XChange - Publications and Resources for Public School Professionals

teacher collaborative inquiry

Teacher Workroom

We have thirty-six published TIIP portfolios on the Center X website. After re-reading each portfolio we are reminded of the commitment involved in completing a project of this nature and the many accomplishments of the TIIP teachers. Teams engaged in hours of professional learning and then spent even more time translating that work into classroom practice. The impact has reached beyond teacher teams and their students, to their schools and surrounding communities. Teams have shared their learning at local, regional and national conferences. They have won prestigious awards for their work and been featured in the news. Many of these projects are moving in the direction of whole school transformation and community empowerment.

TIIP teachers have designed curriculum with the goal of instilling a love of learning and to assist their students to become deep thinkers. They have leveraged funds and found ways to involve parents and community stakeholders to create sustainable projects. They are grassroots educational change agents asking substantive questions about teaching and learning. Augustus Hawkins, for example, centered their inquiry on “engaging students in authentic and transformational learning experiences.” Cabrillo sought out a “culturally relevant pedagogy model to address the academic and social needs of students so that they become agents of change in their community…” Other teams asked questions about student access and student empowerment as well as issues of equity. The work is impressive and inspiring.

We have selected 11 portfolios to highlight for the XChange. These were chosen because of the far reaching impact the projects had (beyond individual classrooms), the number of resources identified, and the teams’ ability to communicate their work in an online portfolio setting. They represent a mix of grade levels and content areas. They embody the vision for Teacher-Based Academic Reform (T-BAR) are just a sampling of the great work that TIIP teachers are engaged in. The case study, also featured in this issue of the Xchange further highlights the work of other successful grantees.

Below, you will find a lasered summary of what we like in particular about each of the 11 portfolios selected for showcase in this edition. We hope that you enjoy reading about the tremendous work happening in education!

 

TIIP PORTFOLIO SHOWCASE

The following portfolios were chosen because of the extensive list of resources both internal (produced by the teams – lesson plans, rubrics, best practices, etc.) and external (synthesis of relevant literature, professional development opportunities, web links, etc.).

Washington Primary (ES) (LAUSD):
Developing Literacy: A Roadmap for Teacher Learning

Virgil Middle School (MS) (LAUSD-ASGL):
Connecting HIstory to 21st Century Skills

Thomas A. Edison Middle School (MS) (LAUSD):
English 2.0: Integrating Technology to Increase the Relevancy and Authenticity of English Language Arts

Claremont (HS) (CUSD):
Engaging all Freshman in a 21st Century Laboratory Curriculum

 

The following portfolios have been chosen because of the primary focus on teacher practice.

UCLA Lab School (ES) (Independent):
Creating Collegial Relationships for Social Justice

New World Open Academy (ES) (LAUSD):
NOW Academy Reading and Writing Project

 

The following portfolios were chosen for showcase due to their documented extensive impact on students, fellow teachers, schools, and communities.

Animo Locke Charter High School (HS) (LAUSD):
21st Century Multiliteracies for Students to Change the World

Juan R. Cabrillo High School (HS) (LBUSD):
Creating a Culturally Relevant Curriculum that effectively engages more students in active learning while connecting this learning to a Student Directed Inquiry Project in the Community

Augustus Hawkins Schools for Community Action (HS):
Student Agency: Demonstrating Geo-Spatial Counter Narratives through Community Action Research

 

The following portfolios were chosen for their ability to form community partnerships, disseminate their learning, and garnering of recognition both by the local news and greater educational community.

Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (HS) (LAUSD):
Infusing our Classes with Journalism: The Focus of our Magnet

Animo Pat Brown Charter High School (HS) (LAUSD):
Developing Scientists: Designing Secondary Science Curriculum that Remediates Basic Deficits in Math and English and Prepares Students for the Independence and Critical Thought of College-Level Science Coursework