Authentic Learning A Passion for Relevance

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Authentic Learning A Passion for Relevance

• Stephen Mendonca
• Lone Star College
• University Park
• Houston, Texas

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1. Setting the Stage

• It is time to change the paradigm.

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Teaching/Learning Landscape

• Marked by radical shifts
• Explosion of available knowledge
• Impact of media channeling
• Brain research
• Widening cultural and digital divides
• Generational learning/teaching styles
• Millennial
• Gen X
• Boomers

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Are they learning?
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21st Century Challenge

• Global competition for investment, jobs, skilled
  workers
• How can we make the college learning experience
  richer and more rewarding for both student and
  instructor?
• How can we prepare our students to be 21st
  century citizens, leaders, innovators, and
  entrepreneurs?

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2. Teaching Challenge

• Transform students into ?

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Our Complex Mission

• To enable learning that prepares students for
  success in the real world.

• Type of Learner
• Self-directed
• Intentional
• Engaged

• Outcome
• Takes ownership
• Significant
• Authentic

Downing (2005)
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21st Century Learning

• Blend of literacies
• Technology-based
• Career orientation
• Social responsibility
• Creative problem-solving
• Experiential
• LEARNING AGILITY

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21st Century Literacies

• Global awareness
• Range of Literacies
• Liberal arts
• Business entrepreneurship
• Social Sciences
• Civics/Ethics/Philosophy
• Technology
• Sustainability

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Critical Competencies (21st C.)

• Creativity Innovation
• Communication Collaboration
• Research Information Fluency
• Critical Thinking Problem Solving
• Digital Citizenship
• Technology Literacy
• Growth Leadership

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3. Authentic Learning

• Redefines the Encounter

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A Way to Engage Students

• Cognitive exploration
• Challenging old models ideas
• Daring to ask questions
• Building new constructs
• Assembling elements in new ways
• Reinventing themselves, their world

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Matrix of Methods

• Cognitive and pedagogical
• Blooms taxonomy
• Active Learning
• Accelerated Learning
• Significant Learning
• Contextualized Learning
• Evolution of constructivist methods

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Student-Led Effort

• Motivated to help instructor use their skills
• Not a simulation a real need
• Divide themselves into work groups
• Discuss, argue, persuade, negotiate, compete
• Technology and social media are big enablers
• Students come to see how the pieces fit together
• Take pride in a shared product with real value

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Significant Learning

• Foundational Knowledge
• Application
• Integration
• Human Dimension
• Caring
• Learning How to Learn
• Personal Impact on Student
• Relational Interactive

Fink (2003)
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Scenario

• Instructor walks into a class
• I need to organize a Student Forum.
• I also need to post it on the website and
  promote it via social media.

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Authentic Teaching

• Engaging students in meaningful activities that
  are developmentally appropriate.
• Learning through real-world activities that
• Help create a meaningful learning experience
• Motivates and challenges the student into
  higher-order thinking and response

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Experiential Creative

• Allows students to explore, discuss, and relate
  concepts relevant to the real-world and
  meaningful to them (Donovan, Bransford,
  Pellegrino 1999)
• Gather information from various sources
• Develop critical information-age skills and
  higher-order thinking skills (Newman 1994)
• Access and present information creatively

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Holistic Learning

• Enables holistic learning by
• Phased learning
• Creative connections
• Realistic tasks
• Scaffolding
• Inquiry and discourse
• Accessing breadth of resources
• Integrating imagination technology
• (Donovan et al., 1999 Roth
  1992)

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4. Effective Examples

• Make the world your book.

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Master Theme Sustainability

• Serves as an integrating point of inquiry
• Touches multiple issues
• environment, consumerism, economics,
• business management, marketing
• education, healthcare, ethics
• Prepares citizens of integrity to be stewards of
  a globally interdependent community.

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The Lorax
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Other Master Themes

• Find themes that can work across disciplines in
  any given semester.
• Moral Compass
• Civility
• Critical Thinking
• A Balanced Life
• Social Justice

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Across the Disciplines

• APA, MLA Style/Formats (Plagiarism)
• Research mindset and methods
• Government Model United Nations
• Learning Signature options
• Geography and Economics
• Psychology and Communications
• Philosophy and Literature
• Business and Technical Writing

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Multi-Step Proposal

• Create an innovative proposal
• Event, institution, program, issue
• Long-cycle project (4 weeks)
• Phased development, time management
• Matrix of problem-solving skills
• From inquiry and research
• To concept design and presentation
• Practical initiative with real world value

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Phased Project

• Phase 1 Inquiry identify a need and research
  alternative approaches
• Phase 2 Design validate outline of concept
  plan include visuals
• Phase 3 Draft Proposal 5-page document with
  executive summary
• Phase 4 Publish Finalize and present
• At each phase, students must verbally present
  their findings to a reaction group in class.

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Assessment

• 1. Researched Idea
  Points
• -- 1 page Needs Statement
  20
• 2. Draft design plan
  30
• -- Concept/Implementation/Visuals
• 3. Formatted proposal
  30
• -- Simulated internal review
• 4. Executive summary and slides 20
  
  
• TOTAL POINTS
  100

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Project Examples

• Community park and fitness center
• After-school daycare for inner city boys
• Non-profit book fair
• Counseling program for newlyweds
• Energy-saving initiative for Lone Star College
  campus
• Leadership Club for international students

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Impact Benefits

• Students
• Immersive experience
• Self-directed choices
• Integration of skills
• Real-world development process
• Instructor
• Logical sequence of teaching modules
• Allow students to direct the process

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5. Recommendations

• Start small. Think big.
• Get the buy-in on the ground floor.

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1. Promote benefits

• Advocacy and professional training
• Full-time and adjunct faculty
• Forge links with workforce resources
• Encourages broader career vision
• Address persistence issues
• Evidence of higher levels of
• Motivation
• Initiative
• Self-Direction

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2. Contextualize

• Use learning community strategies
• Include real-world applications for course
  concepts and activities that demonstrate the
  relevance of the material
• Provide appropriately cited links to current
  newspaper or journal articles discussing the
  week's material
• Use reflective journaling
• Demonstrate relevance to careers.

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3. Foster a Culture

• Evangelize
• Build a community of practice
• Designate advocates or faculty mentors
• Establish a Resource Center
• Tap into Social Media outlets
• Foster a culture of authentic learning
• Enlist the highest level of commitment
• Grow the BRAND for college recruiting

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Closing Words

• Authentic learning is transformative.
• Authentic teachers help raise the caliber of the
  institution.

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Bibliography

• Mims, Clif. (2003). Authentic learning A
  practical introduction guide for
  implementation. Vol. 6 (1) Retrieved at
  http//www.ncsu.edu/meridian/win2003/authentic_lea
  rning/3.html
• Fink, L. Dee. (2003). Creating Significant
  Learning Experiences An Integrated Approach to
  Designing College Courses. San Francisco
  Jossey-Bass.
• Andrews, Hans. Creating Significant Learning
  Experiences An Integrated Approach to Designing
  College Courses. The Community College
  Enterprise. FindArticles.com. 05 Jul, 2011.
• Brookfield, S. D. (1987). Developing critical
  thinkers Challenging adults to explore
  alternative ways of thinking and acting. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• ELI. "Approaches that Work How Authentic
  Learning is Transforming Higher Education.
  Retrieved at http//connect.educause.edu/library/a
  bstract/ApproachesThatWork/Ho/44821