Digital Promise Resource Repository
Explore to discover reports and publications on the range of topics we work on - from learning analytics to maker education.
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Recent Submissions
Teacher’s Roles in Supporting Collaborative Learning
(Digital Promise, 2025-05) Judi Fusco; Sarah DiMaria; Beverly Yeadon; Linette Victor; Sarah Hampton; Janet Kolodner; Susan Yoon
This primer explores the essential role of educators in creating and facilitating effective collaborative learning environments. It distinguishes between cooperative and collaborative learning, emphasizing ways that collaborative learning can help foster deeper understanding among students. The paper outlines key stages of collaborative learning: preparation (before), facilitation (during), and reflection (after), providing research-backed strategies for each. Key takeaways include empowering students, valuing all students and their contributions, shifting the teacher's role to facilitator, and preparing students for teamwork. It highlights the benefits of collaborative learning, such as preparing students for teamwork, deepening subject learning, and enhancing collaboration skills. The paper concludes with practical advice for practitioners, addressing challenges, and providing resources to help teachers implement collaborative learning successfully.
Pathways Unlocked: A Learner-Centered Toolkit for Usable Learning & Employment Record Technologies
(Digital Promise, 2025-04) Chioma Aso-Hernandez; Rita Fennelly-Atkinson; Nichole Aguirre; Kate Babineau; Christina Luke Luna
The Pathways Unlocked toolkit is a practical, research-driven resource that helps project teams create credentialing platforms that are equitable, accessible, and learner-centered to support lifelong learning. Drawing on universal design, accessibility standards, and user-centered research methods, the toolkit offers ready-to-use templates, checklists, and case studies that guide teams through every phase of development—from defining inclusive goals and engaging diverse stakeholders to prototyping, testing, and continuous improvement. By embedding user-centered principles early, organizations can reduce costly retrofits, ensure compliance with data-privacy and accessibility guidelines, and deliver LER solutions that authentically reflect learners’ skills, identities, and growth. Ultimately, the toolkit empowers teams to create digital credentialing tools that expand opportunity, increase user trust, and nurtures the learning journey for individuals from all backgrounds.
Exponential Change Brings Exponential Choice: Navigating Life, Learning, and Career
(Digital Promise, 2025-03) Christina Luke Luna; Josh Weisgrau
Success in life and career is often viewed through a narrow lens, but what if we reimagined the pathways that lead there? This work explores a new vision for navigating education and career transitions, emphasizing adaptability, learner agency, and competency-based approaches. Through personal stories and key insights, we examine how K-12 and higher education institutions must evolve to support more flexible, individualized learning experiences. By recognizing the connections between skills, identity, and career growth, we can better equip learners for the complexities of the modern world.
Interview Protocol for Voices of Undergraduate Students Taking Introductory Statistics Courses
(Digital Promise, 2025-02) Achieving the Dream
This document outlines the interview protocol for Achieving the Dream’s (ATD) 2023-24 study, which explored the experiences of 50 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory statistics courses using Lumen One courseware. ATD conducted the interviews virtually via Zoom. Each session began with a student-guided tour of the Lumen One platform, during which students were asked to think aloud as they demonstrated their typical interactions with the courseware. Following this, students responded to a series of open-ended questions designed to examine their experiences in the course. The interview questions focused on students' reasons for enrolling, initial perceptions of statistics, and levels of motivation and confidence.
Voices of Undergraduate Students Taking Introductory Statistics Courses
(Digital Promise, 2025-02) Digital Promise; Achieving the Dream
This report presents findings from a 2023-24 study by Achieving the Dream (ATD), examining the experiences of 50 undergraduate students in introductory statistics courses using Lumen One courseware. The study highlights the effectiveness of courseware features providing formative practice with feedback. It also explores how instructor involvement and course modality influence student engagement and sense of belonging, particularly among students of color. About half of the students indicated that their instructors assisted them in connecting the courseware’s content to their understanding through frequent communication, responsiveness, and a strong presence. While students appreciated the courseware’s real-world examples and low-stakes assessments, few reported using an embedded peer community feature, and some desired more detailed feedback. Recommendations emphasize the importance of improving feedback mechanisms and increasing instructor engagement to better support student success.