RETURN TO EDUCATION REPORT
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Photograph courtesy of Student Experience Research Network
Partner Spotlight

Student Experience Research Network

The Problem

  • Research shows that students’ school experiences — including their sense of belonging, belief in their ability to learn and grow and the relevance of their schoolwork — have a profound impact on their learning and well-being.44
  • For example, in learning environments, when students receive consistent messages that they belong, they experience greater well-being and school outcomes, including improved academic grades and persistence.45
  • However, this research is not sufficiently understood by education decision-makers or translated into classroom practice.

CZI Support

We supported Student Experience Research Network’s (SERN) work to advance research on the science of learning and human development, increase awareness among education leaders about the importance of student experience and work with a broad array of partners to translate these findings into teaching practices. SERN also worked to elevate the leadership of scholars from diverse backgrounds.

The Impact

SERN, and the researchers it engaged, published 30 scholarly working papers and more than 70 research translation briefs, including 33 non-technical briefs on new findings from SERN-funded research initiatives.46 SERN engaged leaders from dozens of education organizations nationally. SERN also launched the SERN Midcareer Fellows Program and graduated a cohort of 15 fellows with diverse personal backgrounds. These scholars published policy briefs that synthesized research on the school-based structures that shape students’ experiences, making this research relevant and actionable for policymakers.47

As a result, more interdisciplinary research is now available in the education field, and a broader, more diverse group of scholars gained recognition for their research and leadership in the student experience field. SERN played a significant role in raising awareness about the importance of students’ experience of school. A survey of SERN stakeholders found that 90% agreed that the field’s knowledge base on student experience improved, and 76% believed SERN made some or a significant contribution to this shift.48

SERN sunset its operations in 2023.49 As part of this strategic sunset, the group engaged in grantmaking that seeded a next generation of research-based knowledge building, relationship building and action related to student experience. SERN supported a convening of researchers, practitioners and policymakers to synthesize existing research on student experience and measurement and its practical applications. Participants identified new directions for future research that can be sustained through new partnerships and collaborations.

Annotations

  1. Data provided by Student Experience Research Network.
  2. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  3. Data provided by Van Ness Elementary School.
  4. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Impact Brief: The Proven Impact of Board Certified Teachers on Student Achievement, Aug. 2017.
  5. Learn more from The Hunt Institute about its One Million Teachers of Color Campaign.
  6. Data provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  7. Platform data for Summit Learning and Along, combined, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  8. Ibid.
  9. Ibid.
  10. Conducted or coordinated by CZI, 2022-2023.
  11. Data provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  12. CZI grants database, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  13. Platform data for Summit Learning, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  14. Ibid.
  15. Ibid.
  16. Summit Learning partner schools in Academic Year 2023-2024.
  17. Ibid.
  18. Platform data for Along, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  19. Ibid.
  20. Along, Research Overview.
  21. Learn more from Search Institute: Developmental Relationships Help Young People Thrive.
  22. Learn more about Black Teacher Collaborative, Character Lab, Greater Good Science Center, GripTape, Re-Imagining Migration, Teach Plus, Understood, and UnidosUS.
  23. Learn more about Leanlab Education.
  24. Transcend, Leaps for Equitable, 21st Century Learning, 2022.
  25. iKeepSafe, Along Earns iKeepSafe COPPA and FERPA Privacy Certification, 2023.
  26. Along, Research Overview.
  27. Platform data for Along, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  28. With support from CZI, Gradient Learning partnered with Leanlab and The Learning Accelerator to better understand the value of Along for teachers and students through a feasibility study. As part of the study, in spring 2023, teachers and students responded to surveys before and after using Along for 2-3 months. Teachers and school leaders participating in the survey received a stipend for their time and participation.
  29. TIME, Best Inventions of 2022: Connecting Teachers and Students, 2022; Fast Company, 14 Projects Making Education More Accessible to Everyone, 2023; Common Sense Education, Best Tools for Back-to-School 2022, 2022; District Administration, Top EdTech Product winners of 2024, Dec. 6, 2023.
  30. Linda Darling-Hammond et al, Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development, Applied Developmental Science, Feb. 17, 2019.
  31. Data provided by Gradient Learning.
  32. Platform data for Summit Learning, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  33. Ibid.
  34. Summit Learning partner schools in Academic Year 2023-2024.
  35. Summit Learning, 2022 Summit Learning Educator Feedback Study, Dec. 6, 2022; Project Tomorrow, Summit Learning 2022 Feedback Study, 2022.
  36. Digital Promise, Digital Promise Announces Newly Certified Edtech Products, Feb. 23, 2022.
  37. Common Sense Education, Privacy Evaluation for Summit Learning, Sept. 19, 2022.
  38. Summit Learning, Success Stories.
  39. Colorado Department of Education, Official Performance Rating, Prairie Heights Middle School, 2022.
  40. Provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  41. CZI grant database, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  42. Provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  43. Ibid.
  44. Student Experience Research Network (SERN), Belonging-Supportive Learning Environments.
  45. Ibid.
  46. SERN, Insights from Research on Student Experience.
  47. SERN, Shaping Policy on Student Experience: Elevating the Leadership of Scholars from Minoritized Groups and Advancing Application of Equity-Centered Scholarship.
  48. Student Experience Research Network, The Evolution and Impact of Student Experience Research Network, May 2023.
  49. SERN, SERN’s Story and Impact.
  50. Search Institute, What We’re Learning About Developmental Relationships.
  51. Search Institute, Developmental Relationships Help Young People Thrive.
  52. Learn more from the Search Institute: New School Year? Jumpstart your Professional Relationships with these ABCs, 2023.
  53. Search Institute, The Power of Relationships in Schools.
  54. Search Institute, Eight Actions to Build Strong Educator-to-Educator Relationships, Jul. 6, 2023.
  55. Data provided by the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF).
  56. Data provided by Digital Promise.
  57. Continuing Education certificates provided through edweb.net.
  58. Data provided by the Science of Learning and Development Alliance.
  59. The Building Bridges Initiative, Signatories.
  60. Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed), Learning Sciences Implementation Guides that Support Student-Centered Learning.
  61. Data provided by All4Ed.
  62. Laura S. Hamilton et al, Supports for Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: Findings From the American Teacher Panel, RAND, 2020.
  63. Teach Plus and The Education Trust, If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How To Disrupt Teacher Turnover, Sept. 2019.
  64. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, The Proven Impact of Board-Certified Teachers on Student Achievement; National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Data Show National Board Certified Teachers Remain in the Classroom.
  65. Data provided by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
  66. Yale Child Study Center, Research Finds Social and Emotional Learning Produces Significant Benefits for Students, Jul. 14, 2023.
  67. Data provided by The Education Collaboratory at Yale.
  68. Learn more from the Learning Policy Institute about its Whole Child Policy Toolkit.
  69. Data provided by Future Focused Education.
  70. Data provided by the Cajon Valley Union School District.
  71. Data provided by the Anaheim Union High School District. Learn more about its Career Preparedness Systems Framework.
  72. BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks), Real Results.
  73. Data provided by Village of Wisdom.
  74. Data provided by the Center for Collaborative Education.
  75. Linda Darling-Hammond et al, Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development, Applied Developmental Science, Feb. 17, 2019.
  76. Data provided by Transcend.
  77. Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), Why.
  78. EOS and The Education Trust, Why Are Black and Latino Students Shut Out of AP STEM Courses?.
  79. Data provided by EOS.
  80. EOS, 2021-22 Year End Report.
  81. Data provided by EOS.
  82. Data provided by GripTape.
  83. GripTape, GripTape’s Impact.
  84. Data provided by the NACA Inspired Schools Network.
  85. Data provided by the American Federation of Teachers.
  86. Data provided by the Assessment for Learning Project (ALP) at the Center for Innovation in Education (C!E).
  87. Leanlab Education, 2022 Annual Report.
  88. The Hunt Institute, Teachers of Color Matter.
  89. Seth Gershenson et al, The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers, National Bureau of Economic Research, Nov. 2018.
  90. Learn more from The Hunt Institute about the DRIVE Task Force.
  91. Data provided by The Hunt Institute.
  92. Data provided by FuelEd.
  93. Sy Doan et al, Teacher Well-Being and Intentions to Leave: Findings From the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey, RAND, Jun. 2023.
  94. Melissa Kay Diliberti et al, Educator Turnover Has Markedly Increased, But Districts Have Taken Actions to Boost Teacher Ranks: Selected Findings From the Sixth American School District Panel Survey, RAND, 2023.
  95. Sy Doan et al, Teacher Well-Being and Intentions to Leave: Findings From the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey, RAND, Jun. 2023.
  96. Elizabeth D. Steiner et al, Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools: Findings From the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys. RAND, 2022.
  97. Data provided by FuelEd.
  98. Daniel Mollenkamp, Why Do So Few Black Men Become Teachers?, EdSurge, Jul. 24, 2023.
  99. Data provided by the Center for Black Educator Development.
  100. Data provided by Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity.
  101. 100Kin10, Our Impact.
  102. Data provided by The Teaching Well.
  103. AASA, The School Superintendents Association, AASA Learning Recovery & Redesign Guidance, Nov. 12, 2021.
  104. Data provided by AASA.
  105. U.S. Department of Education, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER).
  106. AASA, District Checklist: Taking Full Advantage of American Rescue Plan Funds to Identify & Support Students Experiencing Homelessness & Housing Instability, Mar. 29, 2022.
  107. ITSE, Course of Mind.
  108. Deans for Impact, Deepening Meaning and Learning.
  109. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  110. Reach Every Reader, About Us.
  111. Sarah Schwartz, The Most Popular Reading Programs Aren’t Backed by Science, Education Week, Dec. 3, 2019.
  112. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  113. Ibid.
  114. The Nation’s Report Card, Writing 2011.
  115. Perpetual Baffour et al, The Feedback Prize: A Case Study in Assisted Writing Feedback Tools, The Learning Agency Lab.
  116. Data provided by The Learning Agency Lab.
  117. Matthew J. Hirshberg et al, A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Smartphone-Based Well-Being Training in Public School System Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Journal of Educational Psychology, Mar. 17, 2022.
  118. LEAP Innovations, Why Personalized Learning?
  119. Data provided by Mathematica.
  120. Data provided by the Learning Sciences Research Institute.
  121. Learn more from the Next Generation Science Assessment.
  122. Data provided by LearnPlatform.

Founded:

2015

Website:

https://studentexperiencenetwork.org/

Mission:

Previously known as Mindset Scholars Network, Student Experience Research Network (SERN) connects people and ideas across research, practice and policy to advance relevant scientific knowledge and improve decision-making by education system and institution leaders so every student’s school experience sets them up to learn and thrive.

“When SERN was founded in 2015, students’ experience of school wasn’t a prominent feature of education discourse and research was siloed. SERN advanced a cross-disciplinary knowledge base, cultivated relationships across long-standing silos, and translated research in ways that brought attention to student experience. Ultimately, SERN’s work helped shift the narrative among influential leaders in education, who today are drawing on a broader body of research as they develop their strategies and programming.”

Lisa Quay
Executive Director

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