Week 2

 PART ONE: Authentic Intellectual Work/Authentic Instruction & Assessment

By nature, “authentic intellectual work involves original application of knowledge and skills, rather than just routine use of facts and procedures” (Newmann et al., 2007). In this form of intellectual work, teachers are more interested in the organic learning that is coming from their student rather than what the student is able to remember using rote memorization. When having a conversation with a student of mine this week, I asked him about the previous institution he attended. As a private school educator, I often enjoy asking students about their experiences at other private schools. For me, his answer was unexpected. He informed me that at his previous private school, he was required to memorize and list (verbally and written) multitudes of facts every week. This memorization served for grading and assessment purposes regarding whether he learned the material or not. After several years of this educational process, his parents realized that he didn’t truly understand the material he was memorizing. He just knew it because he was required to know it. Differing from that approach, authentic intellectual work investigates how to best help students succeed educationally, gleaning actual depth from the material presented. 

Three major components of authentic intellectual work include the “construction of knowledge, through the use of disciplined inquiry, to produce discourse, products, or performances that have value beyond school” (Newmann et al., 2007). This means that the learning produced in the classroom should not simply stay within the confines of the classroom. Rather, the education students receive should be engaging to the point that they take what they’ve learned with them and investigate it further. 

One way that authentic intellectual work can be implemented within the ELA realm would be the application of novels to real life situations. For example, in seventh grade, students may read Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Students in today’s modern setting have all endured the hardships that came with the Coronavirus. The novel is about the Yellow Fever that occurred in the late 1700s. By walking through this text with middle school students, opportunities abound for students to conduct their own research and compare the events from the novel to that of their real life. Their real life experiences bring about a factor that helps them apply the facets of English they learn through reading a novel (grammar, syntax, literary devices) into a situation of reality. 

PART TWO: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update

One example given by the 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update regarded the value in students having the ability to access the internet. When working to bridge the gap between school-based education and components that the student will continue to use throughout the rest of their life, internet access can be vital. During class, an English teacher could assign students to do research of a university and program of their choice. In this activity, students are engaging in technologically-based research processes. However, the material that they are sorting through and creating their assignment out of relates to the rest of their life. It bleeds out into the life that they live and the things that truly matter to them. In this way, teachers can bridge that gap of authenticity in the classroom environment and keep students focused on something that will serve them as beneficial. 

PART THREE: Triple E Framework

Kolb focused a lot on the process of “engagement.” Adolescent students love talking about their futures. They’re constantly pondering the different colleges they may attend and the careers they may pursue. When giving students the authentic ability to research these things in a meaningful way that connects them to ELA standards, engagement is definitely portrayed. 

Students cannot help but become engaged in things that they care about. During a research project involving colleges and careers, students would feel as though they are able to conduct the research solely for themselves. However, the educator becomes a stakeholder in the process as well, helping guide them and engage them in the material focused on standards. Though it is very easy to lose the attention of students these days with all of the distractions that are consistently offered around them, it is important to note that students tend to focus more on things that matter to them. In the end, Kolb encouraged engagement as a way to continually keep students involved in their own learning process. 

References: 

Kolb, Liz. Learning First, Technology Second in Practice: New Strategies, Research and Tools for Student Success. Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education, 2020.

Newmann, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007) Authentic instruction and assessment: Common standards for rigor and relevance in teaching academic subjects. State of Iowa Department of Education.

Office of Educational Technology. (2017) Reimagining the role of technology in education: 2017 National Education technology Plan update. Retrieved from http://tech.ed.gov