Go Public! Authentic Audiences for Learning
Go Public! Authentic Audiences for Learning
Levels PK-12 Content - Any
When students know that their work will be seen by people beyond their teacher, they are often more motivated to put effort into their work and take pride in what they create. Instead of simply completing work for a letter grade, students are more likely to appreciate the value of the work they are doing if it has an authentic audience and relevant purpose. How might students demonstrate they mastered the unit standards for or with others? (Catlin Tucker, 2023) Authentic audiences can be low, medium or high prep depending how deeply the audience is a stakeholder in the learning. Note that Authenticity is an essential element of Project Based Learning, but any teacher can design learning for authenticity.
READ
READ
Authenticity involves real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, or impact. The demonstration of learning speaks to personal concerns, interests, and issues in the students’ lives.
Catlin Tucker (2023) writes about why authentic audiences matter for students.
The New York Times cites 10 reasons for authentic audiences in school.
Traditional vs. Authentic Example:
Regular activity: Name and describe the major parts of the circulatory system and their functions. Label the parts of the diagram you’ve been given. Attach a sheet of paper on which you have explained the function of each part.
Activity for an authentic audience: Create an amusement park ride that will teach riders the circulatory system. Describe what they will see, hear and feel. Explain what the different parts of the system do for the human body. This is to be shared with the Director of Medical Education at the City Hospital. She will be asked to evaluate it using this question: In what ways and to what extent do the structure and function of each part of the ride accurately represent the structure and function of the parts of the circulatory system?
PLAN
PLAN
Low Prep:
one person from students' lives
another class or adults from within the school
QR codes in campus or community
Medium Prep
local coffee shop installation or display
online platform (blog, site, podcast...) marketed to others such as students recording a math tutorial about how to do a particular problem and having them accessible for every student in that class
local or national competition via web submissions
teaching younger students
Higher Prep
local professional collaborates and/or gives feedback on student work - see Community Outreach Planning Tool
culmination of learning that impacts local community (PSAs, fundraisers, work with a non profit...)
MIDDLE SCHOOL EXAMPLE
Students interviewed local community elders and presented those histories to their families and the elders in a culminating celebration called "Small Acts of Courage". Video embedded in this article.
ELEMENTARY EXAMPLE
Keep it simple above!
In which phases of the instructional model might this strategy be used?
In which phases of the instructional model might this strategy be used?
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