Authentic Learning Environments
Kearsley and Shneiderman (1998) assert that for learners to be truly engaged in their learning in an Information Communication Communication (ICT) learning environment they need to RELATE to a real-world, authentic problem scenario that is messy and ill-structured.
They need to, in small teams, RELATE to the problem task, CREATE solutions to this problem and then DONATE the solution back into the real world. While this theoretical perspective has strong links to pedagogical approaches like Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Authentic Learning environments, it is the DONATE aspect that sets it apart from the other approaches.
In creating an Action plan for our Assignment 3 for ICTs in Learning Design, I realised the next topic for yr 12 Multistrand science at my placement was going to be recycling and I had just read an article titled "The evidence that we are living unsustainably" on the educational qld website. I thought that this would help give an authentic real-world spin on the upcoming unit. My next idea came from listening to a friend complain about the amount of rubbish that is thrown into the recycling bins and how it ruins a whole load of recycleable goods when this happens. My idea then was that I would approach the Mayor re speaking to the students and coming up with an authentic task for them to complete in teams for assessment. Re-engage the community in recycling, educate them as to why it is important, what will potentially happen if they don't and impassion them to want to do the right thing for the environment and our future. The action plan came together immediately incorporating a wide range of ICT's. Webquests, Glogs, wikis for collaboration, utube to display finished products etc. Hopefully this will HOOK the students in, keep them engaged in the task, enable them to relate to the topic, create a fantastic product and donate it to the community and the rest of the world. I will keep you posted.
References
Kearsley, G & Schneiderman, B (1999) Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning viewed July 14 2009, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
