The LiDKit: Resources for Implementing the Learning in Depth Program

The Learning in Depth Program (LiD) has captured the imagination of teachers and students in over a dozen countries around the world. This innovative program fosters curiosity and nurtures a love of learning by allowing students to become self-directed experts on a topic over the course of their schooling.
Designed for teachers who will be supervising the development of students’ LiD portfolios, this resource kit addresses practical matters of keeping students imaginatively engaged with their LiD topics. The LiDKit: Resources for Implementing the Learning in Depth Program compiles materials for teachers who want to implement LiD in their classrooms or schools, as well as introduce LiD to other teachers, administrators, and parents. Included are:

• The 112-page book Implementing the Learning in Depth Program
• 5 copies of the booklet Learning in Depth: A Brief Guide for Parents/Guardians
• 104 activity cards for students
• 2 copies of a laminated list of LiD topics and criteria
• 5 copies of the “Seven Steps to Starting LiD” brochure
• 2 copies of the “LiD Team Support Services” brochure
• DVD: A digital edition of Kieran Egan’s book Learning in Depth: A Simple Innovation That Can Transform Schooling
• DVD: Resources for Implementing the Learning in Depth Program
  • Reproducible resource materials include templates for teacher logs and blackline masters for student use; sample letters to school administrators and parents/guardians; a digital copy of Learning in Depth: A Brief Guide for Parents/Guardians; starting questions for students; FAQs about the program; and LiD activity topics for students, sorted by categories.
  • Non-reproducible resource materials include five teachers’ accounts of implementing LiD; two models for implementing LiD; and two brief videos and a PowerPoint presentation about LiD.

“The Learning in Depth project has brought to our students a completely new relationship to learning that has been surprising in its depth and quality.” —Sheri Dunton, K–3 teacher, Corbett School, Oregon

Dr. Kieran Egan

The LiDKit draws on the collaborative work of more than 25 teachers and researchers led by Kieran Egan, a professor of education and Director of The Imaginative Education Research Group at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Egan’s recent books include An Imaginative Approach to Teaching (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005), Teaching Literacy: Engaging the Imagination of New Readers and Writers (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006), The Future of Education: Reimagining Our Schools from the Ground Up (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), and Learning in Depth: A Simple Innovation That Can Transform Schooling (University of Chicago Press, 2010). His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Table of Contents

The 112-page book Implementing the Learning in Depth Program:

• Introduction to LiD and the LiDKit
• Getting Started
• Building the Portfolio
• A Model for Grade 1 Teachers: Learning in Depth about Money
• Adapting LiD for Gifted, Talented, and Special Needs Students
• Adapting LiD for Middle School and Older Students
• Subject-Specific Adaptations of LiD
• Letter to Parents
• Letter to School Administrators
• Templates for Teachers’ Logs and Blackline Masters

5 copies of the resource booklet Learning in Depth: A Brief Guide for Parents/Guardians

2 copies of a laminated list of suggested LiD topics and criteria for selecting them

104 activity cards for students

5 copies of the “Seven Steps to Starting LiD” brochure

2 copies of the “LiD Team Support Services” brochure

DVD: A digital edition of Kieran Egan’s book Learning in Depth: A Simple Innovation That Can Transform Schooling

DVD: Resources for Implementing the Learning in Depth Program

• Reproducible resource materials
  • Templates for teachers’ logs
  • Blackline masters for student use
  • Sample letter to parents/guardians
  • Sample letter to school administrators
  • LiD activity topics for students, sorted by categories
  • A digital copy of Learning in Depth: A Brief Guide for Parents/Guardians
  • Starting questions and “Did you know?” facts
  • FAQs about LiD
• Non-reproducible resource materials
  • Teachers’ accounts of implementing LiD:
    • Bob Dunton
    • David Futter
    • Linda Holmes
    • Natasha Morley
    • Shannon Shields
  • A Model for Grade 1 Teachers: Learning in Depth about Apple
  • A Model for Grade 1 Teachers: Learning in Depth about Money
  • Two brief videos about LiD
  • A PowerPoint presentation about LiD

• Brochure
• Sample pages

For more information about the Learning in Depth program, visit The Imaginative Education Research Group.

“Learning in Depth outlines a bold and stimulating curricular innovation designed to improve the quality of schooling from kindergarten through high school.”
—Philip W. Jackson, University of Chicago

“The Learning in Depth project has brought to our students a completely new relationship to learning that has been surprising in its depth and quality.”
—Sheri Dunton, Corbett Charter School

“LiD has changed my children!!! In the two years since their school adopted this program, my children learned how to love learning!”
—A parent, on IERG website

Additional copies of the book Implementing the Learning in Depth Program (ISBN 9781926966168) are available to those who have purchased a kit.