Austin Schools' Partnership with the Institute for Learning

Austin ISD's partnership with the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Learning, directed by Dr. Lauren Resnick, is re-creating AISD as a high-performance learning community. This is an exciting opportunity for Austin to become a model urban district focusing all resources and energy on teaching and learning.

The Institute's philosophy is that all students, with appropriate effort, are capable of high achievement and high-level thinking, regardless of their backgrounds. Effort-based education assumes that sustained and directed effort yields high achievement, but can also create ability. In other words, people can become smart by working hard at the right kinds of learning tasks.

Institute partners collaborate through deep, continuing, and active engagement in instructional practices. They design and test tools for professional development in school districts committed to standards-based education and sustainable educational reform.

The nine Principles of Learning form the core of the Institute's philosophy. Products of extensive research in learning and cognition, they are designed to help schools analyze the quality of teaching and learning.

Principles of Learning and the TEKS

For students to achieve at high levels, we must define our expectations. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Content Standards should be available, and discussed clearly with students, parents, school professionals, and the community (See TEKS Family Learning Guide). With visible achievement targets for each stage of learning (performance standards), students can participate in evaluating their own work and setting goals for their own effort.

The Learning Walk

The Learning Walk is an organized visit through a school's learning areas using the Principles of Learning in a nonevaluative manner. In a collegial Learning Walk, staff may focus on a particular Principle of Learning to improve educational practice.