Driving and Inspiring Greater Quality in Education Innovation
Our education system is going through a time of tremendous change and uncertainty. With challenges ranging from the demands of AI integration, looming budget cuts, teacher shortages, and significant cuts to education research by the federal government, the context of PreK-12 education is rapidly changing.
At the ISTELive25 and ASCD Annual Conference, the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF) led conversations aimed at learning and collaboration as a means to meeting the challenges of the moment and charting a path forward together.
As the nation’s first discovery and invention hub for education, we start at the front end of learning science and innovation, seeking the fundamental, cutting-edge research and new technical capabilities needed to solve for persistent, complex teaching and learning problems.
Through our portfolio of R&D programs, we combine scientific rigor with co-design to discover breakthrough solutions that unite educators, scientists, and technologists with students to tackle the public education’s most pressing challenges.
What Innovation Looks Like: AERDF Awardees at ISTE+ASCD
To demonstrate what’s possible when we break down siloes and center learners and educators in education R&D, AERDF debuted the latest advancements in math, literacy, assessment, and AI at this year’s ISTE+ASCD Annual Conference. From literacy screening in minutes to boosting math comprehension in the schoolyard to co-designing strengths-based formative assessments using the power of generative AI, AERDF’s R&D programs and awardees are generating new scientific research, technical advancements, and dynamic prototypes pushing on the edge of what’s believed to be possible in education.
In this blog, we share many of the latest inventions and developments from our AERDF Awardees and partners across our R&D Programs – EF+Math, Assessment for Good, Reading Reimagined, and AugmentED – including: Magpie Literacy, Juego, Stanford ROAR, Big Words Project, Read STOP Write, Achievement Network, Throughline Learning, MindCatcher, Playlab AI, MIND Research Institute, University of Tennessee, University of Buffalo, Texas A&M, Michigan State University, University of Denver, Georgia Southern University, Leanlab Education, Learner-Centered Collaborative, Alliance for Learning Innovation, InnovateEDU, and The Reinvention Lab at Teach for America.
Take a look at the evidence-backed education solutions and insights our R&D programs are generating. These are making their way into the hands of thousands of educators and learners and impacting math, reading, assessment, and the future of teaching in the age of AI.
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Looking Ahead
Our time at ISTELive25 and ASCD Annual Conference was nothing short of inspiring. Through our R&D Programs, Fellows, and Awardees, AERDF is unlocking what’s next in education. And we got to share where education R&D is heading with thousands of the over 17,000 attendees at the Conference.
Foresight Series: Glimpses from AERDF Fellows
Several of the AERDF AdvancED Fellows led sessions on their bold ideas to transform teaching and learning through our first AERDF Fellows Foresight Series. Like TED Talks, these field-leading experts shared cutting-edge ideas, challenges, and opportunities for the future of learning. Sessions included:
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Futures Beyond Today’s Neurotypical Classroom asked if we could finally personalize learning and confront the futures beyond today’s neurotypical instruction.
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Adaptable and Grounded for the Future, a design session shaped for a world that is changing fast, wondered “what if students were ready for anything?” Attendees worked together to design learning experiences for students that build true adaptability, rooted in purpose, powered by deep knowledge, and transferable across whatever the future brings.
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Deepfakes to Deep Trust: Navigating AI’s Impact on Connection, Belonging, and Youth Thriving explored how generative AI is reshaping belonging, trust, and wellbeing, and offered actionable principles for educators to support young people to reclaim human connection in the age of AI. From deepfakes to AI companions, today’s youth are navigating blurred lines between real and synthetic connection.
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Closing the Poverty Opportunity Gap by Integrating Breakthroughs from Neuroscience ventured into the new frontier that will integrate remarkable breakthroughs in neuroscience, robotics and sensor technologies, AI, and data science to address the challenges of closing the Poverty Opportunity Gap in order to enhance learning for all students.
Uncovering the Hidden Gems: A State and Regional Deep Dive into R&D
During the session “Uncovering the Hidden Gems: A State and Regional Deep Dive into R&D”, over 100 visionary leaders explored the possibilities for R&D innovation hubs that enable more collaborative learning and experimentation while aligning with each community’s unique needs and strengths.
AERDF, alongside Leanlab Education, Learner-Centered Collaborative, Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI), and InnovateEDU, are not just looking at making small, gradual changes based on today’s EdTech. In the discussion, we identified “innovation gems” powered by state and regional hubs that are big enough to impact systems, small enough to build trust, and flexible enough to adapt to learning contexts.
This session wasn’t just a conversation; it was an invitation to join a movement. It’s a movement to break down silos, prioritize real-world problems, and build an education system where research and development are deeply intertwined with the expertise and lived experiences of students and teachers.
Building Trust, Driving Innovation
We believe in research that leads to discovery and invention, discovery and invention that leads to adoption, and adoption that leads to learning transformation. Our R&D starts with those who understand the most pressing challenges in education: educators and learners. Why? Chris Liang-Vergara, Deputy Chief of Special Projects at AERDF, said it best at the ISTELive25’s Solutions Summit: Because when you bring teachers and learners in early on and throughout the process, “they’ll trust you, trust the process, and they’ll give you real feedback.”