Our Journey to GLEAM®

Unlocking the Potential of Every Student: The Power of GLEAM® Instruction

In 2020, UnboundEd CEO Lacey Robinson raised a question that would set the organization on a transformative path: “How can we create empowering and sustaining instruction that meets the needs of all students?”

What started as a question would ultimately yield the blueprint at the heart of everything UnboundEd does: GLEAM Instruction — a groundbreaking, research-informed model designed to equip educators everywhere to break the predictability of historic achievement patterns and meet the needs of every single student through grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction. Simply put, good instruction is GLEAM Instruction.

The Birth of GLEAM Instruction: Student-Centered Instruction + Grade-Level Rigor

Influenced by scholars like Gloria Ladson-Billings and Zaretta Hammond, GLEAM® Instruction integrates academic rigor with student-centered instruction. “What parent doesn’t want grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction for their child? This isn’t just about some students — it’s about all students,” said Alice Wiggins, Vice President, Program Design.

It may seem surprising that the acronym wasn’t part of the original design. Chief Program Officer Kristen Ehlman recalls, “Someone noticed that our fundamentals spelled out GLEAM. At first, I resisted the acronym… but I was wrong. GLEAM stuck, and instead of diluting the message, it became a powerful way to capture the essence of our goal.”

GLEAM Instruction

Grade-level: Instruction that is aligned with the grade-appropriate college and career standards.

Engaging: Instruction that fosters persistence, active learning, and academic agency by tapping into students’ assets.

Affirming: Instruction that builds a caring, collaborative classroom community by uplifting students’ identities and experiences in service of learning.

Meaningful: Instruction that cultivates civic agency and critical thinking by making learning relevant to issues students encounter beyond the classroom.

Learn More About GLEAM Instruction

From Concept to Reality: Refining GLEAM

The evolution of GLEAM emphasized student discourse and interaction. “When I visited classrooms, I saw a lot of silence, with teachers doing most of the talking,” Wiggins recalls. “Without student discourse and debate, you can’t achieve productive struggle,” the fruitful, rewarding challenge of grappling with complex topics. That struggle is essential for fostering deeper understanding, engagement, and resilience in students.

This observation led to a deeper focus on student-centered learning and rethinking traditional teaching methods. Wiggins explains, “We realized that creating the kind of environment and results we want couldn’t just be a list of tactics — it’s a mindset. It’s about how we think as educators.” Wiggins explains that GLEAM challenges the traditional “sage on the stage” instructional paradigm, instead encouraging a dynamic, collaborative classroom where both students and teachers learn from each other.

Our training creates trust and collaboration among teachers. It’s not about presenting tools or strategies in isolation; it’s about building a community of practice.

Alice Wiggins, Vice President, Program Design, UnboundEd

Turning Principles Into Practice

By April 2020, UnboundEd’s professional development offerings had been fully redesigned with GLEAM as the heart. UnboundEd doesn’t just teach educators about GLEAM; every program models it explicitly through the adult learning design. Through summits, institutes, and other programs, “We create an engaging, affirming, and meaningful learning environment, so educators truly understand how to build that in their classrooms,” Wiggins shares.

“It’s about rethinking counterproductive dynamics and fostering meaningful interactions between teachers and students,” she continues. “Our training creates trust and collaboration among teachers. It’s not about presenting tools or strategies in isolation; it’s about building a community of practice.”

The Future of GLEAM Instruction

As we look ahead, UnboundEd is exploring how technology can further enhance GLEAM Instruction. With AI-powered tools on the horizon, UnboundEd aims to personalize lessons to meet the varied needs of every single student while maintaining a focus on human connection. As Wiggins emphasizes, “It’s about building a community, not isolating students in front of screens.”

Wiggins underscores GLEAM’s enduring vision: “First, we must hold on to the belief that all students thrive when their education acknowledges their humanity. Second, this work is about the long game, not the short game. We’re not just preparing kids for third grade or ninth grade; we’re preparing them for life.”

“Sometimes we’re planting seeds we won’t see grow — but we still have to plant them.”