and outside of
school. The Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science
Standards reflect this dual focus on academic learning and real-world
application.

What is Deeper Learning?

The
combination of (1) a deeper understanding of core academic content, (2)
the ability to apply that understanding to novel problems and
situations, and (3) the development of a range of competencies,
including people skills and self control, is called deeper learning.
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation—a leader in the national
initiative to promote deeper learning in schools—has defined deeper
learning as “a set of competencies students must master in order to
develop a keen understanding of academic content and apply their
knowledge to problems in the classroom and on the job.”


The Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes,
funded by the Hewlett Foundation, aimed to determine whether students
who attended high schools with a mature and at least moderately well
implemented approach to promoting deeper learning actually experienced
greater deeper learning opportunities and outcomes than would likely
have been the case had they not attended these schools.


For more about deeper learning, see Does Deeper Learning Improve Student Outcomes? Results From the Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes, as well as the reports below.

Deeper Learning Reports

15 Sep 2014

Report

The Shape of Deeper Learning: Strategies, Structures, and Cultures in Deeper Learning Network High Schools (1 of 3)

In
the past few years, a movement for “deeper learning” has emerged on the
United States’ educational scene, based on decades of development work
by educators, support from the philanthropic community, and the interest
and engagement of national and local policymakers. This is the first in
a series of three research reports on the strategies, opportunities,
and outcomes of a set of high schools explicitly organized to promote
deeper learning among their students.

Topic: 

Education

16 Sep 2014

Report

Providing Opportunities for Deeper Learning (2 of 3)

The
concept of deeper learning has been used both to describe a set of
competencies or goals for students, and to characterize a way of
learning (or a process) that promotes these competencies. In this
report—our second in a series of three—we focus specifically on the
opportunities that students experienced to engage in deeper learning in
their classrooms.

Topic: 

Education

24 Sep 2014

Report

Evidence of Deeper Learning Outcomes

The
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation defines deeper learning as “a set
of competencies students must master in order to develop a keen
understanding of academic content and apply their knowledge to problems
in the classroom and on the job.” In this third report, the focus is on
whether students who attended selected network schools had higher
educational outcomes than did their matched counterparts who attended
similar non-network schools.

Topic: 

Education

24 Sep 2014

Press Release

High
School Students Receiving Instruction Focused on “Deeper Learning” Do
Better in Math and English and Have Higher Graduation Rates than Their
Peers

Students
at high schools focusing on deeper learning had higher scores on
standardized tests in mathematics and English, and higher graduation
rates than their peers, according to a study by the American Institutes
for Research (AIR). In conducting the Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes,
funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, AIR researchers
found positive effects on students from a wide range of deeper learning
approaches.

Related Projects

May 2014

Project

Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes

AIR
is conducting a three-year study to examine the ways in which schools
provide opportunities for students to acquire complex knowledge and
deeper learning skills.

Further Reading

• High
  School Students Receiving Instruction Focused on “Deeper Learning” Do
  Better in Math and English and Have Higher Graduation Rates than Their
  Peers
• Providing Opportunities for Deeper Learning (2 of 3)
• The Shape of Deeper Learning: Strategies, Structures, and Cultures in Deeper Learning Network High Schools (1 of 3)
• Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes
• Evidence of Deeper Learning Outcomes