Authentic Intellectual Work: Improving Teaching for Rigorous Learning

Build teacher capacity to promote students′ authentic intellectual work In spite of numerous reforms to improve rigor and relevance in the classroom, our schools have been slow to change. This work provides A research-validated, field-tested framework that can be applied across grades and disciplines A powerful professional learning component that emphasizes teacher collaboration Detailed examples of lessons, assignments, assessment tasks, and student work Backed by over 20 years of research, the Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) framework helps school-based teams improve the quality of instruction, assessment, and curriculum for higher and more equitable student learning. "Newmann and colleagues offer a refreshing approach to research and professional development, which deeply honors teachers′ critical inquiry and collaboration. Thanks to their insights, educators finally have a framework for promoting rigor and relevance across all grades and subjects. Those who join this journey will reap the rewards of increased teacher engagement and improved student learning." Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Stanford University "Authentic Intellectual Work enables educators to overcome challenges to Common Core implementation. Newmann, Carmichael, and King explain how the AIW approach builds the culture of collaboration and trust required for successful school reform. Importantly, they show how collective professional development among teachers and school leaders can enhance educators’ learning and practice, leading to more equitable student outcomes." Greg Anrig, Senior Fellow The Century Foundation

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I: The AIW Framework 1. Authentic Intellectual Work: Criteria, Examples, Rationale Part II: Teaching to Promote Authentic Intellectual Work: Criteria, Standards, and Rubrics 2. Construction of Knowledge 3. Disciplined Inquiry 4. Value Beyond School Part III: Implementation that Builds Capacity 5. AIW Research 6. Internal Support: Building Capacity for Improved Teaching within Schools 7. External Support: Building Capacity for Improved Teaching within Schools Appendix References

About the Author :
Dr. Fred M. Newmann, Emeritus Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin–Madison, began his education career teaching high school history and social studies in 1959.  Dissatisfied with prevailing curriculum and instruction, he completed doctoral studies at Harvard and began to attack thebroader question:  In what ways can institutions, especially schools, in a modern culture be shaped to enhance community?  This led to research and development of social studies and civic education curriculum, to planning an alternative school, to studies of alienation in secondary schools, theories of democratic citizenship, student community service, higher order thinking in high school curriculum, new approaches to student assessment, the restructuring of public, elementary, middle, and high schools, and professional development to build capacity in low-income schools. At Wisconsin, he taught graduate courses in curriculum and assessment and directed national centers on Effective Secondary Schools and on Organization and Restructuring of Schools (k-12) which generated the initial research on Authentic Intellectual Work that was used in research on Chicago Public School reform. He has published widely and is recognized internationally as a leader in reform of curriculum, instruction and schooling.  He retired from the University of Wisconsin in 2001, and since 2007 helped develop the approach to professional development sponsored by the Center for Authentic Intellectual Work. Dr. Dana L. Carmichael began her teaching career in Japan. After five years, she joined Minneapolis Public Schools as a social studies teacher. In 1995, Dana earned a Fulbright Scholarship, to write authentic curriculum in Namibia on how education promotes democracy in new nations. Her international background, which included living in Chile, Spain and Austria as a child, led her to pursue a PhD in Comparative International Development in Education Studies in the Department of Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, which she completed in 2003. Ultimately her passion for teaching urban students kept her in the Twin Cities. She first learned about Dr. Newmann’s work in the Mid-1990’s while serving as the K-12 District Social Studies Curriculum Specialist. She and Dr. Patricia Avery (University of Minnesota) collaborated on a number of early AIW projects. Her experiences directing these projects, including a Minnesota Best Practices grant (2000) and Federal Teaching American History (2001-2004), combined with additional experiences, including Director of NCLB, Staff Development Director, and Learning Forward academy graduate (2007), prepared her to accept Newmann’s invitation to join him and Dr. King on the Iowa-AIW project. Since 2008, she has served as Executive Director of the Center for Authentic Intellectual, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she lives with her husband and two children. For more information about how the Center and supports educators learn to sustain transformational reform by promoting academic rigor through teacher reflection, visit the Center website at www.centerforaiw.com Dr. M. Bruce Kingis a Faculty Associate with the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work in ELPA concentrates on teaching courses on instructional leadership and teacher capacity, coordinating the Wisconsin Idea PhD cohort program in K–12 leadership, and building effective partnerships between the department and schools and districts. Bruce has been a researcher with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, where he contributed to two studies focused on Authentic Intellectual Work, the Research Institute on Secondary Education Reform for Youth with Disabilities and the Center for Organization and Restructuring of Schools. He received his PhD in curriculum and instruction from UW-Madison and taught upper elementary, middle, and high school for 11 years in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Quito, Ecuador. Bruce has been a research fellow at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, and has consulted on two research projects in Australian schools that extended the body of research on AIW. He serves as associate editor for the international journal Teaching and Teacher Education, and has published in national and international research and practitioner journals. Currently, he provides professional development as an AIW coach in Wisconsin and Georgia. Along with colleagues Fred Newmann and Dana Carmichael, Bruce recently published a companion book to this volume, Authentic Intellectual Work: Improving Teaching for Rigorous Learning (Corwin, 2015).

Review :
"Authentic Intellectual Work provides an effective framework for educators as we move from unpacking CCSS to a focus on instruction and assessment.  Your entire community will appreciate this research and evidenced based approach to closing significant achievement gaps through a focus on what matters most - engaging our youth in meaningful work that prepares them for college and careers. Add this to your Must Read list!" "In a time when education and the world focus too much on testing, Newmann, Carmichael, and King present a set a compelling alternatives based on in-depth research and experience.  Their emphasis on rigor will support meaningful learning and transcend some of the silliness we all confront daily." "Schools are looking for ways to help staff transition to the Common Core and that involves significant changes in the type of work teachers use with students.  Authentic Intellectual Work appears to be a great way to make that happen." "Authentic Intellectual Work is a powerful design for enhancing success for students across ability, ethnicity, and socioeconomics. Although similar ideas have been introduced in the field of education, AIW provides clear parameters for instruction that is authentic." "Newmann and colleagues offer a refreshing approach to research and professional development, which deeply honors teachers′ critical inquiry and collaboration.  Thanks to their insights, educators finally have a framework for promoting rigor and relevance across all grades and subjects.  Those who join this journey will reap the rewards of increased teacher engagement and improved student learning." "Many school administrators, teachers, and parents have responded to the adoption of the Common Core State Standards with a mixture of fear, loathing, and panic. Newmann, Carmichael, and King explain how the AIW framework can enable educators to overcome those fears while building the culture of collaboration and trust required for successful school reform. Importantly, they also show how collective professional development among teachers and school leaders can enhance educators′ learning and practice leading to improved, more equitable student outcomes." "Since my first encounter with AIW, I′ve been inspired because it isn′t about formulas or panaceas. Rather, this framework is about the meaningful unpacking of practice in a way that connects us to our classrooms and helps us see rigor as a catalyst, not an imposition. In short, it′s a cornerstone of my practice." "AIW serves as the foundation for systemic change by providing tools that allows teachers to take risks and be reflective of their practices in the ever changing landscape of education."    Authentic Intellectual Work: Improving Teaching for Rigorous Learning offers educators a valuable framework for constructing the kinds of learning we would hope all of our students experience – grounded in serious inquiry around the topics well-equipped citizens must be prepared to address in an informed society. Just as important, the authors assist school and system leaders in building educator capacity to create these learning experiences in schools, recognizing that schools cannot achieve the aims of any rigorous student standards without first ensuring that educators are well supported and prepared to teach in differing and demanding ways. "This important new book is a tremendous resource for teachers, school administrators, and policymakers. Rooted in more than 20 years of rigorous research, this exceptionally clear and example-packed book makes a compelling case for why authentic intellectual work should be at the centerpiece of the school curriculum—across all grades and subjects." "This is the definitive volume on "authentic intellectual work". It will guide educators in the collaboration they need to challenge each other′s practices toward ever-increasing rigor, a fundamental building block of 21st century learning." "Authentic Intellectual Work has had a profound impact on policy, practice, and research in Australia for nearly two decades. Both the research and the professional development presented in this volume are compelling."