New Grants Support Research into Math Education Using Datasets from Curriculum Associates, EdLight, Khan Academy, and University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning

Digital Promise, Curriculum Associates, EdLight, Khan Academy, and the University of Florida (UF) Lastinger Center for Learning today announced the next cohort of Advancing Innovative Math Solutions (AIMS) EduData research grants. Through these grants, researchers will partner with some of the most widely used digital learning platforms in schools to better understand student and teacher motivation, engagement, and persistence in mathematics.

Ranging from $18,000 to $165,000, these grants bring early-career investigators into the AIMS Collaboratory, a Gates Foundation initiative focused on strengthening research infrastructure to advance mathematics education. Grantees will use rich datasets from digital learning platforms to conduct original research, contributing to an infrastructure that helps researchers, developers, and practitioners to enhance the quality of digital math tools and classroom practices.

“We are delighted to see the range of research and development projects made possible through the tools and resources provided through AIMS EduData,” shared Rebecca Griffiths, postsecondary learning research director at Digital Promise. “These new projects are tackling really important educational challenges, including reducing math misconceptions and supporting teachers’ formative assessment practices. Providing streamlined access to datasets and research tools is enabling scholars to tackle these questions in months instead of years.”

The 13 grantees were selected from a competitive pool of more than 55 applicants and include graduate students, educators with research roles, educators and school leadership, and early career professionals from across the country, including California, Utah, Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida. Several grantees received large research grants allowing teams to investigate tools that use AI-assisted analysis of student work to support leaders and educators in addressing math misconceptions and improving math teaching and learning.

These new awards contribute to a growing movement that seeks to bridge research with the tools students already use, address challenges that educators prioritize, and speed the incorporation of research insights into well-used curricular resources.

Teryn Thomas, CEO and founder of EdLight shared, “Most education research is done about schools. We chose to put these funds directly into the hands of schools and districts so they can answer the big, hairy questions they’ve been carrying for years. The educators in this cohort are not subjects of the research, they’re leading it. That shift matters, especially for the students who’ve been waiting longest for the answers.”

Across all 13 awards, funding will enable grantees to study how digital learning data connects between student motivation, mathematics resources, and math learning. Several early-career researchers are leveraging advanced analytics and AI to improve math education. Additionally, grantees will also access career development opportunities and build relationships with a dynamic community of digital learning providers and researchers.

Research funded by the AIMS EduData research grants include the following projects:

• Formative Data, Observation, and Classroom Understanding Study (FOCUS): A Research-Practice Partnership
• Seeing Student Thinking: Using AI-Assisted Formative Assessment to Reduce Mathematical Misconceptions with a Focus on Algebraic Thinking in Grades 6–8 in the School District of Philadelphia
• Scanning for What Works: Validating Optimal Conditions for AI-Assisted Formative Assessment
• Misconception Trajectories as Early Indicators of Mathematics Risk: Testing the Predictive Value of Feature-Engineered Cognitive Error Patterns in EdLight
• One Practice, Two Outcomes: Using Student Work to Build Teacher Content Knowledge and Precision in Instructional Response
• AI-Enabled Learning: Building Teacher and Instructional Leadership Capacity Through Student Work
• Shifting Teacher Attention from Scoring to Instruction
• Strengthening Data-Driven Instruction Through Integrated Professional Learning and Collaborative Data Cycles
• Timing is Everything: A NCARE/Washoe County/Curriculum Associates Collaboration on Digital Platform Usage, Engagement and Mathematical Outcomes
• Modeling Educator Report-Use Strategies in i-Ready: Patterns, Context, and Associations with Student Growth
• Integrating Struggle Quality into Knowledge Tracing Models of Mathematics Learning
• Interpretable Teacher Engagement Profiles and Causal Effects in Math Matrix Micro-Credentials
• Early Detection of Teacher Disengagement in Competency-Based Professional Development: A Machine Learning Analysis of the Math Matrix Micro-Credential

Digital Promise anticipates announcing grant competitions in late 2026 and early 2027, offering opportunities for more researchers to work with these and other digital learning tools. Visit the AIMS EduData website and subscribe for updates to learn more.

Researchers interested in collaborating with digital learning platforms can find additional opportunities through related efforts—such as SEERNet and SafeInsights—where Digital Promise plays a key role.