When we created The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL), we chose the word “transformative” with great intention. Because we believe that every day, school should have a brain-changing effect on every student.

The brain is the organ of learning, and because of neuroplasticity, every brain is evolving and has the extraordinary ability to grow and adapt throughout a person’s lifetime, especially during the formative school-age years. These changes happen not by accident, but because of how research-informed teachers and school leaders challenge, support, and work with each of their students every day.

Transformation at St. Andrew’s is sparked by educators who understand how learning happens from preschool through twelfth grade. The CTTL exists to empower educators who shape classrooms, schools, and learning spaces; to provide these educators with professional growth pathways and the research-informed tools they need to understand and apply the science of teaching and learning to their instructional design and work with every student. This allows them to intentionally create experiences that impact not just what their students know, but how their brains and minds engage, feel, struggle, and thrive.

The CTTL collaborates with educators at all stages of their careers, partnering with schools and districts worldwide. We seek to deepen and broaden a teacher’s understanding of the research, strategies, mindsets, and principles of the science of learning so that teachers see themselves as agents of change for each student’s brain and mind. By working annually with thousands of educators, The CTTL is impacting hundreds of thousands of students.

A student should not have to get lucky to have a teacher or school leader who understands how the brain learns. That’s why the CTTL is working to make transformative teaching and learning the norm, not the exception, for every student in every school – starting at St. Andrew’s.