WIDE World is pleased to present the biggest leap forward in education since the invention of the pencil!

Or, more modestly, our new Teaching for Understanding video, Inspiring Great Teaching.

This spring we sent our filmmaker out to public schools in New York, Florida, and Singapore, and instructed him to ask students and educators there one question - "What has Teaching for Understanding done for you?"

And we were thrilled with their responses. Here's a few thoughts from some of the people you can meet on the video:

"On a normal lesson, you just keep telling them. It goes in and out. After maybe three or four weeks, maybe nothing is there. Well, in this way, students experience themselves, so it's internalized, so at the end of the day, I think they remember more."

Bala Amudavalli, Geography Teacher, Victoria School, Singapore

"It's this open area, I can help you do that, well I know how to do this, and well how about looking on this website, we were just over here. So there's a definite area of collaboration, and that to me lends itself to lifelong learning."

Peter Boucher, Sarasota County Teacher of the Year, Venice Middle School

"Just imagine the impact of 400 teachers using this process with their students, you?re talking over 5000 students each year that have a voice, where pedagogy is different, where instruction is different. I mean I could have retired last year, but I don?t want to. This is too interesting, too interesting for me."

Patty Gazda-Grace, Director of Curriculum and Instruction (English), Binghamton School District

This tip comes from our scintillating Multiple Intelligences instructor, Pat Nuernberger.

"Teachers often ask where they can find Multiple Intelligence tests to determine their students' MI strengths. The first question, though, that must be asked is why this information is desired. The intelligences should be thought of as tools which teachers and students can use in their pursuit of genuine understanding; the intelligences are not an end in themselves. If knowing a student?s strengths allows a teacher to develop lessons specific to that student, then determining his/her MI profile is worthwhile.

There are many inventories and surveys written for this purpose, but in reality determining MI strengths is not easily quantifiable, and simply choosing typical intelligence-characteristics is not always accurate in portraying an individual's proclivity for a particular intelligence. At New City School we spend time in direct instruction helping our students identify and understand the various intelligences (i.e., interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, musical, bodily- kinesthetic, linguistic, logical-mathematical, and naturalist).

At the beginning of the year our fourth grade teachers develop an Intelligence Fair, comprised of a series of MI-based activities that the students work through. These exercises provide ways for kids to interact and solve problems using all the intelligences in various ways. This "fair" takes place for about 90 minutes each day for no more than a week. The kids are well aware of the intelligences, having learned about them in each of their previous grades at the school. At the end of the fair, the students spend time reflecting on their work that week, discussing which activities they liked the most, which they found easiest, which the hardest, etc. Our goal is to allow students to self-identify their strongest intelligences AND, just as important, which are their weakest."

The vapor, warmed by the gentle heat, rises behind the glass. Then a barrier, a pause, and the cool mist descending to form a circle of convection. The flame of a match, the swirl of chalky dust, and a miniature cloud settling beneath the cold heavens.

This is not some mad scientist's dream, but Basith Moinuddin Mehkri's A-level (Grades 11-12) class conducting an experiment that they helped to design.

Basith, a high school geography and environmental sciences teacher at the Mallya Aditi International School in Bangalore, India, wondered how he could help his students. Some had almost no geographical background knowledge and some had a broad experience. How could he accommodate both groups?

Being a Teaching for Understanding coach as well as a teacher, Basith started to unpick this problem by working with his students.

"I began by concept-mapping each theme listed in the curriculum," Basith said. "The students followed my instructions in brainstorming and developing a concept from their group...and this was followed by a discussion in which I gave my own input. I listed the Understanding Goals, identified vital sources of information, and [noted] the whole plan of my assessment, including the criteria."

Collectively, the class decided which topics appealed to their needs and their interests and students made suggestions about which activities would enhance their understanding. One such activity was on changes in the atmosphere...

Have we been busy? You bet! Here's some more ideas to explore:

Roland Stark and David Eddy Spicer, our rocking research team, have revamped the renamed Reach and Impact section of our website. Not only can you find more up-to-date information about our national and international reach, but you can also see highlights of independent reports on our work, one-year follow- up survey results, and, most marvelous of all, a WIDE Wonders research blog. Run by the research department, the blog is a great place to catch up on the latest in TfU.

Any U.S. educators interested in writing an article for an educational magazine? Your trusty editor has developed a publications schedule and can help you craft your idea for the appropriate theme. Email me at wideeditor@gse.harvard.edu to talk about your project.

Bolster your grant submissions with the new survey out on technology integration. In a national survey, Teachers Talk Tech 2006, educators found that the key to the effective use of classroom technology is adequate professional development. The survey suggests a strong link between professional development, classroom technology integration, and improved student performance.

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.

There's still time, stretching the registration deadline, to enroll for our September courses or to think about a February option. 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. Email wideworld@gse.harvard.edu and quote "August/September 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.