Innovation Lab

Neuroscience in Action

At USC CANDLE, we are committed to transforming educational practice by integrating developmental neuroscience with pedagogical innovation. Our approach is not simply about transferring research insights to educators; it’s about creating a dynamic, collaborative environment where educators actively engage with and apply scientific knowledge to their work, in their unique contexts.

Through initiatives like the USC CANDLE Innovation Lab and the development of COLABs (cohorts of collaborative learning and action-based communities), we aim to foster schooling experiences that promote deep student engagement, transcendent thinking, and lifelong learning.

Programs

COLABS

Collaborative Communities

Part community of practice and part lab, COLABS are collaborative learning and action-based communities, where teachers, researchers and youth co-develop strategies grounded in science to implement in real-world classrooms. Through a series of professional learning workshops and activities, COLABs, composed of school-based teams of educators, learn directly from USC CANDLE about the science of adolescent development and then are supported in creating and implementing actionable science-informed strategies in their schools.

These strategies, constructed around human development, aim to promote civic engagement, emotional well-being and transcendent thinking, which research shows plays a crucial role in students’ long-term success and mental health. The COLABS generate professional development resources for educators and advance research in developmental neuroscience. By enabling a deeper connection between scientific research and practical classroom applications, researchers and educators can address the pressing educational needs of today’s diverse student populations.

The USC CANDLE Summer 2026 Design Sprint brought together over 200 educators from teacher teams around the country to translate adolescent neuroscience into classroom practice. Each educator designed a classroom-specific innovation while collaborating with their team and other education and scientific experts on shared challenges.

Watch how this experience transformed classroom practice:

Professional Learning

Workshops and Resources

We recognize that teaching, like learning, is a social, emotional, and cultural enterprise and teachers require support, programming, and resources that can help them meet the challenges of the current educational climate.

We offer standalone and ongoing science-informed professional learning programming focused on educator wellness, as well as support to help educators and leaders create opportunities for transcendent thinking in their work. Sessions enrich educators’ understanding of the value of transcendent thinking and its long-term benefits.

Educator Professional Services

For secondary educators and teaching teams

Teachers engage deeply in the research on adolescent development, then (re)design and implement a lesson, unit, or project based on what they have learned about the science.

  • Design Introduction: Half or full day experience
    • Learn the science of adolescent development and the Transcendent Thinking framework
    • Analyze an upcoming lesson, unit, or project for where it already invites transcendent thinking, and where it could be strengthened
    • Plan for one developmentally-oriented improvement to try out

Educators leave with a shared understanding of adolescent development, along with concrete ideas and resources to try in their classroom.

  • Design Workshop: Multiple sessions, across a semester
    • Learn the science of adolescent development and the Transcendent Thinking framework
    • (Re)design one aspect of an upcoming lesson, unit, or project to promote transcendent thinking, then try it out between sessions
    • Analyze teacher and student work for evidence of transcendent thinking to see what’s working

Educators leave with a shared understanding of adolescent development, redesigned learning plan, and a way to check how it is landing with students.

  • Design Residency: Multiple sessions, across a school year
    • Learn the science of adolescent development and the Transcendent Thinking framework
    • Engage in repeated cycles of (re)design: prototyping, teaching, examining evidence, and shared learning with CANDLE support throughout

Educators leave with a team fluent in designing for transcendent thinking and a year of evidence about its impact on students.

Multi-year Offering: Any pathway can begin as a pilot with one team and expand across teams and schools in later years, with CANDLE support along the way.

Leadership Consulting

For school and district leaders

Teachers can only sustain this work when leaders create supportive space for it. This partnership offering helps leaders shape the structures, priorities, and culture that allow transcendent thinking to take root. Offered alongside any design pathway.

  • Ongoing thought partnership as you guide implementation with teachers, work through what gets in the way, and keep the vision in view.
  • Targeted guidance on the decisions in front of you, from scheduling and curriculum adoption to how you talk about learning with families.

For more information or to get started, contact Gretchen Livesey at Livesey@usc.edu

Spotlight on Practice

Bezos Family Foundation

We are proud to announce a two-year, $2.1 million grant from the Bezos Family Foundation to launch the USC CANDLE Innovation Lab. This groundbreaking initiative will explore how cutting-edge neuroscience can be integrated into classroom practices to foster deeper student engagement and durable change in adolescent education. The project will bring together researchers, educators, administrators and students in a collaborative setting.

The USC CANDLE Innovation Lab’s primary focus is to explore how understanding adolescent brain development can revolutionize teaching methods, aiming to address challenges such as student disengagement and inequity in learning.We offer standalone science-informed professional learning programming focused on educator wellness, as well as support to help educators create opportunities for transcendent thinking in their work.

Get Involved With COLAB

If you are an educator or administrator interested in establishing a COLAB at your school, apply as a team for the Summer 2026 Design Sprint.

Apply Now!