This Design Principles for Teacher Preparation report draws upon the foundational work of an earlier Learning Policy Institute (LPI) project that developed Design Principles for Schools: Putting the Science of Learning and Development Into Action, conducted in collaboration with Pamela Cantor and Turnaround for Children (now the Center for Whole-Child Education) and the Forum for Youth Investment under the auspices of the SoLD Alliance.
This report draws extensively on the ideas and texts of several previous LPI projects, in particular:
- Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-Harvey, C., Barron, B., & Osher, D. (2020). Implications for educational practice of the science of learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 24 (2), 97–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791
- Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Schachner, A., & Wojcikiewicz, S. (with Cantor, P., & Osher, D.). (2022). Educator learning to enact the science of learning and development. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/859.776
- Darling-Hammond, L., Oakes, J., Wojcikiewicz, S. K., Hyler, M. E., Guha, R., Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Cook-Harvey, C., Mercer, C., & Harrell, A. (2019). Preparing teachers for deeper learning. Harvard Education Press. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/preparing-teachers-deeper-learning-book
The authors thank our esteemed advisory committee members, who greatly contributed to the conceptualization and explanation of these design principles. In addition, we thank the members of the LPI Communications team for their invaluable support in designing, producing, and disseminating this report.
The EdPrepLab’s work on this project has been supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Skyline Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation. Additional core operating support for LPI is provided by the Heising-Simons Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Sandler Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott. We are grateful to them for their generous support. The ideas voiced here are those of the authors and not those of our funders.
External Reviewers
Design Principles Advisory Committee
- Travis Bristol, Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley
- Megan Franke, Professor of Education, University of California, Berkeley
- Kay Fujiyoshi, Foundations Year Instructor & Advisor, University of Chicago Urban Teacher Residency Program
- Cindy Gutierrez, Director of Clinical Teacher Education & Partnerships, University of Colorado Denver
- Violet Jimenez Sims, Managing Director of Academics, Connecticut Teacher Residency Program
- Susan Keesey, Director, School of Teacher Education, Western Kentucky University
- Gloria Ladson-Billings, Kellner Family Chair in Urban Education, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Jenny Langer-Osana, Professor, Stanford University
- Carol Lee, Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University
- Jabari Mahiri, Professor and William and Mary Jane Brinton Family Chair in Urban Teaching, University of California, Berkeley
- Gilda Martinez-Alba, Assistant Dean, College of Education, Towson University
- H. Richard Milner IV, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University
- Na’ilah Nasir, President, Spencer Foundation
- Jeannie Oakes, Presidential Professor Emerita in Educational Equity, University of California, Los Angeles
- Desiree Pointer-Mace, Director of Graduate Programs & Professor of Education, Alverno College
- Shael Polakow-Suransky, President, Bank Street College of Education
- Jennifer Robinson, Executive Director, Center of Pedagogy, Montclair State University
- Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO, National Center for Learning Disabilities
- Misty Sato, Acting Executive Dean, Canterbury University, New Zealand
- Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, Professor, University of Illinois Chicago
- Lee Schulman, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University
- Kathy Schultz, Dean, University of Colorado Boulder
- Dyan Smiley, Associate Director, Educational Issues, The American Federation of Teachers
- Blake West, Senior Policy Analyst, National Education Association
- Ken Zeichner, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington
Suggested citation: Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Wojcikiewicz, S. (with Rushing, J.). (2025). Design principles for teacher preparation: Enacting the science of learning and development. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/115.854
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Document last revised July 10, 2025
