Authentic Learning- Linnae Edgeworth

Overview

Authentic learning refers to a wide variety of educational

and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in

school to real-world issues, problems and applications. By relating what is

being taught to real-life scenarios, as well as experiences students may have

had in their lives, students are more likely to retain the information because

they are able to relate it to their personal lives. Authentic learning is a

method in which students can learn by doing, and the teacher is able to create

experiences based on first-hand observations. What is Authentic Learning? is an video created by educators that provides an overview of authentic learning from a different perspective.

 

NINE ELEMENTS OF AUTHENTIC LEARNING:

 

1.Provide authentic contexts that reflect the way

the knowledge will be used in real life

 

2.Provide authentic tasks and activities

 

3.Provide access to expert performances and the

modeling of processes

 

4.Provide multiple roles and perspectives

5.Support collaborative construction of knowledge

6.Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be

formed

 

7.Promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge

to be made explicit

  

8.Provide coaching and scaffolding

by the teacher at critical times

  

9.Provide for authentic assessment of learning

within the tasks.

(http://authenticlearning.info/AuthenticLearning/Home.html)

 

Family Tree

The theoretical school that the authentic learning model

falls under is constructivism. Constructivism is the instructional model that connects meaning for the students by drawing from personal background. Constructionist learning posits that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing the world, and reflecting on those experiences (Harasim, 2012).  

Example

 

Project based learning with a real world approach is an essential part of authentic learning. By drawing connections and giving meaningful purpose to a lesson the students are able

find answers that are linked to the desired learning outcome. An example of

project based learning in home economics would be to have the students create a

children’s book that demonstrates what money is and provides pictures of the

various denominations; what a check looks like and how to fill out a check;

what a shopping list looks like and how to create a list for the store; and a

list of five ways to save money. Authentic Tasks is a video also created by Jan Herrington which describes various authentic tasks and how to create a lesson based on real world scenarios.

 References
 

Fuller, T. (2013, March 28). Authentic Learning Series: 15 Classroom Literacy Ideas for Early Childhood. Retrieved May 14, 2016, from https://www.nwea.org/blog/2013/authentic-learning-classroom-literacy-ideas-early-childhood/

 

Harasim, Linda. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies. Routledge. New York.

 

Herrington, J. (n.d.). Introduction to Authentic learning. Retrieved May 15, 2016, from http://authenticlearning.info/AuthenticLearning/Introduction.html