• On this page...

• Participating Schools
• Resources
• Materials
• Evaluation

The goal of this professional development initiative is increase student learning by engaging students in authentic intellectual work. Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is defined by three criteria-construction of knowledge, through disciplined inquiry, to produce discourse, products, and performance that have value beyond school.

The AIW framework establishes criteria for teaching that:

• maximize expectations of intellectual challenge for all students,
• increase student interest in academic work,
• supports teachers’ taking time to teach for in-depth understanding, rather than superficial coverage of materials,
• provide a common conception of student intellectual work that promotes professional community among teachers of different grade levels and subjects, and
• most important, equip students to address the complex intellectual challenges of work, civic participation, and managing personal affairs in the contemporary world.

Significant features of AIW include the following:

• Teachers, administrators, liaisons and coaches form professional learning communities focused on the successful implementation of AIW.
• Leadership is provided with additional support through Leadership Meetings that focus on expansion within a school, appropriate allocation of resources, and deep understanding of the AIW framework.
• Instructional personnel develop a common vision of quality instruction that is supported by research and aimed at improving student achievement.
• Teachers apply AIW to everyday classroom practices.
• Teachers become more introspective and reflective of their instructional practices.

Participating Schools

Resources

The Center for Authentic Intellectual Work - Provides professional development for instructional and assessment reform, using the Framework for Authentic Intellectual Work, originally developed by Fred Newmann, Bruce King, and colleagues at the Center for Organization and Restructuring of Schools, University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Materials

Teaching for Authentic Intellectual Work: Standards and Scoring Criteria for Teachers' Tasks, Student Performance, and Instruction (2009) - Key project resources by Fred Newmann, Bruce King, and Dana Carmichael

AIW Scoring Notepad and Folder: A System for Collecting and Keeping Evidence on Instruction - A scoring notepad to support a teacher’s analysis of instruction. It is best used with Part IIII in the Scoring Manual, Teaching for Authentic Intellectual Work: Standards and Scoring Criteria for Teacher’s Tasks, Student Performance, and Instruction. The purpose of the notepad is to guide the team member‘s collection of evidence while watching a recording of one teacher’s instruction. Along with this notepad is a special folder with a pocket to hold the notepad and keep sheets of feedback from team members. It also includes a slot for the teacher’s DVD.

Authentic Instruction and Assessment: Common Standards for Rigor and Relevance in Teaching Academic Subjects (2007)

Evaluation

 An Initial Evaluation of the Iowa DE Project to Enhance Students' Authentic Intellectual Work, Fall 2007 to Fall 2011 - The study was undertaken through four studies with the following objectives and methods:

• To understand the professional development process within schools, case studies of implementation of the AIW framework in four schools have been completed.
• To understand administrators’ reactions to the program, two focus group discussions were held with administrators and curriculum directors and the results summarized.
• To understand the extent teachers’ intellectual demands were affected by professional development emphasizing feedback from colleagues on the quality of their assignments (tasks) for students, an analysis compared their tasks before and after receiving feedback.
• To understand whether participation in the AIW project is associated with higher achievement on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and Iowa Test of Educational Development, test scores in AIW schools were compared with scores of students in matched schools not in the program.

 Addendum to An Initial Evaluation of the Iowa DE Project to Enhance Students’ Authentic Intellectual Work, Fall 2007 to Fall 2011

Overall, the data indicate that prior to program entry the AIW and control schools did not differ substantially in student achievement and that, in the years following program entry, AIW schools had consistently higher achievement across grade levels in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies than the non-AIW schools.