2.3 Authentic Learning
Candidates model and facilitate the use of digital tools and resources to engage students in authentic learning experiences.
(PSC 2.3/ISTE 2c)
Candidates model and facilitate the use of digital tools and resources to engage students in authentic learning experiences.
(PSC 2.3/ISTE 2c)
For the Engaged Learning Project, I designed a five-week lesson using technology to reach the highest level of the LoTI Framework for student engagement. The goal of the project was to get students to engage in authentic questions and create for an authentic audience. For my project, above, students brainstorm, research, and write about solutions to problems in education. They then exchange their arguments with a pen pal in the “Schools around the World” forum on the website Pen Pal Schools. They synthesize this new understand of education, including the information from their pen pal, and present it in a multimedia piece shared with students, teacher, administrators and parents.
There are two parts of this project that make it highly engaging according to the LoTI Framework, thus modeling and facilitating the use of research-based, learner-centered strategies. First, students test their ideas out on other students around the world through Pen Pal Schools. Sharing beyond the classroom and receiving feedback from an authentic audience. Next, students create a multimedia presentation that shares their new global insights to school stakeholders. Sharing with experts, stakeholders, and other interested parties outside the classroom are components of the highest level—level 6—of the LoTI Framework (LoTI Framework). Additionally, the lesson plan details the ISTE NETS-S, or student standards, for leveraging technology effectively to improve student learning (ISTE, 2020). Because this project is student-directed, another quality of a highly engaging lesson, it addresses the needs of diverse learners by letting students follow their interests as well as select a presentation tool, thus differentiating by product. I am proud of the work it did on this project, creating an authentic learning experience for students. I shared this project within my school and with instructional technology candidates from other schools.
From the learning that led up to this project, I discovered that teachers need to give students more opportunities to share with stakeholders beyond the classroom. As a writing teacher, this was a revelation—that students need to self-publish and write for a wider audience than just the teacher. Perhaps this is something I knew implicitly, but I can now intentionally build opportunities to for self-publishing on the internet making lessons in a way that enhance student engagement. As I review this artifact, I notice that I did not include a diversity statement, although the strategies I include have been proven effective with special populations; for example, the use of multimedia is a good strategy for English Language Learners and students with ADHD (Hobgood & Ormsby, 2010). If I were to improve this lesson plan, I would add a statement of how it impacts specific student populations.
The work that went into creating the artifact has an impact on student learning since students that engaged in the learning process learn more. Additionally, I shared the knowledge I gained from designing this project with the teacher I coached. In fact, I considered the LoTI Framework and the indicators for high-level engagement when recommending a teaching strategy. Additionally, instructional technology candidates from districts across the state have read and reviewed this project. The learning from this artifact has, therefore, had a positive impact on faculty development and student learning at my school, and, potentially, at other schools. The impact can be assessed by comparing student learning in my classroom, or in my school, before strategies for authentic learning were applied to learning after these strategies were implemented.
References
Hobsgood, B., & Ormsby, L. (2010). Inclusion in the 21st-century classroom: Differentiating with technology--Reaching every learner: Differentiating instruction in theory and practice. UNC School of Education. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from http://web.archive.org/web/20180125110137/www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/every-learner/6776/
ISTE Standards for Students. ISTE. Retrieved July 19, 2019, from www.iste.org/standards/for-students
LoTi Framework. Loticonnections. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from www.loticonnection.com/loti-framework