by the Teaching Lab Staff

Transforming the learning landscape through innovation has always been part and parcel of what Teaching Lab brings to the professional learning experience, and we’re proud to announce the launch of a groundbreaking new model that speaks directly to that sentiment – the Innovation Studio. This project, embedded within our organization, aims to accelerate learning science and improve education by supporting other nonprofit education technology organizations.

Aligning Technology, Research, and Education

Our commitment to shift the paradigm of education technology is demonstrated by the acquisition of Podsie, winner of Tools Competition 2020 Catalyst Prize and a tool that utilizes retrieval practice, spacing, and interleaving to help students remember information better.

"We’re trying to bridge the gap between research and education,” said Joshua Ling, Podsie founder and Senior Director, Podsie Innovation Lab. “[Podsie] can bring the technology whereas [Teaching Lab] can bring a lot of the existing relationships with teachers and the trust that they’ve established with teachers.”

Another acquisition that Teaching Lab embarked upon was the Writing Pathways Initiative, which takes aim at the inconsistencies of writing education. The Writing Pathways Initiative seeks to design and refine a coherent, logical progression of writing skills — a pathway for writing instruction — that can be effectively employed by teachers across the nation.

“Teaching Lab has really seen the importance of this work — of giving teachers access to better materials for teaching writing because it's what students need to be able to do to succeed in life in many different ways: in the workplace and academically but also for self-expression,” explained Jessica Azani, Senior Director at the Writing Pathways Initiative.

These two acquisitions are just the first in a planned series of acquisitions, with the expectation of adding three to five more nonprofit organizations annually.

Addressing Educational Challenges through Collaboration

The Teaching Lab Innovation Studio aims to bolster timely learning science, while addressing the myriad challenges that educators face in the wake of COVID-19. By facilitating collaboration and optimization, the Innovation Studio provides a platform for learning engineers to tap into the benefits of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT.

Sarah Johnson, CEO of Teaching Lab, expanded upon this collaborative approach by stating: "Everything that we acquire through the Innovation Studio will be done with educators ... we have a large Teacher Advisory Board at Teaching Lab and we’re working with them to identify needs and then we’re developing a pipeline of organizations and we will vet them aligned with those needs that are identified."

The AI Era: Unleashing Potential in the Modern Classroom

As the K–12 education landscape evolves, teachers, administrators, and school leaders are exploring the transformative potential of generative AI. From enabling new forms of interaction to enhancing adaptivity in student learning, AI holds immense promise.

Generative AI supports personalized learning, allowing for the provision of step-by-step problem-solving hints and feedback, enabling real-time, personalized learning, and effectively addressing various teacher-related challenges.

Through Teaching Lab's Innovation Studio, the future of K-12 education looks brighter than ever. With a focus on empowering teachers, bridging research and education, and improving student learning outcomes, we are changing the face of education, one innovation at a time. It's a testament to the transformative potential that collaboration, technology, and a dedication to bettering education can achieve.

Read the full announcement on the Tools Competition website.