APRIL 2016 (10)

e-PUBLICATION

SERIES

Authentic learning: what,

why and how?
A
s educators, we have all known for a long
time that learning is best done through
experience - learning by doing rather
than learning by listening or observing.
Educational theory and research support this claim.
The daunting thing is, how do we as educators, plan
for this? How do we design learning so that it is
Experiences a meaningful experience? How do we ensure that
that do not students are active and engaged participants in their
learning?
encourage the In this article, I aim to help to define authenticity
children to in learning, and begin to introduce some ideas to help
make meaning guide you through the design process.

from their What is authentic learning?

learning will Authentic learning is learning designed to connect
quickly be what students are taught in school to real-world
issues, problems, and applications; learning
forgotten experiences should mirror the complexities and to face a future of unimaginable challenge and
ambiguities of real life. Children work towards change (Barnes and Shirley, 2007).
production of discourse, products, and performances Neither our lives, nor our jobs, are
that have value or meaning beyond success in school; compartmentalised and sectioned into subjects. In
this is learning by doing approach. order to reflect the real world, authentic learning
It was once said that education is what survives takes a truly cross-curricular approach in its design
when what has been learned has been forgotten as well as implementation in the classroom.
(New methods and new aims in teaching, 1964). There are ten design elements that learning
Experiences that do not encourage the children to researchers believe represent the essence of
make meaning from their learning will quickly be authentic learning. According to these researchers,
forgotten. Any learning experience should aim to each learning experience should have:
instill authenticity into every task, lesson and unit to 1 Real life relevance
ensure that students are [able] to develop problem- Activities and tasks that represent those of a
solving skills and condence in their own learning professional as closely as possible.
abilities (Nicaise, Gibney and Crane, 2000). It is 2 An ill-defined problem
only with this confidence that children are then able Challenges that are not easily solvable, or dont
to use the skills and knowledge learned beyond the have an obvious answer. There may be layers of
classroom walls. tasks that need to be completed in order to solve
To prepare students for life outside school, we the problem.
need to develop children who can make meaning of 3 Sustained investigation
their learning; this is done by making links between Projects and tasks that require a significant
previous learning and new learning, from one investment of time and cannot be solved in a
subject to another. Research at Canterbury Christ matter or minutes or hours.
Church University has found that placing each 4 Multiple sources and perspectives
learners personal quest for meaning at the heart of Resources may be theoretical or practical,
curricular and pedagogical decisions, is one most and may require learners to distinguish useful
likely to generate the resilient communities needed information from irrelevant information.

e-Teaching April 2016 (10) Also published by ACEL

researched and prepared for ACEL by e-Shortcuts Wisdom for successful school leadership and management
Sarah Pearce, Founder, rethinkEd. e-Leading Management strategies for school leaders
Sarah is an experienced international e-Technology Technology in the classroom
school leader, curriculum developer e-Early Learning Thinking on early learning
and a passionate believer in educations
power to change the world.
http://www.rethink-ed.org Subscribe online at www.acel.org.au
 5 Collaboration
Individuals cannot achieve success alone. Projects
and tasks will require social connections.
6 Reflection
Learners will reflect on their own learning and
make choices and set targets accordingly.
7 An interdisciplinary perspective
Projects are not limited to a single subject or set
of knowledge, but will make use of knowledge and
skills from across subjects.
8 Integrated assessment
Formative assessment is woven seamlessly into
tasks and activities and used purposefully by
learners and teachers alike.
9 Polished products Figure 1: The AMT Model (McTighe, 2010)
Activities and tasks will lead to the creation of a
product. among both peers and staff. Learning along with
10 Multiple interpretations and outcomes the students about a topic with which you may
More than There are many possible solutions and answers to not be familiar models learning behaviours in a
the problem. way that students do not see in other learning
anything else, (in Lombardi, 2007) pedagogies.
authentic This checklist is exhaustive and represents When thoughtfully designed, authentic learning
learning authenticity at its greatest. However, I do believe experiences can help teachers in their assessment of,
that it can seem intimidating to the first time and for, learning. Building in ongoing assessment,
experiences authentic learning designer. Essentially, authentic teacher led as well as peer and self assessment, is an
generate learning is multi-disciplinary, skills-based learning added benefit for teachers and students; assessment
engagement in a real-life context, demonstrating to students that becomes a part of the learning process, a formative
their learning is connected, relevant, and can have tool to drive next steps, rather than an added extra
with students an impact upon the world around them, as well as at the end of a unit that generates data yet has no
their future selves. meaningful impact on learning.
More than anything else, authentic learning
Why is authentic learning beneficial? experiences generate engagement with students.
Every day, in both our professional and personal Think about it how many times in your own
lives, we come up against unfamiliar situations schooling did you ask the teacher, Why are we
in which we have to solve problems, adapt our learning this? or When am I going to use this in
own behaviours and make decisions. We do this real life?. Authenticity automatically gives relevance
by utilising and manipulating the knowledge we to the learning journey; relevance encourages
already have, drawing upon our experiences and engagement and enthusiasm, which should bring
skills to guide our choices and help us to determine about meaningful learning.
our next steps within the context of the situation we
find ourselves in. Authentic learning aims to equip How to design authentic learning experiences?
students with these essential life skills, to show the There is no set formula for the planning and design
connection between learning and real-life and to of authentic learning experiences. The guidance
give students the problem solving abilities that they here should be used merely as that guidance. As
require for life beyond school. an educator, it is you who knows your students
Along with this, authentic learning experiences best, who knows what they need from their learning
give students the opportunity to address the three and can make decisions accordingly. Use your
goals of learning: acquisition, making meaning professional judgment as your best guide!
and transfer (AMT). The AMT model in Figure 1 1 Get to know your students. What are their
illustrates how these three processes are interrelated: interests? What engages them? Determine their
By designing learning experiences with relevance learning needs. For example, are they a group
and authenticity, teachers can plan occasions for who performs well in written tasks but could
all three of these goals to be realised, allowing work on speaking and listening skills, or vice
teachers to become coaches of understanding, not versa? The needs and interests of your students
mere purveyors of content or activity (Wiggins should always be a starting point.
and McTighe, 2011). In the AMT model in Figure 1, 2 Based on your students, determine a possible
understanding cannot be told; it is constructed by project, goal or outcome. This is where relevance
the learner and transferred independently between and authenticity come into play link the
tasks or activities. outcome to something real life. It could be
Further to this, authentic learning is able to running a restaurant, publishing a book, creating
change the dynamics of the learning environment, a museum, solving an environmental issue or a
to [break] down the barriers of the classroom and number of other ideas. There are many Project
the power hierarchies within it (Steventon, 2016), Based Learning (PBL) websites that can give you
encouraging learning communities and connections ideas if you need a starting point.
3 Break down the skills that your students will in school comes from his inability to utilize the
need in order to complete the project or reach experience he gets outside while on the other hand
the outcome. Remember, these may be across a he is unable to apply in daily life what he is learning
number of curriculum areas and can be matched in school. That is the isolation of the school--its
to curriculum statements and objectives if isolation from life.
necessary. (Dewey, 1915)
4 Pre-assess your students - how do they perform The outcome of any schooling or education
in these skills already? There are a number of system should be to send students into the world
ways to pre-assess, but the best approach is to prepared for both their personal and professional
speak to your students what do they think they lives education and life should not be isolated from
need? Giving the students a role in the design of each other. However, we cannot teach our students
their learning journey helps to break down the everything. What we can do is teach our students
hierarchy and gives them ownership and control to be adaptable and creative thinkers who are able
over their progress. to utilise the skills and knowledge they do have to
5 Make time for the AMT model give students the create new solutions to problems. By giving students
opportunity to transfer previously learned skills the opportunity to learn through authentic, real life,
(or skills they have learned for this outcome). relevant learning experiences, we are giving them
6 Teach, facilitate, coach, guideand learn. Some the ability to apply their learning, to learn through
skills will require discrete teaching in a traditional doing, to see their abilities, to adapt and change, and I think it is
sense, then an opportunity to transfer. Others will to form the habits required to do this successfully in
be better suited to more student-led learning and their lives beyond school. helpful for
exploration. Assess throughout the project; help students to
students determine their own next steps. Model References
Barnes, J, Shirley, I 2007, Strangely familiar: cross- self-assess at
positive learning behaviours.
7 I think it is helpful for students to self-assess at
curricular and creative thinking in teacher education, the end of a
Improving Schools, vol. 10, no. 2, pp.162179.
the end of a project. What have they learned? Dewey, J1915, The School and Society, U of Chicago, Chicago, IL. project. What
What new skills do they now have? What would Lombardi, M 2007, 1st ed. [ebook], available at https://net. have they
they like to learn more about? educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3009.pdf, accessed April
There are some who would argue that true 2016. learned? What
authenticity only comes when the outcome or goal McTighe, J 2010, Understanding By Design Stage 3: new skills
is shared beyond the classroom; this may well be Teaching for understanding 1st ed. [ebook] p.2, available
at: https://www.nesacenter.org/uploaded/conferences/ do they now
the case, but again, the first time authentic learning
designer may see the idea of sharing beyond the
FLC/2010/spkr_handouts/McTighe_Workshop_-_NESA. have? What
pdf [Accessed 1 Mar. 2016].
classroom daunting. I think it should be said at this New methods and new aims in teaching, 1964, New would they
point that authentic learning experiences do not Scientist, pp. 122. like to learn
have to be all singing and dancing, which it may Nicaise, M, Gibney, T, Crane, M, 2000, Toward an
seem from the steps above. Start small and work Understanding of Authentic Learning: Student Perceptions more about?
towards the larger projects. The key is that they of an Authentic Classroom, Journal of Science Education
need to have relevance, some sort of application to and Technology, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 80.
Steventon, G 2016, Authentic Learning. A route to student
the real world larger-than-life outcomes are not
attainment?, in: G Steventon, D Cureton and L. Clouder,
always necessary and can actually be a deterrent (eds.), Student Attainment in Higher Education: Issues,
when taking on this approach. Controversies and Debates, 1st ed, Routledge, New York,
p.98.
Conclusion Wiggins, G, McTighe, J 2011, The understanding by design
From the standpoint of the child, the great waste guide to creating high-quality units,. Alexandria, Va, ASCD

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

Benjamin Franklin

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will
never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mahatma Gandhi

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
Confucius