As the name implies, authentic
learning is real, genuine, and deep, but it is more than that. Authentic learning engages students in
real-world applications that are interesting to them. Instead of contrived impractical problems involving
the purchase of 60 cantaloupes or the times trains meet, the challenges are
relevant to students’ lives. Because
students drive their own learning with the encouragement of a facilitating
teacher, authentic learning falls under the instructional philosophy model, constructivism.
A Branch of the Constructivism
“Family Tree”
Authentic learning allows students
to learn by relating their own ideas and thinking to educational
experiences. In providing an atmosphere
of discovery for students, facilitators encourage students to build their
learning from interaction with their environment. In this way, authentic learning relates to
constructivism. Jean Piaget believed
that human thinking is developed by how they relate to their life-experiences,
and the thinking increases in complexity as humans mature from birth to
adulthood (Harasim, 2012, p. 63).
Another component of constructivism is collaborative learning, where
students work together to find a solution.
Lev Vygotsky felt that social interaction among peers was instrumental
in shaping learning (Harasim, 2012, p. 66).
The value of collaboration cannot be over-estimated in authentic
learning. Working as a team can provide
focus, motivation, differing points of view, and a social environment that
makes learning more exciting, meaningful, and memorable.
The sort of real-world problems
presented by authentic learning models are “ill-defined.” That may sound bad, especially to educators
who have practiced clarity in their instructions and objectives, but it really
is a good thing for authentic learning.
Ill-defined leaves open many aspects of the learning, so students can
choose the direction or application.
Design a museum for children’s art.
Create a budget for a party. Plant
a garden at a homeless shelter. Build a
robot designed to pick up dirty towels. All
are ill-defined questions and designed to inspire inquiries and explorations which
are not defined in the problem, but facilitators are available to help students
find the answers for themselves.
In the non-traditional Robotics classroom at John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, authentic learning is the rule. The ultimate goal of the students in robotics to demonstrate the superiority of their robot design by entering it in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition where it faces off with other robots. FIRST is a part of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and was founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 (Jensen, 2014). Six weeks before the competition, students are told the specific tasks the robots must do. For example, the robots may be required to stack crates, gather balls, throw blocks in a trashcan, or scale a wall.
In the technology-rich environment of the robotics classroom, students take a major role in the learning process. As a collaborative team, they develop a design for the robot using both pencil and paper and CAD programs to accomplish a given task, and then they manufacture all the parts, assemble, program, test, and troubleshoot the robot themselves with minimal guidance from the instructor, Mr. Greene. Mr. Greene ensures the students have the tools, technology, and building materials they need and has trained them how to use them safely.
https://jfkclarion.com/2016/05/19/jfk-robotics-builds-way-to-finals-student-awarded-high-honors/
At competition, for which they have
practiced in a simulated arena, the team faces its real test. The students must still collaborate as the
human component of the team, driving their completed robot and setting up the
objects it must manipulate, not unlike the support team that is behind every
Olympic athlete. In the excitement of
the competition, they must stay focused on the mad race against time to beat
their opponents as the crowd goes wild.
Summary with Links
Although one of the greatest components
of authentic learning is the use of collaborative learning to solve the
real-world problems, ten principles of authentic learning are illustrated in this
Authentic Learning presentation. All of them are demonstrated by the design of
the Robotics program at John F. Kennedy High School.
It is important
that the facilitator help the students regarding social behavior expectations
that are conducive to authentic learning.
Authentic learning models may seem more natural than traditional
teacher-centered classrooms, but they do not just happen naturally. How to
Teach Math as a Social Activity demonstrates ways to establish protocol
regarding authentic learning situations.
The students appear to enjoy themselves, and the teacher made them part
of the protocol development.
My alma mater and present
employer, John F. Kennedy H. S. Robotics dominates at the FIRST competition at
UC Davis in 2015.
The JFK Robotics classroom is not
entirely traditional. It is a large room
that was formerly a shop class. Although
there are student desks, the large power tools occupy over half the room, and
there are several smaller work rooms and places for students to collaborate.
When students engage in authentic learning, they can control the direction of their learning and build on it with positive educational experiences. Everyone learns better when they are interested and engaged and the learning is student-centered.
References
[Good Day Sacramento]. (2016) First Robotics Competition. [Video File]. Retrieved on 2016, Aug 12 from http://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/video/category/spoken-word-good-day/3343980-first-robotics-competition/.
Harasim, L. (2012). Learning theory and online technologies. Routledge.
Jensen, S, (2014, November/December). Putting science and technology education FIRST. OEM
Off-Highway, 22-24.
Stymeist, J. (2015, Mar 19). Kennedy Robotics-KCRA Interview. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq6-RIoIHH0.
Zeelie, C. (2013, Oct 26). Authentic learning. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds2UQ21zJbU.
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