Authentic Learning

Loved this quote from Ron Berger via Will Richardson's blog:

In all of my years sitting in classrooms as a student, in public schools that were highly regarded, I never once produced anything that resembled authentic work or had value beyond addressing a class requirement. My time was spent on an academic treadmill of turning in short assignments completed individually as final drafts — worksheets, papers, math problem sets, lab reports — none of which meant much to anyone and none of which resembled the work I have done in the real world. Although I received good grades, I have no work saved from my days in school, because nothing I created was particularly original, important or beautiful.

Yet when we finish school and enter the world of work, we are asked to create work of value — scientific reports, business plans, websites, books, architectural blueprints, graphic artwork, investment proposals, medical devices and software applications. This work is created over weeks or months with team consultation, collaboration and critique, and it goes through multiple revisions. The research, analysis, and production involve multiple disciplines, such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, engineering and design.

When will students develop the skills to do this kind of work if not in school? It’s not just the reading and math skills; it’s also the planning, problem solving and working collaboratively. When do we believe students will develop the dispositions to persevere over time with a challenging project and hold themselves to high standards of quality? These skills and mindsets — collectively known as Deeper Learning — can only be built through long-term practice in classrooms where students work together on significant projects.
 

This is how I feel about my life as a student during grade school and as an undergraduate.  The few projects that I was proud of and can remember looking back were all for extra credit - a Dr. Seuss style pop up book for the Declaration of Independence, a toothpick bridge that supported over 100 lbs. of weight, a massive diorama inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey to celebrate Mol Day, the United States in 50 magnets.  All these projects were ones that I chose and executed myself, and while I didn't necessarily learn anything else about the topic, I got a chance to use all sorts of skills that don't normally find their way into the classroom.

When I eventually find myself in charge of a library classroom, I'm going to do my darndest to not fall into the trap of teaching isolated skill sets.  First of all, it doesn't work.  You can talk/show/demonstrate a skill all you want, but if there's no application behind it, kids won't retain the information.  Second of all, it's boring!  No matter how teachers try to dress up skill lessons as games/competitions/races/whatever, in the end not all students are engaged, because not all students are interested in that style of learning.

So I pledge to embed skill lessons as part of inquiry-based projects.  Projects on topics chosen and researched by students, that lead to creating presentations/displays/websites/blogs/poems/plays/etc., designed and created by students.  I pledge that students will have authentic audiences for their projects, and that they will receive valuable feedback along the way that will allow them to grow as consumers and creators of knowledge.  I pledge that when my students leave my school, they will have products they created that they will keep to show their own children.