"Art, in my opinion, builds bridges," Carol Nordby, a Grade 3 teacher at Redner Elementary School in Ypisilanti, Michigan, commented. "And I knew that several of my beginning writers loved to draw..."

For Carol, this was the start of a series of satisfying days in her classroom, following her work in WIDE World's Differentiated Instruction: Strategies for Effective Classroom Practice course last winter.

When her students asked her if they could write stories on the play they had performed, she took the chance to incorporate some Teaching for Understanding and DI strategies into the lesson.

"[The stories] were based on a play the children and I wrote and performed earlier in the year, which took place in our own Redner woods. The intention was to integrate our study of Ypsilanti into the play. The action took place as we were gathering information for our seasonal observation journals in the woods behind our elementary school. We stumbled upon a time portal that took us back in time to experience Ypsilanti in its beginning stages."

Carol was impressed by the enthusiasm the students showed for their own story project idea, and wanted to create something that would accommodate their different learning levels.

"Knowing that I had some students who were ready to write a paragraph and others who were continuing to work on the process of full sentence completion, I extended options that would allow all of my 'writers' to feel competent."

Using art as an initial entry into the project, Carol worked with her students to help them construct individual stories. Initially Carol employed drawings, cartoons, and whole-class brainstorms in the project, before going on to incorporate self- directed and guided writing, utilizing the aids of a graphic organizer and rubric.

"The children were very excited throughout the process," Carol said, "because they felt confident in the experience. Their love for drawing served as a springboard into the organization of thought."

Carol also noted that student participation in the process was a key part of its success. The initial surge of empowerment from being able to pick their own project, and the subsequent collaboration as they worked on a 3-point paragraph rubric with Carol, made them feel valued.

"They enjoyed creating this rubric together because they stated it 'stuck in their heads' better when created as a class," Carol mentioned. This is an especially valuable TfU point - that criteria for assessment be built by and shared with teachers and students.

When the project was finished, each student had their own individual story, with their own ideas incorporated into paragraph structures, and accompanying illustrations.

See photographs of Carol's class at work

"The intention of the project was to create a writing experience that was free from tension," Carol said. "My students understood that built-in choices supported their desired level of independence. Each child felt on the same page with their peers for the first time."

For Carol, this may be the most important evidence of differentiated instruction that she took from the course.

"It is our calling in life to teach our students that we all have gifts. Too often our little ones sense inner failure much too soon. School must be the one place where a child can say, 'I am SPECIAL.'"

Above is a sample of the results from our annual one year follow-up survey

It is all very well to hear about the benefits of Teaching for Understanding from students and teachers, but how do schools/districts systematically assess its impact? How can they prove to themselves and others that this approach actually adds up to true classroom change?

To answer these questions, WIDE World's researchers are building a collaborative action research network with a selected, international group of districts and schools to document the impact of WIDE World professional development on teaching practices and, by extension, on students' performance.

Our first step in this direction is to facilitate an online seminar in 2006-2007 that will help teams from selected districts develop and apply ways of assessing the use of Teaching for Understanding in the design of lesson plans and in classroom instruction. Evaluation instruments tailored to specific needs will allow participants to systematically assess the impact of WIDE World professional development on the consistent and appropriate use of Teaching for Understanding in their own setting. Please watch for updates in future issues of the newsletter.

From studies by Black and William and a helpful article from Carol Boston comes the news - ongoing, or formative, assessment raises academic standards.

Black and William's study, "Assessment and classroom learning," (Assessment in Education, 5 (1): 7- 74) looks critically at assessment methods. After reviewing an exhaustive body of literature, Boston notes that the authors found, "efforts to strengthen formative assessment produce significant learning gains as measured by comparing the average improvements in the test scores of the students involved in the innovation...with formative assessment apparently helping low-achieving students, including students with learning disabilities, even more than it helped other students." [Editor's emphasis]

Ongoing, or formative, assessment is the idea that students should have the opportunity throughout the year to measure their progress against publicly stated criteria. Sometimes this can take the form of self-assessment; sometimes it can mean teacher observation and student discussion; sometimes it is simply a quiz or homework.

Not only that, but, as Boston notes, "students who understand the learning objectives and assessment criteria and have opportunities to reflect on their work show greater improvement than those who do not (Fontana & Fernandes, 1994; Frederikson & White, 1997)."

One of the four legs that the Teaching for Understanding Framework supports itself on is ongoing assessment, including the use of student rubrics. (See some examples from Victoria School on our website.)

Jeri Cocchi, one of our learners, told us that "the changes in peer assessment and the addition of more rubrics have the students more engaged in their learning. With all of the new and clear directions, the students are secure about how to get the grade they want. They know HOW now to create more quality work."

October 13-15, 2006

WIDE World will be exhibiting at the ASCD Conference on Teaching and Learning in Orlando, FL. (Booth #308) ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is a non-profit organization that has a number of curriculum-based conferences and publishes the magazine Educational Leadership.

November 15-16, 2006

Kevin McGonegal, WIDE World TSNT coach and Technology Integration Specialist in the Cambridge Public Schools, will speak on "Designing Curriculum Units Online and Improving Classroom Technology Integration" at the MassCUE fall conference in Sturbridge, MA. Come and visit us at Booth #20. MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators) is an especially valuable resource for technology-minded Massachusetts teachers.

December 2-6, 2006

Stone Wiske, our co-principal investigator, Patricia Gazda-Grace, Binghamton City school district's director of curriculum and instruction, and Roxie Oberg, a high school English teacher, will be co- presenting at the NSDC Annual Conference in Nashville, TN. The title of their talk is: "Sustaining Systemic Professional Learning with Online Technology." Come and discuss the talk at Booth #500.

Bring along 3 of your colleagues as a team of 4 into a September-December course and your enrollment is free! (a $399 value)! Or, better yet, finagle your school into a group enrollment at WIDE World's special rates! You can choose from:

• Leading for Understanding
• Teaching for Understanding
• Technology Integration
• Differentiated Instruction
• Multiple Intelligences
• Reading, Writing, or Math

Orientation starts September 19, 2006 and registration closes on September 1, 2006. Every child deserves the chance to understand, not just to know - email wideworld@gse.harvard.edu and quote "June Newsletter" to receive your discount.

Thinking about coming to Harvard for the fall? PPE has four new programs to tickle the professional development tastebuds:

• November 2-4: The Redefined Principal: Lessons Learned, Lessons to Learn
• November 8-11: Leading & Managing the Independent School of the Future
• November 9-11: Closing the Achievement Gap: Linking Families, Schools, and Communities

For more information or to register, visit their website: www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe or call 1-800-545-1849.

Have an idea or classroom story? Email us: wideeditor@gse.harvard.edu