Fully Authentic
Students are doing work that is real to them - it is authentic to their lives - or the work has a direct impact on or use in the real world. The real world could still be school, which is a very real place for students. Through a product-focus, students might take action to improve their community, perform a service for someone, create a physical artifact to display or distribute, or demonstrate learning through various media.
Somewhat Authentic
Students are doing work that simulates what happens in the real world outside of school. Students could play a role - scientists, engineers, advisers to public officials, website designers, etc. - who are placed in a scenario that reflects what might actually occur in the real world. Our students could create products that, although they are not actually going to be used by people in the real world, are the kinds of products people do use.
Work can be authentic in four ways, some of which may be combined in a single process:
Students are doing work that is real to them - it is authentic to their lives - or the work has a direct impact on or use in the real world. The real world could still be school, which is a very real place for students. Through a product-focus, students might take action to improve their community, perform a service for someone, create a physical artifact to display or distribute, or demonstrate learning through various media.
Somewhat Authentic
Students are doing work that simulates what happens in the real world outside of school. Students could play a role - scientists, engineers, advisers to public officials, website designers, etc. - who are placed in a scenario that reflects what might actually occur in the real world. Our students could create products that, although they are not actually going to be used by people in the real world, are the kinds of products people do use.
Work can be authentic in four ways, some of which may be combined in a single process:
- The project meets a real need in the world beyond the classroom, or the products that students create are used by real people.
- The work focuses on a problem, issue, or topic that is relevant to students' lives or on a problem or issue that is actually being faced by adults in the world students will soon enter.
- The project sets up a scenario or simulation that is realistic, even if it is fictitious.
- The project involves tools, tasks, or processes used by adults in real settings and by professionals in the workplace.