Soochow and Stanford professors win Yidan prizes

By admin | Philanthropy News Digest Updated: 2022-10-13 15:06

The Hong Kong-based Yidan Prize Foundation has announced the 2022 recipients of the Yidan Prize for Education Research and the Yidan Prize for Education Development.
Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emerita at Stanford University and president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, was awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Research for her work in shaping education policy and practice around equitable and effective ways to teach and learn. Hammond’s research reveals the perse ways children learn and how best to teach them—and feeds those insights into robust educator development programs that holistically support teachers to change children’s lives.
Yongxin Zhu, founder of the New Education Initiative (NEI) and a professor at the Soochow University School of Education in Taiwan, was awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Development for his work in improving teaching quality and transforming learning outcomes in China. NEI supports the well-being and development of teachers, reaching over 500,000 teachers and eight million students across China—more than half of whom are in rural and remote areas.
The laureates will each receive HK$30 million ($3.82 million)—HK$15 million in the form of a cash prize and HK$15 million in support of a project fund of their choice. Hammond plans to scale up her work at Educator Preparation Laboratory, a network focused on supporting student-centered, equity-focused teacher preparation programs that are grounded in the science of learning and development and prepare teachers to help students learn in empowering ways. Zhu plans to expand NEI’s reach in remote, rural areas in China and develop a cloud-based learning hub, improving education quality, and providing inclusive and equitable access to education for all learners. Established by Tencent co-founder Charles Chen Yidan, the Yidan Prizes are the world’s largest international award for education.
“Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond and Professor Yongxin Zhu...both play an important role in empowering our teachers and youth with the skills needed to thrive in the 21st century,” said Edward Ma, secretary-general of the Yidan Prize Foundation. “Their work clearly shows the transformative impact that teachers can have on learners. And when students have great teachers, they have great opportunities.”