Authentic Learning for the 21st Century: An Overview

Authentic Learning for the 21st Century: An Overview

By Marilyn M. Lombardi

Edited by Diana G. Oblinger

ELI Paper 1: 2007

May 2007

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3009.pdf

Abstract

Learning-by-doing is generally considered the most effective way to learn. The Internet and a variety of emerging communication, visualization, and simulation technologies now make it possible to offer students authentic learning experiences ranging from experimentation to real-world problem solving. This white paper explores what constitutes authentic learning, how technology supports it, what makes it effective, and why it is important.

Students say they are motivated by solving real-world problems. They often express a preference for doing rather than listening.Thanks to the emergence of a new set of technological tools, we can offer students a more authentic learning experience based on experimentation and action.Connection-building will require new forms of authentic learning—forms that cut across disciplines and bring students into meaningful contact with the future employers, customers, clients, and colleagues who will have the greatest stake in their success.

Authentic learning typically focuses on real-world, complex problems and their solutions, using role-playing exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in virtual communities of practice.Students immersed in authentic learning activities cultivate the kinds of “portable skills” that newcomers to any discipline have the most difficulty acquiring on their own

Learning researchers have distilled the essence of the authentic learning experience down to 10 design elements:

1. Real-world relevance
2. Ill-defined problem
3. Sustained investigation
4. Multiple sources and perspectives
5. Collaboration
6. Reflection (metacognition)
7. Interdisciplinary perspective
8. Integrated assessment
9. Polished products
10. Multiple interpretations and outcomes

Educational researchers have found that students involved in authentic learning are motivated to persevere despite initial disorientation or frustration, as long as the exercise simulates what really counts—the social structure and culture that gives the discipline its meaning and relevance.

Products of Inquiry:

1. Simulations

2. Student-Created Media

3. Inquiry-Based Learning

4. Peer-Based Evaluation

5. Working with Remote Instruments or Research Data

Authentic learning is not new. It was the primary mode of instruction for apprentices who later took their places within established craft guilds. At one time apprenticeship was the most common form of learning. However, as the numbers of students grew in the 19th century, the logistics and economics of transporting large numbers of students to relevant work sites made large-scale apprenticeship programs impractical.

However, access to digital archives, databases, instruments, or even haptic devices may not guarantee an authentic learning experience without the most important factor: community participation. In authentic learning situations, tasks are accomplished collaboratively, whether or not distance is involved. Educators can use Web-based communication tools to help students collaborate with one another, sharing and constructing knowledge.

However, access to digital archives, databases, instruments, or even haptic devices may not guarantee an authentic learning experience without the most important factor: community participation. In authentic learning situations, tasks are accomplished collaboratively, whether or not distance is involved. Educators can use Web-based communication tools to help students collaborate with one another, sharing and constructing knowledge.

Why isn’t authentic learning more common? The reliance on traditional instruction is not simply a choice made by individual faculty—students often prefer it. This resistance to active learning may have more to do with their epistemological development than a true preference for passivity. Entering freshmen are likely to use a right-or-wrong, black-or-white mental model. At this dualistic stage, students believe that the “right answer exists somewhere for every problem, and authorities know them. Right answers are to be memorized by hard work.”26 By confronting students with uncertainty, ambiguity, and conflicting perspectives, instructors help them develop more mature mental models that coincide with the problem-solving approaches used by experts. Authentic learning exercises expose the messiness of real-life decision making.