January 2025
AERA has selected five new fellows for the AERA Fellowship Program on the Study of Deeper Learning. The early career scholars joining this highly competitive program will conduct research using the American Institutes for Research (AIR) Study of Deeper Learning data set (see table below). The AERA program is made possible by a $1.5 million grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Fellows will work closely with AIR scientists and other scholars to analyze the Deeper Learning data to examine important questions in education research. The fellowship includes up to $35,000 in research support and opportunities to participate in AERA professional development and training activities, small conferences, and the AERA Annual Meeting. Since 2016, over 25 early career scholars have been supported by this fellowship. The new fellows are the sixth and final cohort supported by this program.
The fellows are developing and implementing research projects that examine students, teachers, and schools that implement the Deeper Learning model. The initial Deeper Learning data were collected when students were in high school and can be linked to postsecondary data to track student’s college outcomes and work experiences as young adults. Fellows are addressing topics around students’ perceptions of their curriculum, student achievement, postsecondary trajectories, and the psychometrics underlying the Deeper Learning assessment data.
“This fellowship will enable a new cohort of scholars to examine topics in education research using existing quantitative and qualitative Deeper Learning data” said George L. Wimberly, fellowship principal investigator and AERA director of professional development. “We are pleased to work with them as they develop their research.”
The scholars from the previous cohorts have published articles in peer-reviewed journals and have produced policy reports based on their Deeper Learning projects. Some of their research will be featured in an invited poster session during the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting in Denver.
Name/Institution
Project Title
Emma Britton Independent Researcher
Developing writing curricula for Deeper Learning and social responsibility: A register-informed perspective for analyzing student writing
Samantha LeBouef University of Minnesota
Unveiling pathways to higher education: Exploring the impact of Deeper Learning and support structures on college enrollment among first-generation students in contrasting school environments
Yuxi Qiu Florida International University
Exploring the interconnection and transferability of Deeper Learning competencies.
Brett Stamm University of Southern Mississippi
Multimodality and Deeper Learning: Connections, opportunities, and next steps
Yanli Xie Florida State University
How does attending deeper learning schools impact student self-determination and postsecondary education enrollment?