About Us

About the Institute

Think back to a time in school when learning came alive. A project that mattered. A teacher who really saw you. Work you were proud to share.

Educators seated in a large circle during a workshop

Who We Are

We know what deeper learning looks like.

For most of us, those moments were the exception, not the rule. They happened despite the system, not because of it. Our schools were built for a different era, and they are still organized around coverage, compliance, and seat time.

We know what deeper learning looks like. Great teachers create it every day, and some schools and districts have reimagined what learning can be. But they are often working alone, against the grain of a system that wasn’t designed for them.

The Deeper Learning Institute exists to change that. We help whole systems become places where deep, purposeful, joyful learning is the norm for every student, and where the adults who teach them thrive too.

What Is Deeper Learning?

Deeper learning is learning that matters.

It challenges students to think deeply, do meaningful work, and discover what they’re capable of. Students build real knowledge and skills, connect what they’re learning to who they are and what they care about, and use that knowledge to create, solve problems, and contribute to the world around them.

They aren’t just absorbing information. They’re learning to think for themselves, create things they’re proud of, and make a difference. Deeper learning brings together mastery, identity, and creativity to make learning something students want to be part of, not just something they have to do.

Mastery

Real knowledge and skills.

Identity

Learning connected to who students are and what they care about.

Creativity

Using knowledge to create, solve problems, and contribute.

Our Vision

Every student and every educator experiences learning full of passion and purpose, by design rather than by chance.

Most of our schools were built for an industrial era, designed for compliance and standardization. For decades, we’ve tried to fix them from the top down: new mandates flow down, compliance flows back up, and classrooms change last, if at all.

We believe change works the other way: from the inside out. We work with states, districts, regions, schools, and educators, each on what only they can change.

Children and educators gathered in an outdoor learning circle

How We Work

Lasting change grows from the inside out, through people.

We bring together people who want to transform our education system so they can learn, draw courage from each other, and accelerate the transformation for all.

Relational work

We build trust by coaching and partnering with leaders where they are

Cultivating experiences

We create experiences where adults live the deeper learning we want for students.

Communities of practice

We grow communities where leaders learn with and from one another.

Our Story

Pending DLI decision. The current site’s version (2013 research, 2018 Deeper Learning Dozen launch) is dated. DLI to decide: update or cut this section.