Authentic Intellectual Work

 Authentic Intellectual Work 

What defines Authentic Intellectual Work? How can it be described? To use a metaphor to define Authentic Intellectual Work, imagine being a passenger in a vehicle, and observing the person driving the vehicle. Imagine watching the driver as he navigates roads in all conditions: rain, rush hour, and night driving. The observer could describe what he believes the thoughts and feelings of the driver to be.  
Now, imagine the observer getting behind the wheel. The experience is suddenly more authentic, and the senses are heightened. Knowledge and skills must be applied, and details, such as traffic signals, must be noted. New problems are likely to be encountered, and must be solved, such as detours, obstacles in the roadway, and flat tires. The value of driving, versus being a passenger only, is much greater, as the driver has the final decision of the vehicle’s destination. Finally, the observer-turned-driver has the opportunity to share with other potential drivers what the experience was like, and how to best prepare for the journey. A dashcam video could be included in the new driver’s presentation, along with a narration.  

This analogy illustrates repetition of knowledge (riding in a vehicle) versus construction of knowledge (driving a vehicle), and is an apt description of Authentic Intellectual Work. Students who experience creating Authentic Intellectual Work are engaged in an original application of knowledge and skills, along with a careful study of details (Newmann, King, & Carmichael, 2007). Students work to find solutions to new problems that they encounter as they build new knowledge while creating original work.  

Authentic Intellectual Work also uses disciplined inquiry, asking students to scaffold learning using prior knowledge, and to work toward deeper understanding. Ideas and new learning are shared in meaningful ways that appeal to higher-order thinking.  

Research supports the use of Authentic Intellectual Work. Students who are asked to think critically to evaluate and understand an important idea or solve a relevant problem through instruction and assessment achieve at higher levels than those students receiving lower-level instruction and assessment (Newmann, King, & Carmichael, 2007). 

In the English Language Arts Content area, Authentic Intellectual Work lends itself beautifully to higher level thinking and production of written work. An example of Authentic Intellectual work in this area is student learning the elements of poetry to create an example of each kind of poetry studied, such as haiku, free verse, limerick, and sensory poems. To add value beyond the school, the students would be encouraged to express their feelings about living and learning during a pandemic, and these poems would be shared with front-line healthcare workers along with expressions of thanks.  

The 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update naturally complements Authentic Intellectual Work. For instance, the learning should be engaging and relevant to meet NETP standards, and helping students to see the value beyond school, as is done in Authentic Intellectual Work, adds a healthy measure of engagement. Real-world challenges are address in the NETP framework, and passions and interests are woven into the work (Office of Educational Technology, 2017). Therefore, the Authentic Intellectual Work and the NETP standards are two sides of the same coin.  

I would develop a lesson for 5th grade ELAR persuasive writing incorporating elements of both the Authentic Intellectual Work framework, and the NETP standards, beginning with inviting students to consider their feelings about the benefits and challenges of wearing a mask at school, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Students would share dialogue in the classroom expressing their feelings about the issue in a respectful way. Then, students would create an online survey on the topic, asking parents, other students in the district, and staff members to share their opinion on the topic of mask-wearing. After gathering the survey data, students would then create a visual infographic sharing the results of their survey, along with pertinent, meaningful comments. The students would use a resource such as Piktochart to create the infographic. This infographic would then be shared with school administrators. This activity would address a current, real-world challenge in an engaging and relevant way while igniting many students’ passions for individual rights.  

I notice that the AIW framework supports Engagement in Kolb’s Triple E Framework. Engagement includes high commitment with high attention to the learning task (Kolb, 2020). The activity described above engages students in a meaningful and relevant way, as many have strong feelings on both sides of the mask argument, and students in grade 5 have lived out each moment of the pandemic as it relates to school. Their commitment to allow their voices to be heard would inspire attention to the learning task. 

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References 

Kolb, L. (2020). Learning First, Technology Second in Practice: New Strategies, Research and Tools for Student Success. International Society for Technology in Education. 

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. (2017). Reimagining the role of technology in  education:  2017 National Education Technology Plan update.  Retrieved from  http://tech.ed.gov