AIW - Authentic Intellectual Work

Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is a framework that analyzes instruction for three main components: construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school. 

When I was introduced to AIW five years ago, my first thought was: if AIW is done "right, it will get really messy. My second thought was: AIW sounds a lot like the way I teach. (And yes, it's messy.)

By messy I mean the learning, when authentic, is in the hands of the students. Higher order thinking (a lynchpin in AIW) is halting, recursive, divergent, unpredictable. No wonder teachers cower back to lower-order questioning, with its safe, predictable answers. 

AIW challenges teachers to bring their "tasks" (assignments), videos of instruction, and samples of student work to teams of co-workers, who use a rubric of sorts for scoring and recommendations for revision. The process works best if teachers allow themselves vulnerability and bring tasks that they're dissatisfied with. The discussions focus on deepening students' learning.

I'm writing about this tonight because I've been preparing a bundle (task, student work, videos of class discussion & writing conferences) to take to coaches' training on Friday. Just the process of pulling together the items for my bundle has impelled me to 1) revise my task, 2) critique my writing conferences (!!??!), 3) scrutinize the depth of class discussion, and 4) evaluate students' annotations for substantive exchange of ideas.  All this, and we haven't begun the scoring yet.

Writing Conference

AIW isn't perfect. The structure of sharing and scoring tasks and instruction can feel belabored--especially if group members are not fully engaged on doggy Wednesday afternoons. And of course it has its own acronym-laced jargon that both grates and frustrates. 

But the emphasis of AIW is to create settings for teachers to engage in meaningful discussions about ways to improve their teaching. That's a trend I can push for.  

Day 24: Which learning trend captures your attention the most, and why? (Mobile learning, project-based learning, game-based learning, etc.)

Reflection: Would you like to look at my bundle?