Learning Genie, an AI-powered education platform, today announced the opening of the Marzano & Magaña AI Research Cohort, a national study led by Dr. Robert Marzano and Dr. Sonny Magaña measuring the impact of agentic AI on student agency and learning outcomes. The study is powered exclusively by Learning Genie's AI curriculum agent.
Dr. Marzano and Dr. Magaña are selecting up to 30 middle school educators from across the country to take part. Each participating educator will co-design an AI-powered instructional unit in Curriculum Genie and run it alongside a traditional baseline unit in their own classroom. The difference between the two, tracked through pre- and post-assessment data and the validated HOPE scale, forms the effect size at the center of the study.
The research centers on two frameworks: Agency-Based Learning, which measures how students move from passive AI users to active participants who set goals, co-create, and self-regulate, and Place-Based Learning, which grounds instruction in students' own communities. Educators taking part receive access to Curriculum Genie for the duration of the study and direct mentorship from Dr. Marzano and Dr. Magaña throughout every phase of the research.
Findings from all participating classrooms will be compiled into a national meta-analysis, with participating educators earning co-author recognition on the final publication.
For Learning Genie, the cohort formalizes a conviction that has shaped the platform from the start: that student agency is not fixed, but teachable, measurable, and able to grow like any other skill.
"Agency is not a trait. It’s a skill we can grow. ABL shows us how." - Dr. Gene Shi, Learning Genie CEO.
The study aims to put numbers behind that idea, giving educators the first large-scale evidence of how agentic AI moves students from passive users of technology to active drivers of their own learning.
Educators interested in joining the cohort can apply now at www.learning-genie.com/programs-initiatives/marzano-magana-research-cohort
Learning Genie
Learning Genie is an agentic AI-powered education platform for P–12 curriculum design. Serving educators from pre-K through 12th grade, Learning Genie helps teachers shift classrooms from static, one-size-fits-all content to dynamic, agency-based learning. Its curriculum agent, Curriculum Genie, enables teachers and students to co-design standards-aligned units built on content from all 50 states. Localized to students' own communities, the platform features embedded Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Portrait of a Graduate competency tracking.
Marzano Resources
Marzano Resources, founded by renowned educational researcher Dr. Robert Marzano, translates decades of education research into practical, high-impact classroom strategies for K–12 schools. Through professional development, assessment tools, and research-based frameworks, Marzano Resources helps districts turn evidence into everyday practice that improves student achievement.
Magana Education
Magana Education, founded by award-winning educator and researcher Dr. Sonny Magaña, advances the effective use of technology to accelerate learning. Dr. Magaña is the author of Disruptive Classroom Technologies and creator of the T3 Framework for Innovation, which helps educators move technology use from translational to transformational impact on student learning.
