Who is IALM for?
If you care about how people learn — whether you study it, teach it, fund it or simply want to understand it better — there's a place for you here.
A community for everyone with a stake in how people learn.
Understanding how people learn matters to a remarkably wide range of people — and IALM is for all of them. Whether you teach, train, coach, lead, research or support learners in any capacity, or are simply committed to learning well yourself, there is a place for you in our community. Below are just some of the people our work is designed to support.
Teachers
Teachers are at the front line of learning. Whatever the phase or subject, IALM helps teachers understand how their pupils learn, think and remember — and how to put that understanding into practice. Through our resources, training and community, we support teachers to apply evidence-informed learning strategies and to help every learner become more reflective, independent and effective.
Tutors
Tutors play a vital and growing role in supporting learners beyond the classroom. IALM supports tutors — whether independent or working within organisations — with the knowledge, tools and professional recognition to help their students not only achieve, but learn how to learn. For tutors committed to their own professional development, membership offers both credibility and a community of peers.
Lecturers
In higher and further education, helping students become independent, self-regulating learners is central to their success. IALM supports lecturers with insight into metacognition and effective learning, helping them design and deliver teaching that develops not just knowledge, but the capacity to learn well throughout life.
School and college leaders
For those who lead schools, colleges and other institutions, an evidence-informed approach to learning can shape culture, teaching and outcomes across an entire organisation. IALM supports leaders who want to embed effective learning and metacognition strategically — and our Institutional Membership provides a way to bring the benefits of the Institute to their whole staff.
Trainers
Effective training depends on an understanding of how people learn. IALM supports trainers — in education and beyond — to design and deliver learning experiences grounded in cognitive science, so that what they teach is understood, retained and applied. Our resources and professional development help trainers raise the quality and impact of their work.
Coaches
Coaches help others grow, develop and reach their potential — and an understanding of learning and metacognition is central to that work. IALM supports learning coaches, academic coaches and others to draw on the science of learning, helping the people they work with become more self-aware, reflective and capable of directing their own development.
Examiners and assessors
Those who design assessments and examine learners' work have a unique insight into how understanding is built and demonstrated. IALM helps examiners and assessors deepen their understanding of how learners learn, think and show what they know — supporting more informed, reflective professional practice.
Vocational assessors
From apprenticeships to work-based learning, vocational assessors support learners in applied, real-world settings. IALM offers insight into how people learn and develop competence, helping vocational assessors support their learners more effectively and develop their own professional practice.
Companies and organisations
Organisations that invest in how their people learn perform better. IALM works with companies, training providers, tutoring organisations, ed-tech developers and others — as members, partners and supporters — helping them apply the science of learning to their work and demonstrate their commitment to high standards. Our partnerships and corporate membership offer a way to engage with the Institute and access its expertise.
Schools (Schools Membership Scheme)
We believe the benefits of membership should reach whole institutions, not just individuals. Our Schools Membership Scheme allows a school or college to join as an institution, giving named staff access to IALM's resources, training and community — and connecting them to a wider network of institutions committed to evidence-informed learning. It is a simple, cost-effective way for a school to embed a shared understanding of effective learning across its team.
Researchers and academics
IALM is a natural home for those who study learning, metacognition and cognitive development. We welcome researchers and academics as members, collaborators and advisers — offering a community in which to share work, forge partnerships, and help ensure that research reaches the practitioners who can act on it.
Parents and carers
Parents and carers are a child's first and most enduring educators. IALM helps families understand how children learn and how to support effective, confident learning at home — building the awareness and reflection that help young people thrive.
Learners and students
Above all, IALM is for learners themselves. Everything we do is ultimately in service of the people who want to learn more effectively — to understand their own thinking, study with purpose, and grow in confidence and capability. Whatever your age or stage, our work is here to help you learn how to learn.
Policymakers
Those who shape education policy have a profound influence on how millions of people learn. IALM seeks to be a credible, evidence-informed resource for policymakers and decision-makers — contributing insight on learning, metacognition and effective practice to the conversations that shape the future of education.