NCSS in Atlanta
I’m here at the National Council for the Social Studies in Atlanta. After several great conversations with people interested in Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW), I am motivated to create a forum for...
View ArticleLesson Plans for Sale?
In today’s New York Times, there is an interesting article about teachers selling lesson plans online to raise cash. In general, teachers working with AIW don’t subscribe to this philosophy. Read the...
View ArticleAuthentic Assessments for Free!
So just when all seems lost, Fred Newmann sent a link with some great authentic assessments available for free. Here’s the link.Happy browsing!
View ArticleTranslations — A New Level of Ease
In our ever-shrinking world and our need for cross-cultural communication, authentic tasks require more linguistic facility among students. Some regions of the world, by tradition or geographic...
View ArticleContinuing with Technology
Thinking that Authentic Intellectual Work has one way of being done, or even more importantly, that a technologically-free approach is OK? Check out this link and think again!
View ArticleCultural Awareness and AIW
Recently I was asked an important question from a colleague in Iowa: “I’m curious about this, Dana. Is there online info about cultural awareness through AIW?”Here’s what I know: the New South Wales...
View ArticleCool Processing Tools for AIW
One of the most important aspects of a high functioning professional Learning Team using AIW to increase effective pedagogy is the team’s ability to be reflective. A while back, Bruce King passed along...
View ArticleWhy We Do This Work!
Dana Carmichael WOW – Wednesday’s site visit with Foley High School’s pilot AIW team was amazing. As is best, the presenting teacher brought an assignment she felt needed to improve before reusing it....
View ArticleSystemic Planning
It’s been a week since I last posted. This has less to do with being lazy and more to do with being busy. For those of you who don’t know, Iowa has embarked in a fundamental paradigm shift around...
View ArticleIowa Does It Again!
Improving the nation’s public schools is one of the highest priorities of federal, state, and local government in America. Recent research has shown that the quality of the principal is, among...
View ArticleAIW Coach Named Principal of the Year!
Congratulations to Kathy Lemberger! Not only has Kathy been amazing at implementing Authentic Intellectual Work in Washington Junior High in Manitowoc, WI, she has been instrumental in coaching AIW in...
View ArticleTechnology and AIW: Coaches Skype!
Ten AIW coaches chose to work — not by braving the roads, but rather by using SKYPE to conference. For those who have only heard of SKYPE, it is a free, real-time communication tool that allows two or...
View ArticleTechnology and AIW – Award Worthy!
The weather has been crazy this week for much of the United States. Unseasonably warm weather in the Midwest was replaced by a blanket of snow, forcing schools to shut down and folks to hole up in...
View ArticleCollaborative Problem Solving
Today I got one of those calls. An AIW coach was heading into a leadership team meeting with a lot of anxiety and a full head of steam. To make a long story short, the school leadership kept passing...
View ArticleArt Beyond School: What's the Value?
Recently teachers and AIW coaches have been asking for examples in how students can create projects that reach beyond the classroom; in — other words, score high.Connecting learning beyond school is...
View ArticleTartan High School Makes "Value Beyond" School-wide
We often talk about bringing learning outside the classroom context so students experience how adults problem solve. Within the context of Authentic Intellectual Work, we call this Value Beyond...
View ArticleTechnology and Teens: How Much Is Too Much?
This article is really interesting. Kerri Miller spoke with Larry Rosen and Amanda Lenhart about how much technology younger adults are doing. The Kaiser Family Foundation just published a report...
View ArticleInteresting Ideas on Education
OPINION | February 02, 2010Op-Ed Contributor: Playing to LearnBy SUSAN ENGELIf the Obama administration wants to reform education, it should overhaul the current curriculum, which is completely at...
View ArticleIowa Superintendents Collaborate on Professional Development
Iowa decided in 2007 to implement Authentic Intellectual Work as a statewide initiative. Three years later we have moved from just under 100 teachers to over 1,000 (9 schools to 33 schools). In...
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