What is Authentic Learning?

In the new series ahead of us Authentic Learning Environments we are going to explore what matters to students, how designers approach school and classroom design to make them authentic, and what instructors are doing to foster authentic learning environments. We will endeavor to answer four questions over the next several months:

1. What is authentic learning?
2. Why does a learning environment matter?
3. How do we create authentic learning environments?
4. How do we measure authentically?

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To begin, let’s look briefly at what ‘authentic learning’ is. When something is authentic, it means that it is genuine. The item or action is real, verified, and can be supported by evidence which concludes that it is genuine. Learning is a process of acquiring new knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and values. There are literal physical changes in our anatomy when we learn something, and this usually informs changes in our actions as well. When placed together, these two words should represent a process of acquiring new knowledge (etc.) in environments which replicate real-world places and through activities and materials which represent real-world tasks and realia.

One teaching methodology which uses this approach is Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT)/Task-Based Teaching (TBT). Task-Based Teaching focuses on learning by doing and requires that the instructor take a less central role in the classroom. For all disciplines, tasks can be used during the learning. As Nunan (2004) puts it, any "task is an important element in syllabus design, classroom teaching and learner assessment" (p. 1). A task can be defined as a purposeful, goal-oriented activity and should bear resemblance to the way the language, or vocabulary, will be used in the real world (Ellis, 2003; Serafini & Tores, 2015). Task-Based Teaching is an approach that, “provides opportunities for students to engage in the authentic use of the target language through tasks” (Douglas & Kim, 2014). The tasks provide the main context and focus for learning (Douglas & Kim, 2014) and tasks completed in the classroom also provide a basis for applying the same knowledge to other scenarios in real-life. For example, a social work student may learn some de-escalation techniques in class and practice those with a partner in a role-play. These skills are important on the job as well, and when faced with an unhappy client in the workplace, the student is able to draw upon these techniques learned in class.

Tasks can be defined as purposeful, goal-oriented activities derived from collaborations between instructors and students (Swales, 2009). Any moment in a class when the instructor can replicate the real-world workplace for the students is a valuable authentic encounter. Here are a few ways in which instructors may consider creating more authentic moments in their classrooms:

• Inviting guests from the industry/discipline to speak
• Field trips- virtual and physical
• Discussing the news related to your discipline
• Case studies
• Reflection and self-evaluation
• Research projects on community initiatives (business cases, etc.)

Task-based teaching is useful as well because the tasks are related to student needs. Students are more motivated to learn, as they have a goal- complete the tasks to learn how to do a job. Tasks also encourage positive participation in learning situations, since the approach directs the learning process away from the teacher and onto the students (Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, 2015). The teacher is there to direct the students to the sources they can use to achieve the required tasks. Also important to note, is that there are stages to complete and go through when an instructor is going to use the task-based approach. Here are the stages as outlined in Mohammed bin Ibrahim (2015).

• Stage 1: Pre-Task- teacher scaffolds the task. This stage is aimed at developing creative thinking skills and it is related to the students’ needs and motives. It involves certain procedures and roles to be achieved.?
• Stage 2: Task- the teacher directs the students to perform the task and may supervise the activity but does not intervene. Students may be requested to complete a report or presentation about the task as well.
• Stage 3: Post-Task- the teacher debriefs with the students, talking about what they have achieved and may provide follow-up tasks and feedback on their performance.

These stages are vital when designing the task and when deciding how to fit a task into the curriculum. Tasks take a lot of time out of teacher-talking time in the classroom and so one has to consider space for applying knowledge after teaching the material.

As the Fall progresses, we will take a look at how the learning environment matters and how our evaluations effect authenticity too, but for now, we are going to end with the reminder that the more authentic we can make the classroom materials for students, the more successful they will be in the field when applying their knowledge.

[Stay tuned for the next article where I ask post-secondary students what ‘authentic learning’ means to them.]

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Leo Quote: "The core of authenticity is the courage to be imperfect and vulnerable”. -Brené Brown

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References

Douglas, S.R. & Kim, M. (2014). Task-based language teaching and English for academic purposes: an investigation into instructor perceptions and practice in the Canadian context. TESL Canada Journal, 31(18).

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.

Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, M.H. (2015). A program based on task-based teaching approach to develop creative thinking teaching skills for female science teachers in Kingdome of Saudi Arabia (SKA). King Abdulaziz University.

Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-10.

Serafini, E.J. & Torres, J. (2015). The utility of needs analysis for nondomain expert instructors in designing task-based Spanish for the professions curricula. Foreign Language Annals, 48(3), 447-472

Swales, J. (2009). The concept of task. In K. Van den Branden, M Bygate, & J.M. Norries (Eds). Task-based language teaching: A Reader.