EDUC 5313 Week 2 Blog Assignment

Part 1:  Authentic Intellectual Work/Authentic Instruction & Assessment.  

Use the following questions/prompts to guide the development of your post.

1. What is the nature of Authentic Intellectual Work?  How does it differ from traditional approaches to instruction and assessment? 

2. Discuss the components of Authentic Intellectual Work and provide deep consideration of at least one component by including a discussion of empirical (research-based) evidence found in Chapter 2.

3. Describe a specific example of authentic intellectual work in a discipline or content area.

Authentic Intellectual Work is defined as “construction of knowledge, through the use of disciplined inquiry, to produce discourse, products, or performances that have value beyond school”. There are three components to AIW which include construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school all working together to improve student learning. These three components change instruction and assessment from rote memorization of facts and procedures to engaging lessons that require students to use their knowledge and skills to solve problems that have meaning in their lives outside the classroom. Rather than the teacher being the source of information in the classroom, they guide and advise students while they gain both academic and soft skills working to prove their learning in worthwhile assessments. Construction of knowledge increases rigor by asking students to solve purposeful problems using higher order thinking skills that teachers can promote by asking open-ended questions, compelling students to explain their thinking, and encouraging discussions and debates in learning units. Disciplined inquiry has three elements including information learned from prior experiences, a deep, elaborate understanding of the problem, and a detailed form of communication which teachers can encourage by using strategies like KWL charts, interactive discussions, group case studies, and simulations and labs. The last component of AIW is value beyond school that makes students feel that what they are learning has meaning past getting a grade and they can take what they have learned into the world outside the classroom to better their own lives and their community. 

An important element of AIW to consider at length is disciplined inquiry since most lesson building relies on the tenets of this component. High school teachers are particularly aware of the complexities involved in evaluating student prior knowledge. Since our students have had years of prior educational experience, their knowledge varies widely, making disciplined inquiry a challenge for teachers. Teachers must provide students learning opportunities that allow them to acquire a deeply intricate knowledge of the problem by guiding them through the explorations of project based learning. When students come to conclusions from their inquiries, they must utilize elaborate forms of communication in order to develop skills of articulation that extend past the classroom. Disciplined inquiry has been proven effective in high school classrooms by the National Educational Longitudinal Study which tested and surveyed 10,000 students in a thousand schools in their Math and Science classes. Math and Science lends itself to effective authentic instruction through hands-on labs, group investigations and problem solving, and student-led experiments and explorations to improve critical thinking skills. The study showed that students who were exposed to consistent use of authentic intellectual assignments gained greater learning achievement in both math and science in both sets of grades. AIW improves learning outcomes for all students regardless of gender or ethnicity including students with disabilities, and AIW closes the achievement gap for SES students. 

Theater is a content area in which AIW increases engagement and genuine learning. “Through careful research and inquiry, the student can build a theatrical component to illustrate and express more nuanced meaning than might be available in only a written report of the effects of a current event. In some cases, this role taking can carry outside the life of the classroom and into a community event or other meaningful venue for the student(s)” (Cawthorn, Dawson, Ihorn, 2011). Students in my theater class write and perform their own scripts based on a controversial topic. Students must show a deep understanding of the topic itself, drama writing, and production development and performance. The group has five students who must come to a consensus about their topic, research their topic and develop their own beliefs, come together to write a fictional script that reflects the controversial nature of their topic, cast their show, create the paper set and bring in costumes and props, and then perform their mini-show for the rest of the class. This assignment promotes student engagement, improves communication skills, increases knowledge retention, and boosts student confidence. 

Part 2:  2024 National Education Technology Plan Update

The 2024 NETP is not explicitly connected to the Authentic Intellectual Work Framework.  What opportunities do you see within the first section “Digital Use Divide” to connect technology integration practices with the components of authenticity?  Describe an example in the plan or develop your own example aligned with Universal Design for Learning highlighted in the technology plan and opportunities for students to engage in authentic intellectual work.

In the past, educators have focused on the digital divide when it came to access to technology, but now the focus has shifted to the digital use divide because many students, especially students from low income families, are passive users of technology rather than active users who are engaged in the tenets of Authentic Intellectual Work. Both AIW and active technology use that is aligned with UDL should have students analyze content, build relevant skills and knowledge, create their own products, and communicate meaningful learning with their classmates in a variety of flexible options. An example lesson that would align AIW, Active Digital Use, and UDI principles would be my group project researching topics relevant to Of Mice and Men. Students do a jigsaw activity in which they use multiple technology resources such as Google Slides, videos, articles, and first hand audio recordings to research the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, Migrant Workers (CA-1930’s), Jim Crow Laws, and Mental Illness (1930’s). Then students analyze and synthesize their findings with their group members and create a Poontown video that discusses the facts they learned about their topic and how the topics are still relevant today. After reading about the Digital Use Divide, maybe choices should include a podcast, e-book, or a screencast to also show learning. Finally students share their videos with their classmates on the class webpage, so students eventually learn about all topics.

Part 3:  Triple E Framework 

What connection do you notice between the AIW framework and Kolb’s Triple Es?  How does the example you developed above support Engagement, Enhancement, or Extension?  

Lessons created using the AIW framework improve student engagement by having students look at real world issues that make meaningful connections to their own lives. Students looking into problems that interest them give what they are doing a sense of purpose so students are more likely to do these assignments versus busy work. The lesson above connects to Engagement because students are working with their peers in a common goal which leads them to feel responsible to each other and motivated to succeed. Students realize the connection between understanding the historical context of the novel and the characters’ motivations in making decisions. Allowing students choices in how and what they research gives them autonomy and furthers engagement. Students practice communication skills along with academic skills while they come to a consensus about what material they will include in their Powtoon presentations. Students are engaged because the assignment is broken into manageable parts and collaboration is used to foster a sense of belonging and improve soft skills while increasing students’ feelings of accomplishments in their final products. 

Cawthorn S., Dawson K., Ihorn S. (2011). Activating Student Engagement Through 

Drama-Based Instruction. Journal for Learning Through the Arts. 7(1). 

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6qc4b7pt

Gaer, S. & Reyes, K. (2022). Finally, Some Guidance! Using the Triple E Framework to 

Shape Technology Integration, Adult Literacy Education, 4 (3-34). 

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1370043.pdf

King, B. Lang, L. (2024). AWI Institute. Authentic Intellectual Work Institute. 

https://aiwinstitute.org/

Newman, F., King M., Carmichael, D. (2007). Authentic Instruction & Assessment: 

Common Standard for Rigor and Relevance in Teaching Academic Subjects. Iowa 

State Department of Education. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T9JNAZgLfKvXAX7JoaOJElkkZS5Xf-lp/view

Office of Educational Technology (2021). Early Learning and Educational Technology Policy 

Brief. https://tech.ed.gov/earlylearning/