Authentic+Instruction

[|Research on meaningful PBL] Another resource: http://academyofdiscovery.wikispaces.com/

Our current use of activities are like lincoln log assignments. We as teachers can see how the pieces fit together but the students don't. Authentic Instruction is different from a project in that it is an in-depth investigation of a real world topic worthy of children's attention and effort. Characteristics of Authentic Instruction:
 * 1) Explicit connection to a standard
 * 2) Collaboration among students in same class or elsewhere
 * 3) Information accessing through research or survey
 * 4) Information processing by analyzing, formatting, assembling
 * 5) Construction of a unique, valuable information product
 * 6) Self-assessment

Important note: Decide your audience and what the purpose is. The product is not just a copy of chunks of information, it is copying small chunks and assembling them to produce information products that accomplish something.

Skills used: Researching, Communication, Problem-solving, Self-management, Cooperative learning

Examples
 * Review cars for fuel-efficiency
 * Analyze the school menu changes and identify purpose and research behind the change
 * Movie review related to a topic that would be discussed in class
 * Design a food product to illustrate nutrition or biochemistry
 * Compare CFL's to incandescents (measure luminosity, heat generated, price, rated power)

Writing lesson plans can be difficult to keep project focus. I additionally use the following:

Focus on education should be:
 * **Higher order thinking:** Is the instruction dependent on recall and recitation, or does the instruction require organization and manipulation of information to discover meaning?
 * **Depth of knowledge:** Does the instructional goal move beyond a trivial understanding and progress to a more significant and complex understanding? (We need to identify the big ideas in our classes).
 * **Connectedness to the world:** Is the instructional application dependent on school-related connections, or is the application connected to an adult real-life experience?
 * **Substantive conversations:** Does the instruction rely on teacher-directed answer sessions, or does the instruction allow for student inquiries and ideas connecting learning?