story by Claire Miller
Assistant Professor Jonte Myers was chosen for the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Fellowship Program on the Study of Deeper Learning.
This fellowship program will provide Myers with professional development, training and a $25,000 grant to support his research project entitled, "The Benefits of Deeper Learning for Academically At-Risk Students: Which Learning Opportunities Matter Most?"
As a fellow, Myers will have access to the American Institutes for Research’s (AIR) “Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes,” which collected data on more than 1,700 juniors and seniors from 20 high schools. The study’s goal was to determine whether students who were intentionally given opportunities for what AIR calls “deeper learning” – such as complex problem solving and creative thinking activities – saw significantly better academic outcomes.
This data will serve as the basis for Myers’s AERA-funded research study, which will look at AIR’s nine indicators of deeper learning activities and how each one impacts students’ academic achievement and on-time high school graduation rates.
“Deeper learning has been shown to be an effective strategy to put students in the position to succeed in education and in their careers,” he explained. “It sets them up to be lifelong learners and promotes equity in schools.”
Myers will also investigate if students’ self- efficacy and motivation play a role in the relationship between individual deeper learning opportunities and academic success. He will specifically focus on academic outcomes among traditionally disadvantaged student groups including, students living in poverty and those performing at or below the 35th percentile.
The results from Myers’s study could help educators and administrators determine how resources are allocated for deeper learning opportunities in schools, encourage professional development for teachers in this area and support students who are most at-risk for poor educational and economic outcomes.
“One thing I’m passionate about is equity in education,” Myers said. “The results from this grant work could become an integral part of the conversation on meeting the needs of our most vulnerable students.”
For more information about the fellowship program, click here.