Dan Cogan-Drew of Newsela: Helping Students Become Agents of Their Own Learning

The science of learning and development reveals how academic growth is fueled not just by the acquisition of knowledge, but from dynamic relationships between students, teachers, peers and what they experience.

So what experiences can education technology offer to support those relationships and spur engagement and motivation to learn? That’s what Newsela seeks to create - by tapping into every child's curiosity in accessible and relevant ways. Newsela offers educators and students access to current news stories no matter their reading level - on everything from the mission to Mars, to the Derek Chauvin trial, to the new pets in the White House.

And it seems to be working. A randomized controlled trial study found that students using Newsela twice a week doubled their reading scores compared to students taught reading without the platform. Today, Newsela is in 90% of American schools, serving 37 million students and 2.5 million teachers. EdTech funders have certainly taken notice. Newsela recently announced a $100M Series D investment.

So how does it work? For the answer we turned to Dan Cogan-Drew, Newsela’s Co-founder and Chief Academic Officer. Dan has worked in education for 25 years, as a public, independent and charter school teacher, and with a focus on integrating digital learning technologies to engage students and accelerate learning.

For more information, go to www.turnaroundusa.org/podcast.