Open Future Institute is honored to announce that Dr. William Damon, Director of Stanford University Center on Adolescence, and Dr. Heather Malin, Director of Research, have begun to conduct a 16-month impact study of the QUESTion Class. The impact study is funded in full by the Fetzer Institute. We are thrilled with our new partnership with Fetzer as we share together a long term view of what’s possible in education and a spirit of rigor and commitment to make it happen!

The QUESTion Class is a semester-long, 80+ lesson curriculum that is divided into five core units that support students to explore big life questions through different themes, topics and perspectives. These units are: Choice, Purpose, Fearlessness, Interconnectedness and Bigger Picture. The program is currently implemented in twelve schools in New York city and two schools in Los Angeles.

The lead researcher of the impact study, Dr. Heather Malin, has intensively studied themes of purpose in adolescence. Her work explores how schools can support students in developing purpose. Dr. Malin is the author of the book, Teaching for Purpose: Preparing Students for Lives of Meaning (2018), and numerous research articles on youth purpose. Her book includes a profile on the QUESTion Project.

In addition to serving as the Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, Dr. Damon is a Professor of Education at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Dr. Damon is one of the world’s leading researchers on the development of purpose and is considered  one of “The 50 Most Influential Living Psychologists in the World.”

The Impact Study will include interviews of current and former QUESTion Class teachers and students and will be completed by early 2021.