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  • Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes
15 Sep 2014
Report

The Shape of Deeper Learning: Strategies, Structures, and Cultures in Deeper Learning Network High Schools

Findings From the Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes (Report 1 of 5)

Mette Huberman, Catherine Bitter, Jennifer Anthony, and Jennifer O'Day
The Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes examines how some schools have provided opportunities for students to acquire deeper learning skills and how these opportunities are related to student outcomes.

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 research reports on the strategies, opportunities, and outcomes of a set of high schools explicitly organized to promote deeper learning among their students.

Failure of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) to produce the levels of proficiency and college preparedness anticipated by its authors has sparked considerable discussion and debate in the past six years about what today’s students really need to know and be able to do to be successful both in school and in their lives and work after graduation. Much of the policy focus has been on the need for students to develop deeper content knowledge and an ability to apply their knowledge and skills to novel tasks and situations inside and outside of school.

In this report, the authors focus on the assumption that educators can design/redesign schools’ instructional strategies, structures, and cultures to explicitly focus on deeper learning. The goal is primarily descriptive—to provide a picture of the strategies and structures the adults in the sampled network schools used to foster deeper learning.

Key Takeaways

  1. Network schools took a range of approaches to developing the deeper learning competencies.
  2. Most schools integrated project-based learning to develop mastery of core academic content knowledge and critical thinking skills. However, projects looked different in different schools, ranging from semester-long projects with multiple components and assessments to short-term projects addressing specific units.
  3. Interpersonal skill development was a goal at a majority of network schools and was addressed through instruction, assessment, and internship opportunities.
  4. Network schools used a variety of structures and strategies to encourage the development of academic mindsets and learning-to-learn skills. Relevant strategies included internships, projects, study groups, and student participation in decision-making.
  5. Most network schools had established structures and cultures to support the implementation of instructional strategies aligned with deeper learning.

Creative Commons License
The Shape of Deeper Learning: Strategies, Structures, and Cultures in Deeper Learning Network High Schools by Mette Huberman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

PDF icon Report: The Shape of Deeper Learning (PDF)
PDF icon Technical Appendix: The Shape of Deeper Learning (PDF)

Related Projects

Project

Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes

AIR is studying the ways in which schools provide opportunities for students to acquire complex knowledge and deeper learning skills. Funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the study examines the impact of these opportunities on how students develop five dimensions of deeper learning: mastery of core content, critical thinking skills, collaboration skills, communication skills, and independent learning skills.

Related Work

Students working together
17 Jul 2019
Spotlight

Spotlight on 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? What role can deeper learning—“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”—play?

Further Reading

  • School Features and Student Opportunities for Deeper Learning: What Makes a Difference?
  • School Features and Student Opportunities for Deeper Learning- What Makes a Difference? (Brief)
  • Graduation Advantage Persists for Students in Deeper Learning Network High Schools
  • Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes
  • High School Students Receiving Instruction Focused on “Deeper Learning” Do Better in Math and English and Have Higher Graduation Rates than Their Peers
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Image of Jennifer Anthony

Jennifer Anthony

Senior Researcher

Topic

Education

DEEPER LEARNING STUDY PUBLICATIONS

The Shape of Deeper Learning: Strategies, Structures, and Cultures in Deeper Learning Network High Schools

Providing Opportunities for Deeper Learning

Evidence of Deeper Learning Outcomes
Update: Graduation Advantage Persists for Students in Deeper Learning Network High Schools
Update: Deeper Learning and College Attendance: What Happens After High School?

Deeper Learning and Graduation: Is There a Relationship?

School Features and Student Opportunities for Deeper Learning: What Makes a Difference?
Brief: School Features and Student Opportunities for Deeper Learning What Makes a Difference?

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

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