Carolyn Harris EDUC 5313 - Week 2

 Part 1: Authentic Intellectual Work/ Authentic Instruction and Assessment

Authentic Intellectual Work is teaching students knowledge that applies to the real world, beyond meeting student assessment preparation. It differs from traditional approaches to instruction and  assessment in that in the traditional classroom, teachers normally focus on teaching content to help students pass the course assessment, e.g., a final exam. In other words, traditional classroom prioritizes preparing students for a test whereas authentic intellectual work prioritizes preparing students for the real world. 

The components of Authentic Intellectual Work are construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry and value beyond school. Construction of knowledge is where the student use prior knowledge to construct information, whether that be synthesizing, analyzing and organizing prior knowledge in order to reach a conclusion. It is this type of thinking that allows for effective problem solving. Disciplined inquiry takes it further by using that conclusion or solution that was formed and ensuring that the person understands that knowledge in depth and expresses that knowledge clearly through elaborated communication (verbal, visual, etc.). Finally, value beyond school demonstrates the importance for the knowledge acquired to have value beyond school success.

The difference in student quality of education is revealed in Chapter 2 through empirical research. In the Chicago 46 school study (k-8), data shows a difference in skills gained where students who received lower quality assignments (traditional education) gained 20% in basic skills whereas students who received higher quality assignments that taught authentic intellect work gained 40% more (Newmann et al., 2007). This demonstrates the limitations in skill development in regards to traditional education and the potential to learn and develop more with authentic intellectual work. 

Lets look at English Writing as an example of a specific discipline. In some English Writing courses, students may need to write an argumentative paper. In a traditional classroom, students may be given a debatable prompt and told to write a paper responding to that prompt. In a authentic intellectual work classroom, students will be asked not only to write an argumentative paper, but to also conduct research in order to write that paper. Conducting research exposes students to real world conversations that are not limited to what they had learned in the classroom. 

Part 2: 2024 National Education Technology Plan Update

The digital use divide presents an issue with how technology is used in the classroom which closely aligns with traditional education versus authentic intellectual work. "The 2017 NETP defined the digital use divide as the disparity between students who use technology to create, design, build, explore, and collaborate and those who are only invited to consume media passively" (Office of Educational Technology, 2024, p.13). In this situation, there is an opportunity to make technological use more connected to real world application rather than simply using it to complete an assignment. 

I teach an Academic English Writing class, and in the context of that class, an example of a plan to integrate authentic intellectual work can be utilizing a blog. My classroom can have a shared blog platform where all students can post their personal reflections on the research they conduct on their individual topics and in this way can engage in real world knowledge construction beyond the written assignment.

Part 3: Triple E Framework

Here is the connection that can be made between the Authentic Intellectual Work framework and the Kolb's Triple Es framework when it comes to the previous blog example:

Enhance: the blog allows for scaffolding since it enhances students' understanding of their research through personal reflections, allowing them to make connections between classroom learning objectives and real world application.

Extend: personal reflections allow students to extend the skills beyond what has been learned in the classroom by building self awareness and identifying how ideas connect to other real world instances. 

Engage: the blog is medium for expressing ideas and actively engaging with others. Students will be able to read and comment under others blog posts, allowing them to understand others point of  views and how it may connect with theirs. 

References:

Gaer, S. & Reyes, K. ( 2022). Finally, Some Guidance! Using the Triple E Framework to Shape Technology Integration, Adult Literacy Education, 4 (1), 3-34.

Newmann, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007).  Authentic instruction and assessment: Common standards for rigor and relevance in teaching academic subjects. State of Iowa Department of Education.

Office of Educational Technology. (2024). A Call to Action to Close the Technology Access, Design, and Use Divides: National Educational Technology Plan. Department of Education.