October 22, 2019 — Several members of the Global Science of Learning for Education Network (GSoLEN) Advisory Group made a presentation and sought input from an enthusiastic audience at the annual Grantmakers For Education (GFE) conference in New Orleans.

At the conference, I moderated the Applying the Science of Learning: Early Lessons from a Global Network session. Opened by philanthropic leader Dan Leeds, this GSoLEN session featured outstanding presentations by Kai-ming Cheng of Hong-Kong University, Andrea Chiba from University of California San Diego, Deb Delisle of the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed), and Frank Gettridge of the National Public Education Support Fund. Winsome Waite with All4Ed facilitated much of the subsequent discussion and captured some key takeaways.

A large portion of the session was spent hearing from participants about the benefits and potential challenges for the global initiative. Small table discussions provided opportunities for deep engagement about how the global network could benefit current philanthropic efforts by utilizing the science of learning in order to advance educational policies and practices.