“Larry Ainsworth's Integrated Teaching and Learning System (ITLS) is a comprehensive and innovative unit design process that is reshaping the educational landscape. Ainsworth's approach is centered around meticulous attention to detail, vertical articulation, and alignment with standards, empowering educators to create units that are both challenging and engaging for students.

“The ITLS framework is designed to ensure that every element of the curriculum is purposefully crafted to promote deep comprehension and mastery of critical concepts. Ainsworth's systematic approach provides educators with a clear and structured methodology for designing units that are not only rigorous but also meaningful and significant.

“By using this framework to develop integrated teaching and learning units of study, educators can equip their students with the skills and knowledge necessary to become lifelong learners and critical thinkers. The step-by-step process focuses on providing students with a solid foundation in essential concepts while also encouraging them to develop their own unique perspectives and ideas.

“As the Chief Academic Officer in a K-12 public school system, I have seen firsthand the profound impact the ITLS framework is having on our curriculum and academic outcomes. This innovative approach has transformed the way we teach our students, allowing us to integrate learning progressions and learning checks into our teaching methods. By incorporating this framework into our units of study, we have enhanced our students' literacy and numeracy skills, providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in today's world.

“This systematic structure for designing quality units of study has also enabled us to foster a love of learning and a desire for knowledge among our students. By leveraging relevant yet rigorous components within each unit, we have made learning more engaging and interactive, capturing the attention of even the most disengaged learners. Our students are now more motivated and enthusiastic about their studies, and we have seen a marked improvement in their academic performance in literacy and numeracy.

“In conclusion, Larry Ainsworth’s Integrated Teaching and Learning System© framework has been a game-changer for our school system. It has allowed us to provide a more comprehensive and engaging curriculum for our students, resulting in improved literacy and numeracy skills, as well as a greater passion for learning.”

• Dr. Takiwi Milton-Babalola
• Chief Academic Officer
• Danville Public Schools
• Danville, Virginia

“For more than two decades, Larry Ainsworth has been providing educators with effective educational practices to increase student achievement. Now, he has given us the ultimate guide to best practices of teacher preparation for quality instruction and assessment. In Larry’s new multi-volume book series, the Integrated Teaching and Learning System, educators and leaders will learn all the critical components of a quality unit of study.

“If there was a Mount Rushmore of highly regarded educators, Larry Ainsworth would be chiseled there. In my many years as a district leader working to improve student achievement, he has always been the first person I contacted to improve teaching and learning.”

• Bruce A. Hibbard, Ph.D.
• Superintendent
• Franklin Township Community School Corporation
• Marion County, Indianapolis, Indiana

“In his Integrated Teaching and Learning System© book series, Larry Ainsworth has mapped out the entire journey of teaching and learning through a series of “timeless” essential components. West Haven has been part of this successful journey that all staff in all content areas have embraced in their daily work with students since the onset of this process in 2009. The focus of what is important in “teaching and learning” has helped our teachers to become better at how they deliver instruction—from prioritizing the standards, to creating units of study, to preparing meaningful assessments for our students. We remain committed to using this model to support the continuous improvement of the diverse population of students we serve.”

• Judith B. Drenzek
• Assistant Superintendent
• West Haven Public Schools
• West Haven, Connecticut

“I am delighted to offer my wholehearted endorsement for Larry Ainsworth’s invaluable contribution to our educational community. As an instructional leader deeply engaged in implementing Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) within our district, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Larry Ainsworth for years as he expertly trained six cohorts of teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators on his Common Formative Assessment 2.0 process.

“Larry’s guidance has been transformative, illuminating the path toward enhanced teaching practices and student learning outcomes. Through CFAs—a major component of his Integrated Teaching and Learning System©)—teacher teams and administrative teams have gained the indispensable ability to use real-time data for collaborative analysis, enabling a comprehensive examination of instructional strategies and their direct impact on student achievement.

“One of the most remarkable unintended outcomes of Larry’s training has been the remarkable increase in collective efficacy among our teacher and administrator leaders. Empowered by newfound confidence in their collaborative efforts, they have embraced a shared responsibility for student success, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence throughout our district.

“Larry Ainsworth’s expertise and dedication to educational excellence have undoubtedly enriched our professional learning community, and I wholeheartedly endorse his work to educators everywhere seeking to elevate their practice and empower their students.”

• Toni Stevenson, Ph.D.
• Chief Academic Officer
• Franklin Township Community School Corporation
• Marion County, Indianapolis, Indiana

“Time spent with Larry Ainsworth has been a great benefit in my professional role. As District Math Coordinator, I am responsible for the timely creation and revision of our district’s mathematics curriculum, which requires a great deal of decision making and management of resources. During this effort, Mr. Ainsworth has been pivotal in helping me work through the mental processes, allowing me to think through what would be the most beneficial among many viable options. This has allowed me to balance necessity with practicality. His approach to mentoring is built on listening to what is needed, and this tailors his work to the specific needs of the curriculum leader.

• “Our Danville Public Schools curricular units of study are built on a set of prioritized standards, upon which the entire effort is dependent. If those standards are not selected correctly, then students may end up lacking the academic strength necessary to be successful in math. Mr. Ainsworth has walked alongside me in developing processes of prioritizing content that fit with my state’s standards, my district, and my team. He also has invested heavily in my team’s understanding of writing and selecting assessment items, making sure that we are able to create test items that gauge student misconceptions through their answer selections, and broadened our understanding of student assessment.”
• Jack Faughn
• District Math Coordinator
• Danville Public Schools
• Danville, Virginia

“Through your Integrated Teaching and Learning System virtual workshops this year, I learned about prioritizing Essential Standards and the supporting role that complementary standards play in quality unit design. I learned how Student Learning Targets and Success Criteria are vital means of communicating expectations to the learners. I learned SO much about Learning Progressions. At first, I could not understand this concept because I wasn't seeing how this could apply to English language arts standards that are so interconnected. Now, I understand that Learning Progressions are the prerequisite skills that are necessary for students to master the rigorous Essential Standards, and that they do not need to follow a linear sequence, but rather an integrated one.

“I love, love, love performance tasks (Standards-Aligned Learning Tasks) and how you taught us to embed them within our units of study. Rather than seeing them as an additional instruction and assessment burden for educators, I now understand how they will enhance students’ learning experiences while providing additional opportunities for educators to assess student mastery of the standards in focus. Regarding end-of-unit assessments, you demonstrated time-saving options for utilizing A.I. to create multiple-choice assessment questions. We both agreed that the information received from any online A.I. platform must be vetted for quality.

“Finally, because of you, I will no longer say, "I am not a curriculum person." Understanding the essential components of integrated units of study does not require me to write textbooks or assessments for the College Board! You taught me so many valuable lessons that I will utilize wherever my work takes me. Your assistance, guidance, wisdom, patience, instruction, and grace are unmatched. I will always be extremely grateful.”

• Annastasia Broomell
• District English Language Arts Coordinator
• Danville Public Schools
• Danville, Virginia

“As part of my own journey to become a National Board-Certified Teacher, I implemented a continual process of reflecting on my teaching and my students’ learning. This practice has evolved into a cycle of reviewing and revising my teaching practices throughout the year and has reinforced in my mind the concept of teaching and learning as an integrated system.

“When my principal, Dr. Stephanie Helfand, invited Larry Ainsworth to lead our teachers in workshops to build an Integrated Teaching and Learning System for creating units of study in all subject areas based on prioritized standards, his constructs completely supported my capacity to review, reflect, revise, and revisit teaching and learning strategies.

“This opportunity provided by our administration and Mr. Ainsworth’s guidance has enabled us to create a foundational curriculum structure which we can continue to build, refine, and enhance over time. The process of writing (1) Big Ideas and Essential Questions to focus our math units, (2) Learning Targets and Success Criteria to provide a focus for in-class activities and homework, (3) Learning Progressions to maintain a coherent instructional program, and (4) Quick Progress Checks and assessment items to evaluate student understanding and progress, has helped me to keep my teaching and my students’ learning on a shared path toward mastery and success.

“Thank you for being so supportive to me and to my colleagues.”

• Cathy Quigley
• Junior High Math Teacher
• Joseph Sears School
• Kenilworth, Illinois

“Larry Ainsworth's training on his Integrated Teaching and Learning System has been a game-changer for our curriculum team. The sessions led by Mr. Ainsworth were not just informative but transformative, providing us with crucial insights needed to align our curriculum with the rigorous expectations of the new Georgia K-12 Math Standards. My team was able to take Larry's clear process and empower a team of teachers to engage in the writing of new curriculum guidance. If you are looking for a process to support the alignment of written curriculum, instruction, and assessment, this is it!”

• Nancy Kelly
• Mathematics Coordinator
• Rockdale County Public Schools
• Conyers, Georgia

"Collaborating with Larry Ainsworth not only provided our curriculum team with a cohesive understanding of the curriculum design process but also enabled us to define instructional expectations and tailor unit plans to better meet the diverse learning needs of our students."

• Kinesha Ponder
• Director of Teaching and Learning
• Richmond County School System
• Augusta, Georgia

“Larry Ainsworth's book addresses the common distractions that school districts face, diverting educators from focusing on instructional processes and practices crucial for maximizing student learning. He effectively reminds us of the fundamental purpose of education, how it should be conducted, and how we can achieve the goal of teaching students to learn effectively. What sets him apart is his approach to training educators on how to teach based on how students learn, a strategy that many others fail to implement.

“Ainsworth's use of the ITLS approach breaks down the science of teaching into an art form, enabling educators to transform their instructional methods. He emphasizes the importance of writing assessments to measure student learning accurately, guiding instruction and teaching practices to meet individual student needs effectively. By connecting assessments to learning targets, teachers and students can receive accurate feedback, facilitating their journey toward mastering essential learning standards.

“In our district, Ainsworth's training has been transformative, particularly in our focus on Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). By equipping us with the skills and tools needed for productive PLCs, Ainsworth ensures that student learning remains at the core of our purpose. He emphasizes that while instructional materials and essential standards are valuable resources, they are ineffective without proper utilization. The ITLS process provides educators with the necessary guidance on using available resources to facilitate student learning effectively.

“While PLCs serve as valuable tools, their impact on student achievement is limited if educators lack the skills to assess student learning accurately. Ainsworth emphasizes the importance of bringing appropriate and accurate evidence of student learning to PLCs, highlighting the need for daily and weekly feedback from students. Once teachers are trained in the ITLS process, they can transform their resources into effective teaching strategies, ultimately enhancing student learning outcomes.”

• Jason S. Perrins, Superintendent
• Chewelah School District #36
• Chewelah, Washington

“Larry Ainsworth’s approach to understanding standards makes them feel surmountable, allowing educators to become adept at creating high-impact, quality instruction that brings true meaning to the learning experiences for students. His impact on the field of education and what his work has done to elevate teaching and learning cannot be measured.”

• April D. Jordan, Ed.D.
• Regional Superintendent/Executive Director
• North Cook Regional Office of Education/Intermediate Services Centers
• Des Plaines, Illinois