As the superintendent of a school district that is a participant in Authentic Intellectual Work, I am very grateful for the professional support our entire district has received from TS Educational Leadership Consultants. Both Tina Wahlert and Susie Peterson have demonstrated a passion for their mission and a commitment to our district and staff to the highest degree. Both Tina and Susie are organized, proactive, dedicated, and very responsive in working with our district to meet and fulfill our needs; both of them are very willing to listen and respond to the highly-individualized needs as expressed by the stakeholders and staff who are a part of our district. I cannot emphasize enough how valuable TS Educational Leadership has been to improving the quality of teaching and learning at Kelliher School District.

Using the AIW rubrics to analyze my instructional practices helped me realize how much more effective I could be. After taking a long hard look at how I was teaching and what I was expecting of my students, I realized I was spending too much time trying to impart my knowledge and spending too little time allowing my students to construct their own. I discovered that primary age students are capable of a much deeper understanding of concepts than what we have always given them credit for.

AIW has changed the culture of teaching and learning in our district. Professional learning teams are empowered with knowledge, skills, and processes to improve the intellectual outcomes for their students. It has brought coherence and clarity as we work to develop creative problem solvers ready for college and career. Teachers across all grade levels state it is the most impactful experience of their professional lives.

AIW and IB are a natural fit. The AIW professional learning opportunities provide teachers with great support to develop inquiry- and concept-based units, and strong performance assessments, that enhance the IB curriculum and learning goals. Bruce and Laura are building our teachers’ capacity for intellectually challenging lessons that involve students in substantive conversations and elaborate written communication.

I’m excited that the AIW Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will be here to support schools in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Authentic Intellectual Work is the best professional learning with which I’ve worked. It gets right to center of the interaction between student, teacher, and the instructional content. The services and tools available through the Institute will helpful to any school staff trying to close the achievement gaps or raise the rigor of student learning. At the helm of the Institute is Dr. Bruce King, one of the researchers who helped build the research base behind AIW. Armed with probing questions based on his knowledge of AIW in action, he helps teachers reflect on their instructional practice and think about the ways they can boost students’ ability to identify important issues, solve problems, and conduct critical analysis using higher order thinking skills.

Thank you for what you have given the educational community. [AIW] has made an impact on my teaching, on my students, and on the educational community as a whole. This method really does challenge me to make a lesson better and provide students with authentic learning that will benefit them in their future.

I have been gifted with the opportunity to work with and learn from Bruce King. He has an amazing capacity to develop and build trusting relationships with educators while working on sophisticated and challenging work. His unwavering focus on high quality student learning and reflective dialogue around a common vision for student learning is inspiring. You can count on Bruce to continually ask important questions which will allow you to own your own learning and grow as an educator.

For more than 20 years, studies consistently show higher and more equitable achievement for diverse learners when they experience higher levels of authentic instruction and assessment. Students are more engaged and learn more when teachers challenge them to think critically, to delve deeply into problems and big ideas, and to make connections between their school work and personal or real-world concerns. Bruce King has been deeply involved in both AIW research and professional development to help teachers and administrators, K-12, promote it. The AIW Institute provides important support for sustained teacher collaboration in school teams, aimed toward a common intellectual agenda of authentic intellectual work, guided by honest critical inquiry that generates school- and district-level ownership.

“Districts can develop an ability to become blind to their own struggles or areas in need of growth. TS Consultants were that objective resource and ally we needed to re-energize our AIW journey. In our five-year collaboration with TS Consultants, West Sioux has been able to develop a data driven, multi-team based approached to AIW implementation, training, and instructional reflection. They provided us with all staff and small group trainings on specific AIW scoring rubric standards like Substantive Conversation, Higher Order Thinking, and Value Beyond School. They have trained a core team to conduct our data piece to AIW implementation called Classroom Implementation Profile or CIP and have helped this team analyze and reflect on this data to improve AIW trainings and professional development. What makes TS Consultants unique is the follow-through after trainings or consultations. They are only an email, text, call, or Google Hangout away.”

“Thank you again for all the support and great ideas. This has been the most productive professional development initiative I have had in my 23 years of teaching. ”

As a teacher with over 20 years experience, and a career that has included teaching in 6 schools across 3 states, I can honestly say that AIW has provided the most beneficial and comprehensive model for improving my professional practice that I have encountered. AIW offers a common language and framework for scoring teacher lessons, student work, and teacher instruction. AIW scoring teams allow me, a special education teacher, to participate in professional conversations with colleagues across grade levels and disciplines, with the goal of creating valuable learning experiences for our students. Using the AIW framework, these conversations promote a classroom experience, for EVERY student, that includes not only an opportunity, but an expectation, of higher order thinking, substantive conversation, and value beyond school across the school day. Bruce King brought AIW to Monticello. His patience and thought provoking feedback allowed teachers to grow in their knowledge and use of the framework in their own time, while challenging them to improve themselves and their classrooms. His strong belief in teachers and their ability to create an environment of growth and inquiry for students comes through in every meeting.