UChicago Impact Hosts a Breakfast Briefing on Cultivating Learning Environments That Promote Positive Student Outcomes

This fall, UChicago Impact brought together a diverse group of education stakeholders, from school leaders to foundation leaders, for a Breakfast Briefing on Cultivating Learning Environments That Promote Positive Student Outcomes. Below are a few highlights from the event which introduced new research on learning environments and grades, a demonstration of Cultivate, a new survey and framework based on this research, and a discussion of its potential applications with educators.
 

Dr. Farrington Shows What Learning Environments Mean for Students’ Grades

Dr. Camille Farrington presented an overview of her latest research on the influence learning environments have on students’ Academic Mindsets and Learning Strategies and, in turn, grades. You can watch Dr. Farrington's presentation here and read her recently published working paper here.

"What we found is that what students said about their own mindsets and behaviors in the class predicted their grade for that class and if they said different things across the two classes about themselves, that predicted differences in their grades across the two classrooms."
 
Dr. Camille Farrington,
Managing Director and Senior Research Associate,
The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research

Dr. Murray Demonstrates How Educators Can Use Cultivate Insights to Create Optimal Learning Environments for Students

Dr. Orrin Murray provided a walkthrough of the Cultivate Reporting Site and how it’s designed to provide educators the information they need to create learning environments that foster strong Academic Mindsets and Learning Strategies. Watch Dr. Murray's presentation and explore the Cultivate Demonstration Site. 

"The Cultivate Reporting Site is designed to focus people not necessarily on numbers but on what they can do with the results to improve Classroom Conditions."

Dr. Orrin Murray,
Director of Technology and R&D,
UChicago Impact

Educators Share How They’ve Used Cultivate to Guide Shifts in Classroom Practices to Create Positive Learning Environments

Cassie Walker Burke, Bureau Chief for Chalkbeat Chicago, moderated a panel discussion with James Kutnow and Cassie Muller, educators from the Graham Elementary and Middle School in Ohio, on how they’ve applied Cultivate at their school. Watch the full panel discussion here.

"I love the last component of the Cultivate results—that there are practical suggestions to make a big difference."

James Kutnow,
Dean & Director,
Graham Elementary & Middle School

"As a teacher, the work is challenging. There is a lot of time and intentionality that goes into every lesson and the feedback we give our students. Cultivate can help us prioritize what is most important."
 
Cassie Muller,
Math Teacher and Instructional Coach,
Graham Elementary & Middle School

Thank you to the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation for their generous support of this event and the work to support educators in creating the kind of learning environments that can change what students believe and, thus, how they perform.