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William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation

Creating Capacity for Innovation Across Education Systems

We convene stakeholders and catalyze educators to implement and scale the most effective approaches to education.

Tomorrow’s learners deserve innovative*, collaborative and agile schools. To ensure that all learners succeed in a rapidly changing world, the Friday Institute creates capacity for innovation and adaptation across educational systems through dynamic resources, a community of partnerships and our corpus of research.

*We define innovation as the application of novel and scalable ideas, tools and practices that advance education.

Real Issues, Real Data Series

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The “Real Issues, Real Data” series is designed for K-12 educators, researchers and policymakers to explore pivotal topics in education. Topics include AI and computer science, cell phones in educational settings, career pathways in STEM, cybersecurity and more. Engage deeply with cutting-edge research and empirical data to inform evidence-based decisions that will shape the future of education. Each session is a stand-alone topic with expert thought leaders to support the education community in innovating solutions and drive impactful change in the educational landscape.

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featured programs

AI with the FI

At the Friday Institute, we are working with educators and educational leaders to leverage AI for deeper learning, support teachers and students in effective uses of AI, ensure equitable access in how AI is incorporated into education and conduct research on AI integration in instruction. Our recent 4-part webinar series served 562 educator participants.

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Online Professional Learning for Educators

Friday Institute online courses are built on research-based models of effective professional development and learning communities that focus on job-embedded, peer-supported and self-directed learning.

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LASER Institute Aims to “BEAM” Learning Analytics to New Institutions

The LASER Institute was established in 2021 with the objective of preparing researchers with the knowledge, skills and resources necessary for more advanced study of learning analytics (LA) and for collaborating with researchers and practitioners from different backgrounds, especially those from advanced data analytics. The program has served over 130 scholars in its three years.

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