Week 2 Blog Assignment

Part One

     Authentic Intellectual Work stems from the idea that traditional rote teaching and learning practices are antiquated and while they serve a purpose in developing a necessary "prior knowledge base," (Newmann et al., 2007) it's important to recognize that educators who prefer the traditional might be losing their students. Through formulating a curriculum using AIW, these educators could very well be encouraging the critical thinking and problem-solving skills so important to our society. Newmann et al. (2007) states that there are three major criteria involved in lessons designed under an Authentic Intellectual Work model; these criteria are the construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school. One thing to note is that all three must exist concurrently because if one of the three criteria is missing, you run the risk of having superficiality ruining the learning process. In differentiating between AIW and the traditional educational approach, the most notable contrast is the approach, whereas traditional instruction relies on the educator as the main source of knowledge transfer, AIW accentuates student-driven exploration and problem-solving as they are the impetus for the construction of knowledge. Assessment methods also differ in that traditional assessments measure recall and basic comprehension through tests, quizzes, and the like which is very different from performance-based tasks which not only verify a student's knowledge but also how they can apply that knowledge.

    The most interesting of the three criteria is that Authentic Intellectual Instruction has a strong emphasis on the value of the information beyond school. The relevance to the student's lives has a long last effect and allows them to see beyond the traditional rote memorization. Making learning applicable to the real world, in a way, is truly meeting students where they are so that they can make the best out of finding what is meaningful and engaging outside the confines of the classroom. Student engagement is a huge issue all over in every grade level so knowing that students are more likely to care about the entire learning process as well as the specific content, provides an easy solution to the lack of engagement. Several studies conducted between the years of 1990 and 2003 attempted to see the influence of AIW on the educational growth of students; the focus was to determine "whether students who experienced higher levels of instruction and assessment that promoted authentic intellectual work showed higher achievement...what conditions within schools and beyond seemed to help and hinder schools' promotion of authentic intellectual work" (Newmann et al., 2007). These studies produced positive results across the board providing evidence that "authentic instruction and assignments bring significant benefits to students from any racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group, or gender" (Newman et al., 2007) as well being effective to bring about higher academic achievement whether or not a student has learning disabilities or has a disadvantaged background.

    A perfect example of authentic intellectual work that I have implemented in my Theater Arts 2 classroom deals particularly with societal issues. Students begin by brainstorming events or issues that are relevant to their lives leading to a period of research in which the students look for specific examples of that issue occurring and how it affects society as a whole. As they continue along with this project, they work in small, collaborative groups to focus on how they are going to address and represent that issue in a way that is not only engaging for the audience but also effective in bringing the major points to the forefront. As with all derived theatrical pieces, students will also reflect on the process and critique the final work. The process of deriving a theatrical piece encourages students to construct their knowledge based on a simple inquiry upon which they use their prior knowledge to think critically and analytically on how to represent their chosen issue. Finally, the relevance of the student chosen topic ensures that the idea of "value beyond school" (Newman et al., 2007) is evident.

 Part Two

    The Digital Use Divide as described in the National Educational Technology Plan addresses the disproportionate access that students might have to engaging forms of technology. While many students are only given passive opportunities such as worksheet completion, online test taking, and watching videos related to the subject matter, there are schools trying to minimize this divide involving critical thinking activities allowing for multiple ways to not only consume information as distributed by technology means, but to interact with technology as a means for knowledge acquisition, dare I say, "Construction" in an interactive and engaging way that allows for critical thinking and reflection. Trying to close this divide fits beautifully into the Authentic Intellectual Work Framework  because the goal of AIW is to construct knowledge in an interactive and engaging format focusing on the value of the knowledge gained beyond school. Using meaningful, real-world tasks can assist with the integration of technology helping to develop learners who possess transferable skills such as "critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and digital literacy" (Office of Educational Technology, 2024). These skills will make a student more marketable when they head out into the real world.

    The Universal Design for Learning consists of three major principles in that a lesson formulated under this idea should have the following: Multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, multiple means of engagement. One lesson I regularly prepare for my Oratory (public speaking) classes fits this framework to a tee. Students learn about the categories of demographics in advertising and persuasion through a multitude of methods - they can choose to read about them in the textbook (more traditional) or provide analysis of the demographic criteria by watching advertisements - understanding where the target demographic of that commercial. Once they have done this, their goal is to pick a target demographic and create some form of artifact that will advertise/sell a vacation destination. They can choose any form of development, whether it be a commercial, a podcast, a visual presentation, or a descriptive video. I also give the students a chance to choose their own option even if it is not listed as a choice. After the students present their artifact, they have a chance to reflect using a video confessional or other form of reflective documentation. This assignment allows the students to not only learn the material but to choose the path through which they acquire their knowledge which enhances the level of engagement and the ownership the students take in their educational process.

Part Three

    AIW focuses on the construction of knowledge through authentic tasks creating understanding by engaging in a student-centered process that recognizes the real-world validity of the instruction and gained information. Kolb's Triple E recognizes that student-driven acquisition of knowledge and the recognition that personalized learning paths will lead to increased engagement, all the while encouraging reflection and growth beyond the classroom. In looking at the lesson I provided above, I noticed some key details.

• Engagement - Students are given autonomy in how they engage with the initial information as well as a choice to interact with real world media.
• Enhancement - The hands-on production of an artifact encourages students to synthesize their knowledge in a creative manner that suits their learning preferences. 
• Extension - The idea of creating some sort of advertisement to sell a vacation destination can also be a way to apply knowledge to a real world task.