Authentic learning


In education, authentic learning is an instructional approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner. It 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. The basic idea is that students are more likely to be interested in what they are learning, more motivated to learn new concepts and skills, and better prepared to succeed in college, careers, and adulthood if what they are learning mirrors real-life contexts, equips them with practical and useful skills, and addresses topics that are relevant and applicable to their lives outside of school."
Authentic instruction will take on a much different form than traditional teaching methods. In the traditional classroom, students take a passive role in the learning process. Knowledge is considered to be a collection of facts and procedures that are transmitted from the teacher to the student. In this view, the goal of education is to possess a large collection of these facts and procedures. Authentic learning, on the other hand, takes a constructivist approach, in which learning is an active process. Teachers provide opportunities for students to construct their own knowledge through engaging in self-directed inquiry, problem solving, critical thinking, and reflections in real-world contexts. This knowledge construction is heavily influenced by the student's prior knowledge and experiences, as well as by the characteristics that shape the learning environment, such as values, expectations, rewards, and sanctions. Education is more student-centered. Students no longer simply memorize facts in abstract and artificial situations, but they experience and apply information in ways that are grounded in reality.

Characteristics

There is no definitive description of authentic learning. Educators must develop their own interpretations of what creates meaning for the students in their classrooms. However, the literature suggests that there are several characteristics of authentic learning. It is important to note that authentic learning tasks do not have to have all the characteristics. They can be thought of as being on a spectrum, with tasks being more or less authentic. The characteristics of authentic learning include the following:
While there has been much attention given to educational standards for curriculum and assessment, "the standards for instruction tend to focus on procedural and technical aspects, with little attention to more fundamental standards of quality." The challenge is not simply to adopt innovative teaching techniques but to give students the opportunity to use their minds well and to provide students with instruction that has meaning or value outside of achieving success in school.
In order to address this challenge, a framework consisting of five standards of authentic instruction has been developed by Wisconsin's Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools. This framework can be a valuable tool for both researchers and teachers. It provides "a set of standards through which to view assignments, instructional activities, and the dialogue between teacher and students and students with one another."
Teachers can use the framework to generate questions, clarify goals, and critique their teaching. Each standard can be assessed on a scale of one to five rather than a categorical yes or no variable. "The five standards are higher-order thinking, depth of knowledge, connectedness to the world beyond the classroom, substantive conversation, and social support for student achievement."
There are several authentic learning practices in which students may participate. These are a few examples:
Educational research shows that authentic learning is an effective learning approach to preparing students for work in the 21st century. By situating knowledge within relevant contexts, learning is enhanced in all four domains of learning: cognitive, affective, psychomotor, and psychosocial. Some of the benefits of authentic learning include the following: