Compared to any other aspect of schooling, teachers have the greatest impact on student learning. Yet those impacts are dependent upon policies and practices that lead to effective teaching. The demand for evidence on what helps teachers succeed has grown due to several factors, including workforce shortages in some subjects and locations, new teaching expectations, evolving ways of organizing teaching and staffing, the growing use of AI in education, and emerging approaches to teacher preparation.
AIR works with states, districts, and educator preparation partners to attract, support, and retain teachers. Our work helps partners understand which approaches strengthen teaching practice and long-term success.
Our team provides technical assistance and conducts evaluations to generate evidence that strengthens teacher preparation and professional growth, with a focus on:
- Educator pipeline strategies, including teacher residencies, registered apprenticeships, Grow Your Own programs, and rural pipelines to understand which approaches strengthen recruitment, preparation, and retention.
- Staffing innovation and career pathways, such as strategic staffing models and differentiated roles that distribute expertise and improve instructional coherence.
- Preparation for complex instructional contexts, including how teachers are prepared to deliver high‑quality literacy instruction and support multilingual learners and students with a range of learning needs.
- Mentoring and induction, examining early‑career supports that help new teachers develop practice, navigate challenges, and remain in the profession.
- Coherent, curriculum‑aligned professional learning, including coaching, professional learning communities, and technology‑enhanced approaches such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy and AI‑supported approaches.
By integrating evidence with practical support, AIR helps education systems build teacher preparation and performance strategies that respond to local needs and improve learning conditions for students and educators alike.
