CONNECTING EDUCATORS. EMPOWERING STUDENTS.
The Institute for Global Learning has a strong commitment to both furthering research in the field of K-12 global education and to develop research skills amongst our network of global education practitioners, leading the work at their schools. We work to support emerging and practitioner research in the field, and curates relevant findings to improve student learning and empower global educators.
The Global Learning Assessment Labs launch a new strategic initiative to better understand and articulate the impact of global learning on students and schools. Offered during the 2026–27 academic year, these gatherings bring educators and leading researchers together to examine existing approaches and develop practical tools and resources for the global learning community.
Hosted at University of Pennsylvania
October 15-16, 2026
Hosted at Fondazione Intercultura, Tuscany, Italy
December 1-2, 2026
OCTOBER 15-16, 2026
Hosted at University of Pennsylvania
Our Global Learning Assessment Lab is an intentional gathering of educators to unpack both emerging research on and practices in how we assess and understand the impact of our programs with students. We will learn with expert researchers about existing assessments and collaborate to better design tools and resources to help our schools both understand and articulate what students are learning through experiential and place-based programs offered by our schools. The two-day program will feature a half-day workshop with Dr. Zachary Hermann focused on program design and assessment as well as an extended panel of practitioners offering practical insights into their assessment work. Our Global Learning Assessment Lab in the United States will be hosted at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, a global leader in education research, and will focus on experiential and place-based learning.
Philadelphia, PA at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
Experienced program directors, academic leaders
Registration is for member schools, and others are invited to express their interest via email to info@globallearning.org
Participant registration fee is $475
Registration includes breakfasts and lunches both days, and optional happy hour reception. Does not include housing.
Participants will earn a joint certificate in Global Learning Assessment from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and the Institute for Global Learning.
8:00–9:00 am — Breakfast and conversation
9:00 am–12:00 pm — Purpose and current practice
12:00–1:00 pm — Lunch in groups
1:00–4:00 pm — Workshop with Dr. Zachary Herrmann
4:00–4:30 pm — Debrief and review of plans for Friday
8:00–9:00 am — Breakfast and conversation
9:00–10:30 am — Planning session
10:30 am–12:00 pm — Practitioner panel
12:00–12:30 pm — Lunch
12:30–2:00 pm — Planning session and closing
Zachary Herrmann serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Dr. Herrmann leads the Penn Leadership Education Institute, the Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice initiative, and designs partnerships and professional learning efforts focused on teacher and leader development, team effectiveness, negotiation, and creative problem solving. Dr. Herrmann is a Faculty Fellow with the Penn Environmental Innovations Initiative and chairs the Penn GSE Committee on Professional Learning. His recent publications include articles entitled “ A 4 Step Approach to Planning Collaborative Experiential Learning” and “Four Ways to Create Authentic Student Learning Experiences” and books entitled “Teaching a Future President: Empowering Students to Take On Almost Impossible Problems” and “Core Practices for Project-Based Learning: A Guide for Teachers and Leaders.”
Dr. Herrmann also serves as a member of the professional faculty at Penn GSE, where he teaches within several of the school’s master’s and doctoral programs. Dr. Herrmann also within the M.B.A. program at The Wharton School.
The venue is within walking distance of Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, the city’s main Amtrak station.
Hotels within a 10-minute walk of the venue include:
Sheraton Philadelphia University City
The Study at University City
The Inn at Penn
DECEMBER 1-2, 2026
Hosted at Fondazione Intercultura, Tuscany, Italy
Our Global Learning Assessment Lab is an intentional gathering of educators to unpack the emerging research on how we assess and understand the impact of our programs with students. We will learn with expert researchers about existing assessments and collaborate to better design tools and resources to help our schools both understand and articulate what students are learning through intercultural and immersive programs offered by our schools. Our Global Learning Assessment Lab in Italy will be hosted by the Fondazione Intercultura, an organization leading European research on intercultural and immersive learning during secondary school.
Fondazione Intercultura Training Center
Via Gracco del Secco 100
53034 – Colle di Val d’Elsa (SI)
Tuscany (The closest transportation hub is Florence)
4:00 pm — Bus from Florence to Colle di Val d’Elsa
Group dinner at the hotel
Breakfast at the hotel
9:00 am–1:00 pm — Sessions at the Fondazione Intercultura Training Center
1:00–2:00 pm — Lunch at the Fondazione Intercultura Training Center
2:00–5:00 pm — Sessions at the Fondazione Intercultura Training Center
7:00 pm — Group dinner in Colle di Val d’Elsa, within walking distance of the hotel
Breakfast at the hotel
9:00 am–1:00 pm — Sessions at the Fondazione Intercultura Training Center
1:00–2:00 pm — Lunch at the Fondazione Intercultura Training Center
2:00–5:00 pm — Sessions at the Fondazione Intercultura Training Center
7:00 pm — Group dinner in Colle di Val d’Elsa, within walking distance of the hotel
Breakfast at the hotel
9:00 am — Bus to Florence
Optional excursion in Florence
This program is designed for experienced program directors and academic leaders. Registration is open to member and prospective member schools. Limited space may be available for third-party organizations with a specific connection to the topic.
$1600 USD per person
Program cost includes single-occupancy accommodations for 3 nights in a comfortable, mid-range Italian hotel, meals throughout the program, and round-trip transportation between Florence and the program location at the beginning and end of the program.
Thank you to the Fondazione Intercultura for their support of this program.
Mattia Baiutti PhD is the Secretary General of Fondazione Intercultura in Italy, a leading research organization focused on intercultural learning in schools. At the Fondazione he leads the numerous research initiatives along with educator development. The Fondazione hosts regular international gatherings of researchers from across Europe and beyond. Mattia has worked as a visiting scholar, researcher, and consultant across Europe including with the University of Durham (UK), the University of Udine (Italy), the OECD PISA assessment on global competence, and the Council of Europe. His research focuses on high school student mobility, internationalisation of education (schools), intercultural competence and its assessment in secondary age students. He has numerous publications on these topics, including recent articles entitled “Global Citizenship Values through Teaching and Mobility” and “Developing and Assessing Intercultural Competence during a Mobility Programme for Pupils in Upper Secondary School” and has developed original tools for assessing student learning during exchange and intercultural immersive learning.
Since 2021, the Institute for Global Learning has offered a professionally facilitated fellowship open to educators in our member schools. This year-long fellowship allowed these Action Research Fellows to learn about action research and execute a research project to improve global education practice at their schools, while learning from and with a cohort of peers.
The Action Research Fellows program empowers participants to use action research to explore an area related to global education, including (but not limited to) assessing global education programs or initiatives, assessing student global competence development, faculty professional learning in global competence, and designing new programs or initiatives.
This program provides training in graduate level research methods, leadership and professional growth, in addition to mentorship and personalized feedback. The body of work produced by each fellow is meant to further their own practice, the programming at their institution, and the Institute for Global Learning Community.
Fellows will meet virtually for 90 minutes once a month from October-June, every third Thursday at 3:30-5PM Pacific // 6:30-8PM Eastern.
The cost of participation is $1275. As a non-profit, the Institute for Global Learning offers this kind of opportunity to member schools at well below cost.
Registration deadline September 18, 2026
Dr. Clare Sisisky is a research associate and adjunct faculty at the Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia University, where her research focuses on immersive learning, climate action curriculum, and global citizenship education. She is the Executive Director of the Institute for Global Learning and earned her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania.
Every year, the Institute for Global Learning publishes new research in the field of global education as well as research reviews by educators in our annual magazine Interconnected.