Week 2 Blog
Part 1: Authentic Intellectual Work/Authentic Instruction & Assessment.
Authentic Intellectual Work focuses on 3 major criteria, the construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and the value beyond school. Meaning students should be able to build on their prior knowledge, analyze, and interpret new information. Students should engage in deep understanding of subjects and be able to communicate their ideas and responses clearly. Lastly, students’ learning should connect to real-world issues and situations, making their learning meaningful and valuable. This differs from traditional instruction, as it isn’t focused on standardized tests and teacher lectures. It more focuses on the student’s ability to communicate, problem solve, and question, not the teacher’s ability to lecture and ask questions. While traditional tests might encourage students to memorize definitions and formulas, AIW asks students to apply their knowledge to real-world situations, create their own problems, take different stances on issues, and develop a higher-level thinking with reasoning.
One powerful component of AIW is the construction of knowledge. Chapter 2 specifically explains that focusing on intellectual demands rather than teaching practices, enhances student learning. Newmann et al. (2007) explain that “such construction of knowledge involves organizing, interpreting, evaluating, or synthesizing prior knowledge to solve new problems” (p. 15). When instruction prioritizes higher-level thinking and intellectual challenges over specific teaching methods, teachers are more likely to design lessons that push students to think deeply, rather than simply memorize and recall information. Newmann, King, and Carmichael (2007) explain that when teachers try to improve and enhance their instruction, they may often be drawn to cooperative learning, hands-on activities, and projects. These strategies and teaching practices are all effective in some ways, but research has shown that there is not a single method that guarantees deep understanding and deep learning. This ties into the AIW component, construction of knowledge. What matters most is not how students are being taught, but what kind of thinking they are being pushed to do. Research studies showed “Students who experienced higher levels of instruction and assessment that promoted authentic intellectual work showed higher achievement than students who experienced lower levels of instruction and assessment.” (Newmann et al., 2007, p. 27). This research supports the overall idea that when students are actively building and constructing knowledge, they are developing a deeper understanding of content and skills.
An example of AIW in a Fourth grade class, could involve students solving math problems related to the real-world. Students could be solving the amount of pizzas they would need to order for an end-of-year pizza party. They could work to use multiplication, division, and fraction skills to determine the number of pizzas needed to be ordered if each pizza is cut into 12 slices and each student in 4th Grade wants 2 slices of pizza. Instead of being given a worksheet with problems to work through, students would work to draw their own models, create equations, and explain strategies to classmates. This gets students engaged in their learning and excited about what they are solving. Pizza for their classmates! Students would then collaborate with peers and share their ideas and answers, receive peer and teacher feedback, and revise their thinking. This specific example shows students construct knowledge by representing their own thinking, engage in disciplined inquiry by explaining their reasoning, and showcases a problem with value beyond school, as it connects to a real-world situation that would effect the students directly.
Part 2: 2024 National Education Technology Plan Update
The "Digital use Divide" section of the 2024 NETP explains that there is a divide between those students that are given the opportunity to use technology in a critical and creative way, and those students that are expected to use technology in a passive way. Passive use of technology may be " digital worksheets, point-and-click assessments, locked-down devices, and penalties for organic collaboration" The digital use divide overall stresses that students are lacking opportunities to use technology in stimulating and engaging ways. Specifically, they lack the chance to use technology to reflect real-world situations. This aligns with the AIW criteria of having value beyond school. In an example that aligns these two ideas, technology could be used in a 4th Grade classroom to connect students in a social studies class to real-world problems in their city, community members, and keeping their community safe. Students could work together to research an issue in their school or community. For example, littering, online safety, local food pantries, and park wildlife. After picking a topic, students could create a digital slideshow using Google Slides, to organize their information and later on present to their peers.
Part 3 : Triple E Framework
There is a very strong connection between the AIW framework and Kolb's Triple Es, engagement, enhancement, and extension. In my example above, students are drawn into the issue and engaged because it is a real-world issue happening in their own community. Younger students tend to be interested in what is going on in their own city and community around them, and they love to use technology to find more information. Student engagement is directly connected to the construction of knowledge. The use of online research resources such as Kiddle, Newslea, PebbleGo, and GoogleSlides to showcase their findings, not only engages students, but enhances their learning. Technology adds value by deepening student understanding, scaffolding thinking, and enabling tasks that would be more difficult without it. Disciplined inquiry is connected to the enhancement of student learning, through their deeper understanding and assignment challenge. Lastly, their learning is extended through a value beyond school. This assignment goes past school and directly into students' community. This real-world relevance connects extension and value beyond school.
Citations :
Kolb, L. (2017). Learning first, technology second: The educator’s guide to designing authentic lessons (2nd ed.). International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
Newmann, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007). Authentic instruction and assessment: Common standards for rigor and relevance in teaching academic subjects. National Research Center on Learning, Teaching, and Learning.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2024). Reimagining the role of technology in education: 2024 National Education Technology Plan update. https://tech.ed.gov/netp
Hi Ella, great job with your post! Your explanation of authentic intellectual work was very well put together, and I appreciated the pizza party math problem example that you used to ground the concept. Your use of evidence from the Newmann et al. paper was relevant and aided in establishing a solid connection between the digital use divide paper and the AIW, especially in their shared support of encouraging a focus on the value beyond school of subjects. Your posts successfully distilled each reading's core philosophy and compared them to each other in what they serve when applied in an academic setting. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteHi Ella, I really like your pizza party lesson plan! It is the perfect example of an authentic learning experience. It will show your students that the math they are learning in school has relevancy outside of the classroom. Plus, I think your students will really enjoy the experience. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Ella! I really enjoyed reading your post -- I love how clearly you explained Authentic Intellectual Work, especially the idea that what matters most isn’t the strategy we use, but the level of thinking we ask students to do. That really resonated with me. Your pizza party math example is such a great way to make learning feel real and meaningful for students. I can totally picture kids being way more invested when the problem directly affects them (and involves pizza)! I know my high schoolers would go feral if pizza was on the line! I also appreciated your connection between AIW and the Digital Use Divide. The emphasis on moving students away from passive tech use and toward creative, real-world problem solving feels so important right now! Your post does a great job showing how AIW, NETP, and Triple E all work together to create deeper, more engaging learning experiences for students.
ReplyDeleteHi Ella! Your post does a great job showing how AIW helps kids actually think instead of just memorize. Your pizza‑party math example makes it really clear how real world tasks get students talking, solving problems, and explaining their ideas in a way worksheets never could. You also connect the NETP and Triple E Framework really well. Your example of students researching community issues and creating digital slideshows shows how technology can boost engagement, deepen understanding, and make learning feel meaningful outside of school.
ReplyDelete- Cheyenne Cardinalle (Patrick)