The idea of authentic assessment, allowing for student lead projects and assessments, is central to education. Not only does it flow seamlessly with an incorporation of technology, but it is very influential and holds substantial meaning in low-income schools. Quite often, low-income students are taught through traditional assessments which do not allow for in-depth thought or questioning. Authentic assessment allows students to delve in to the material and truly learn. The short essay below is my response to the discussion question:

Authentic learning is a great practice with many educational benefits, however, most educators find it difficult to relinquish their power and allow their students to establish and define their own tasks.  Additionally, more and more classroom are being run according to state and national standards which mandate that certain lessons and information be taught within a specific time frame. It is hard to find a sustainable period of time for student investigation when administrators and supervisors are constantly pushing teachers to move forward! There is a fine line that educators must walk today between providing students with in-depth, reflective, and inquisitive assignments and meeting the curriculum standards that ask that lesson be taught, evaluated, and set aside in order to move on.

Due to this unyielding state of urgency, teachers might see other instructional methods as more appropriate and/or more effective. They may turn to a more direct instruction approach in the classroom with traditional methods of assessment. Not only are students missing out on learning how to learn but they are failing to make the much-needed connection of education to their lives. Teachers who truly want to make learning a hands-on, thoughtful, and investigative process will find a way to bring authentic instruction into their classrooms. Herrington, Oliver, and Reeves bring up the argument that it is impossible to design truly 'authentic' learning experiences and then dispel this notion by providing a list of ten characteristics of authentic activities. Among these characteristics are that there is real-world relevance, opportunities to collaborate, and opportunities to reflect. How can an educator teach any class without utilizing these traits? I would argue that you are not a true teacher if you do not work towards creating relevancy, allow students to work together and allow students to reflect on what they have learned. The American Educational system fails if these few characteristics are not met.

Hands on research projects and rubrics, in my opinion, truly meet the requirements for authentic learning. For the past two weeks my students have been working in groups of three on a Native American History project.  All they were given was a checklist of items that needed to be completed by the due date along with a rubric for grading. Every other day my students have 40 minutes to work on their own, creating model homes and outfits, researching the history of their tribes, learning the languages, stories, and traditions of the tribes, and finding ways that Native American culture has effected our daily lives. It has been truly amazing to watch their interest, expectations, and personal enjoyment of history grow.

Not only do they administer their own daily tasks, but they have come to the point where they are able to assess whether or not the work they have completed is meaningful or if it needs to be addressed once again.  They have learned collaboration, how to look at the task from different perspectives, they ask each other complex questions, and have found real-world relevancy.