Elizabeth Foster
Senior Vice President, Research and Strategy
Elizabeth Foster is the senior vice president of research and strategy at Learning Forward. She leads the organization’s research efforts for partnerships, programs, and fundraising. Elizabeth co-wrote the Standards for Professional Learning (2022) with Tracy Crow and now facilitates learning sessions about the standards and develops resources that support their use and implementation. She contributes to the design, facilitation, and evaluation of networks. Prior to Learning Forward, Elizabeth was the vice president of strategic initiatives at the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) where she led a major research investigation about educator support systems that resulted in a report entitled What Matters Now (2016) and a successful three-year improvement network with Learning Forward. Her published work includes studies on teacher recruitment, preparation, and professional learning, urban teacher shortages, community college teacher preparation, professional learning communities, and the demographics of the education workforce. Elizabeth started out with an operating foundation in New York City that supported public education innovation projects, then worked in middle school special education in Boston and staffed a research project about inclusion with the Harvard RALLY project. Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her two incredible daughters, as well as other family and friends – especially on the beach.
All Articles
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Shifting from searching for support to using evidence-based tools to advance high-quality professional learning
Join us during Standards Week for a daily 30-minute high-impact dose of standards-based improvement insights! This year’s Standards for Professional Learning Week will showcase educational leaders and field practitioners in various roles who will share how effective educator professional learning can provide solutions to many of today’s challenges in K-12 […] -
Shifting from random acts of PD to a professional learning system
Join us during Standards Week for a daily 30-minute high-impact dose of standards-based improvement insights! This year’s Standards for Professional Learning Week will showcase educational leaders and field practitioners in various roles who will share how effective educator professional learning can provide solutions to many of today’s challenges in K-12 […] -
Shifting from misalignment to rigor with high-quality curriculum and instructional materials
Join us during Standards Week for a daily 30-minute high-impact dose of standards-based improvement insights! This year’s Standards for Professional Learning Week will showcase educational leaders and field practitioners in various roles who will share how effective educator professional learning can provide solutions to many of today’s challenges in K-12 […] -
Shifting from hoping for the best to measuring impact through standards-aligned professional learning
Join us during Standards Week for a daily 30-minute high-impact dose of standards-based improvement insights! This year’s Standards for Professional Learning Week will showcase educational leaders and field practitioners in various roles who will share how effective educator professional learning can provide solutions to many of today’s challenges in K-12 […] -
Title II: Opportunities and impact
This webinar highlights state and district successes and challenges in implementing Title II-A programs and collecting impact data. As a community, we seek ways to seamlessly support and integrate high-quality professional learning and to share those efforts with Congress and the Administration as they debate the future funding levels for […] -
Study examines how to integrate AI in STEM curriculum
For teachers to make the best use of technology, they need professional learning not only about applicable tools, but also about their potential uses and limitations as well as the integration of those tools into instruction and planning. A recent study by the Education Development Center provides a glimpse into […] -
What works for multilingual students?
Ensuring multilingual students are supported in accessing academic content is critical to those students achieving grade-level standards. But it can be challenging to determine which evidence-based strategies to employ amidst the pressure of maintaining the pace of lessons and curriculum. Research syntheses are an efficient way to understand what we […] -
A reading list for turning research into action
Learning Forward’s 2023 Annual Conference focused on the theme Evidence Into Action. This theme was in keeping with Learning Forward’s commitment to building the evidence base on how professional learning leads to improved outcomes for students and schools. We are invested in examining and applying research on high-quality, results-focused professional […] -
Educators engage with curriculum as learners
Throughout October, three districts kicked off their participation in Learning Forward’s Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Network. Teams of math teachers, math instructional coaches, principals, and district leaders collaborated with Learning Forward to begin strengthening the implementation of the Illustrative Math curriculum for their districts’ middle schools. Putting themselves in the roles […] -
Study examines teachers’ self-efficacy and beliefs in inclusion
Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning call for professional learning that “results in equitable and excellent outcomes for all students” (Learning Forward, 2022). The “all” part of that vision is woven throughout the 11 standards. For example, the Equity Practices standard encourages the development of classrooms where educators “create high-quality […]
