Welcome
web site presents the work of educators committed to new ways of looking at student work, ways that emphasize:
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- teachers looking together at student work with colleagues
- focusing on small samples of student work
- reflecting on important questions about teaching and learning
- using structures and guidelines ("protocols") for looking at and talking about student work
Introduction
his web site represents an association of individuals and educational organizations that focus on looking at student work to strengthen connections between instruction, curriculum, and other aspects of school life to students' learning.
This association grew from a meeting on "Examining Student Work and School Change" held in Chicago in October 1998, hosted by the Chicago Learning Collaborative and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
The site is offered as a resource for teachers, administrators, staff developers, and others who work with teachers, schools, and students.
Looking at Student Work provides ideas and resources about a set of practices we term "looking at student work."
Beliefs about Looking at Student Work
These practices for looking at student work reflect common principles:
- Students' work in schools is serious work
- Students' work is key data about the life of the school
- The work of children and adults in school should be public.
Practices for looking at student work must be connected to serious changes in curriculum, instruction, and professional development.
The practices typically involve groups of teachers (and others) in collaborative inquiry into student learning through a close study of samples of student work.
Purposes for Looking
There are a range of purposes for looking at student work. These purposes include:
- professional development;
- accountability (determining the effectiveness of curriculum and instruction);
- setting standards; and
- reflecting on student learning and development.
