Authentic Learning

Often the assessment we design for our courses is contrived and not typical of the types of activities that are typical and expected in a discipline or a profession. In these cases the assessment requires behaviours that are more about passing the assessment rather than being able to demonstrate learning. In short the assessment becomes more important than the learning!

In many cases the assessment can be perceived by students as a task that has little or no worth in the "real" world. This perception can lead to a disengagement in the learning process and the adoption of an attitude of "just tell me what I need to do to pass".

Authentic learning design seeks to engage students by providing them with real opportunities to contribute to a discipline, profession or the community. With authentic assessment, the product or service produced is real and can be donated or sold to bodies outside of the learning institution. Kearsley and Shneiderman suggest that this type of assessment is best achieved by having groups or teams working together to achieve the final product or service.

The idea of donating a product or service developed by students is consistent with Greg Kearsley & Ben Shneiderman's Engagement Theory developed in 1999. Kearsley and Shneiderman suggest that to fully engage student in their studies, and as such, deepen the level of learning they experience, students should relate to a problem situation--create a solution and then donate that solution to an organisation.

The feedback received from the recipient organisation forms the final debrief and closure for the students and provided additional encouragement for the learners in their journey of discovery.