As I worked on approaching my second year in the classroom, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to create more authentic learning experiences for my students. Last year, the richest experiences in my classroom were, by far, those instances where my students were able to see the relevancy of what they were learning by having an experience where they could apply their learning to the real-world.
To that end, I’ve been working on brainstorming authentic projects for my students — the first major one will take place in November, when we put our map and interview skills to use to create a guidebook for our school. Later in the year, in our advertising and money unit, my students will develop, create, and market an invention to “sell” during an invention fair with their parents.
These activities do involve a lot of effort on my part, but the rewards are well worth it. I was reminded and re-motivated in this area last Friday, when we went on a field trip to a local agricultural fair. I put three students in my group who I felt I hadn’t connected with on a personal level yet. One of these students is a learner who has long struggled in school. During the trip, it was fascinating to spend time with him. While he is usually reserved in our classroom and rarely volunteers (and is sometimes prone to misbehavior), on the trip he was engaged and very expressive. His vocabulary as we walked through the animal barns blew me away — I had no idea he had such an expansive grasp of language. Even more impressive were his actions toward his groupmates — he was keeping an eye on them and making sure they didn’t get lost. At one point, he even held their hands to make sure they stayed together in a particularly crowded section of the fair.
This experience led to me seeing my student in an entirely different light and allowed me to see him exhibiting skills that no typical classroom experience was likely to draw out of him. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can provide these types of experiences to all of my students — I know that, for many students, the classroom can be a threatening place in its traditional form, with its emphasis on a single correct answer and rote-type activities. I really think that by giving authentic, “in-context” learning opportunities, more of my students will rise to the occasion. It seems like a way to truly illustrate a belief that I so strongly hold: that all students can be successful learners when given the right tools and motivating activities that allow them to apply their learning and skills in a “real” way.
Fellow teachers, what types of authentic learning activities do you do with your students? I would love to hear about any projects that have proven particularly motivating and effective!
Cultivating Questioners 