With a resolute commitment to break down barriers and redefine learning pathways, our education development strategy leverages the dynamic power of personalized mastery learning to create opportunities for children in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
Our Mission
We are driven by a singular vision — to transform education systems so radically that they equip children to become curious explorers, confident learners, capable problem solvers, and creative thinkers. Our core mission is anchored in the strategic delivery of our Mastery Learning Program in schools. But our vision also extends beyond traditional classroom walls, embracing the boundless potential of educational television and digital technologies, to reach children with quality learning opportunities at home and in their communities, regardless of their circumstances.
Learning Poverty
For too long, the global educational landscape has been marred by disparities that perpetuate cycles of disadvantage and learning poverty. According to the World Bank, even before the onset of COVID-19, a staggering 250 million children were out of school, and a further 617 million in schools were not achieving desired learning outcomes. Today, the shadows of learning inequality loom larger over the world’s educational landscape. Progress has stultified in some places and reversed in others due to extreme learning loss and foregone learning – the result of protracted school closures at the height of the pandemic.
Mastery Learning
The Age of Learning Foundation recognizes the urgency to provide children access to engaging and effective learning. We believe that there is an inherent contradiction in one-size-fits-all models of education. Children are not factory widgets. Their very DNA, fingerprints, and differentiated learning needs all cry out deafeningly for personalization. Our work therefore pursues the radical proposition to help all children discover how to master what they learn.
The heart of our approach lies in the principles of Mastery Learner Identity and Personalized Mastery Learning Ecosystems™. We believe that education should be a transformational journey of discovery. One where every child has the chance to learn in their own way and at their own pace. An exploration of the relationships between the learner and the world; an ecology where the child can step into their Zone of Proximal Development and experience that deeply fulfilling sense of “learning flow”. That seamless and sequential dynamic of deep practice and productive struggle which prioritizes stretch goals and learning tasks that are just beyond the child’s ability to master without help. A learning journey supported by a rich tapestry of scaffolding, provided collaboratively by an ecosystem of more knowledgeable others, skillful teacher-tutors, engaged family members, and a convergence of community influences, experiences, and opportunities that are both local and global.
Mastery learning equips children to move forward confidently only after they have truly grasped each concept and commanded each skill. It thereby reduces the risk of learning gaps and fosters a far more robust Architecture of Understanding™. Mastery learning can provide the holistic and personalized educational experience that is reflective of each child’s individuality and differentiated learning needs.
Our Solutions
The Age of Learning Foundation offers a suite of digital learning solutions to combat global learning poverty. Tools we make available to education systems, schools, and households at no cost, through the innovation and generosity of Age of Learning, Inc.
Our solutions and content span numeracy, literacy, language, science, art, music, and more, for children in kindergarten through early primary school. Each asset in our toolbox is meticulously designed to establish and build meaningful learning journeys for young learners.
Our Program
The Foundation’s Mastery Learning Program is a partnership initiative with education systems and education providers designed to help children master what they learn. Guided by a comprehensive roadmap and toolkit, the program spans three phases – pilot, demonstration, and core program – to test, evidence, and scale personalized mastery learning in both formal and informal learning contexts.
The Mastery Learning Program introduces digital learning solutions into classrooms, not merely as educational tools, but as a mechanism to disrupt status quo practices that are not proven to improve children’s learning.
We engage children productively on our digital solutions for 60 minutes per week, not only to build their mastery learning skills and Mastery Learner Identity, but also to create new space, time, and opportunity for teachers to transform themselves from knowledge brokers to skillful tutors. Educators with the freedom to discover how to personalize offline instruction in ways that build and reinforce mastery learning.
By engaging parents as co-architects of mastery learning within the home, our program can serve as a catalyst for the development of new learning ecologies where Mastery Learner Identity can build, grow, and thrive.
As learners progress, school leaders can gain line of sight on an exciting roadmap to where their classrooms and schools can become Mastery Learning Centers of Excellence. These are learning environments with the commitment, connectivity, coordination, capacity, context, content, and competencies to support mastery learning effectively.
By harnessing data-driven approaches, monitoring progress, and facilitating evidence-based decision-making, education systems – at the district, provincial, and national levels – can begin to champion policies, funding mechanisms, and delivery strategies that can make mastery learning universally available to all children.
Finally, our Mastery Learning Program is a project of collaboration, one designed to activate a powerful value network. Change agents that include educators, local communities, governments, implementing partners, education funders, companies, internet service and device providers, and broadcasters. Actors all assembled to unite in a shared vision for educational transformation. Collaborative innovators focused on eliminating all barriers that might prevent children from learning.
A Call to Engagement
Our education strategy is not merely about the present. It is also a blueprint for the future. We leverage technology, nurture partnerships, and embrace diverse funding sources to deploy our work and programs efficiently and effectively. In doing so, we hope to establish a pathway towards sustainable legacies of learning excellence for education systems everywhere.
In sharing this education development strategy, the Age of Learning Foundation is extending an invitation to partners who share our vision, who understand the transformative power of education, and who are committed to nurturing the sparks of curiosity that lie within every child.
Together, we can help children grow from learning to mastery, from potential to brilliance, and from curiosity to opportunity. Your support can be the cornerstone upon which a brighter learning future is created. Let us ignite the potential in every child and help them set their remarkable dreams free.
