Learning First

Learning First is a global organisation of policy advisers, consultants, researchers and teachers who work closely with education leaders to tie reform at the highest levels of government to deep change in the classroom. Based in Melbourne, Australia, and founded in 2014 by Dr Ben Jensen, Learning First advises governments on school system reform, leadership, and continuous improvement in schools and systems through teacher and school leader professional learning. We also work with organisations such as the OECD, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Washington-based National Centre on Education and the Economy to produce high-quality research explaining the success of the world’s highest-performing education systems. Drawing on this research, Learning First has developed a school improvement model that encourages teachers and school leaders to work in collaborative teams to understand deeply where their students are in their learning, then to develop strategies to address gaps in this learning. Learning First shows systems how to develop the workforce structures and policies in data collection, evaluation and professional learning that will support schools and hold them accountable as they drive system-wide change. It has worked with five Australian states to implement models of school and system improvement.