Initiative: Stanford Accelerator for Learning

The Stanford Accelerator for Learning connects scholars and students across disciplines with external partners to create scalable, equitable solutions to the most pressing challenges facing learners today.

Advances in artificial intelligence, technology, data science, and the fields of brain and learning science are happening at incredible rates, transforming our ability to address these challenges and improve education.

By leveraging these advances—and collaborating with partners in the public, private, and education sectors—we are working to improve outcomes for all learners, at all stages of life.

Solutions at scale

The world needs collaborative thinkers and problem solvers with a variety of perspectives to tackle our most complex challenges.

Philip Fisher
Director, Stanford Center on Early Childhood
Philip Fisher has led the Stanford Center on Early Childhood (SCEC) since its inception in 2022. He has developed a number of widely implemented evidence-based interventions for supporting healthy child development in the context of social and economic adversity.
He is currently the lead investigator in the ongoing RAPID-EC project, a national survey on the well-being of households with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic, funded by the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation.
“What happens in early childhood has lifelong effects on learning and behavior,” said Fisher. The foundation’s support “will allow us to bring the very best minds together in service to caregivers and the needs of young children everywhere.”
Susanna Loeb
Director, Systems Change for Advancing Learning and Equity
Through the Systems Change for Advancing Learning and Equity (SCALE) initiative, Loeb and other Stanford researchers recently found that “short bursts” of tutoring during the school day result in significant improvements in young students’ literacy skills, affirming the potential of a relatively low-cost and sustainable approach to helping children learn to read.
“We know that one-on-one, personalized tutoring produces the most significant improvements in reading, but many programs like that can be costly and hard to scale,” says Loeb. “This research provides promising evidence that a low-cost program—one that’s easily incorporated into the school day—can help advance reading skills in even the youngest students.”
Maisha Winn
Director, Equity in Learning
As the director for Equity in Learning, Maisha Winn spearheads projects that address disparities in educational outcomes, and foster collaborations with community organizations and educational institutions.
“I think this is such an exciting time right now for Stanford and the GSE,” Winn said. “The Accelerator is a source of such innovative thinking for how we can solve really important issues that are impacting young people in the country, all over the world, and across silos and disciplines.”

A new vision

Learning is central to personal growth and associated with nearly every positive life outcome, including health, income, and happiness. The Stanford Accelerator for Learning is based on the belief that expanding access to high-quality learning experiences is one of the best ways to help people reach their full potential.

Housed at Stanford Graduate School of Education, the accelerator brings together interdisciplinary teams of researchers, students, educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, policymakers, and community leaders to create new solutions to persistent and emerging challenges in education.

a woman sits at her laptop at a desk in a library

Hub for innovation

The Stanford Accelerator for Learning has identified six areas in urgent need of innovative solutions. Breakthroughs in these areas have the potential to impact a wide variety of learners, transforming individual lives, communities, and societies at large.

Digital Learning + AI

All learners should have access to rich digital experiences that empower them to discover, grow, and connect. The accelerator is expanding our understanding of the different ways people learn virtually, enabling better designs that promote deep learning in a digital context and developing pathways to scale. The accelerator is leading cutting-edge research and solutions in artificial intelligence and education to transform teaching and learning in an ethical, equitable, and safe manner.

Early Childhood Learning and Development

Early childhood is the period of greatest brain, biological, and psychological development; 1 million new neural connections are formed every second in the earliest years. What happens at an early age affects lifelong health, learning, and behavior. The newly formed Stanford Center on Early Childhood, an initiative of the accelerator, takes an interdisciplinary developmental perspective on early childhood.

Young children surrounded by adults holding hands

People gather in a room amid colorful banners

Learning Differences and the Future of Special Education

All people need access to learning opportunities that expand their ability to engage fully in life, but educators are often unprepared to teach the wide range of students in their classrooms. The accelerator supports breakthrough research, policy innovation, and inclusive leadership development to improve opportunities for children with diverse learning needs.

Systems Change for Advancing Learning and Equity (SCALE)

Broad, systemic improvements in learning experiences depend on identifying promising practices and refining programs and approaches with strong potential to improve educational outcomes for K–12 students. Our current focus sits at the intersection of personalized learning for students, collaboration with educators, and engagement with policymakers. We convene scholars and stakeholders across diverse contexts, generate high-impact tools and resources, and produce knowledge to drive beneficial systems and policy changes.

People gathered around a table while woman points at a white board with notes on it

A group of students sit in a circle in the grass

Equity in Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed deep gaps between those with access to educational opportunities and those without. While equity is embedded in every one of the accelerator’s initiatives and guides our approach to learning, the Equity in Learning initiative designs solutions to address the factors that perpetuate educational disparities and analyze the roles of race, culture, poverty, community, and identity in learning and teaching.

Adult and Workforce Learning

Learning does not end with the completion of formal education. As technology races ahead, adults who can access new knowledge and skills will be far more likely to thrive. The accelerator is leveraging advances in technology, science, and design in partnership with companies and nonprofits to prepare working learners for dynamic opportunities throughout their lives.

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Stories:Every learner counts

The Stanford Accelerator for Learning makes learning opportunities more accessible and beneficial. We believe that all learners—no matter their zip code, race, gender, identity, or learning difference—have great potential and should have the opportunity to thrive.

Video: Reading the room
A new online tool is radically transforming how to identify struggling young readers.
Story tags:
Stanford Accelerator for Learning
Accelerating Solutions

Meeting
the
the moment

for all learners

Our vision is to accelerate solutions to the most pressing challenges facing learners. When they flourish, it leads to a brighter future.

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