Week 2 Blog: Exploring Authentic Intellectual Work

Week 2 Blog: Exploring Authentic Intellectual Work

Part 1: Analysis of Authentic Intellectual Work (A.I.W.)

1. I feel like AIW has been wanting I have been wanting to incorporate and explain to other teachers that I have worked with, yet have not been able to put my thoughts and feelings into words. The idea of "authentic" work is closely related to what is known as H.O.T.S. (higher order thinking skills) or Bloom's Taxonomy skills. However, the concept of AIW is taking those a step further by letting students construct knowledge through a variety of experiences and contexts (2007, p. 15). It is the idea of constructing knowledge and understanding through disciplined inquiry that gives value to the student's work beyond a school setting. The focus with AIW is moving beyond basic rote memorization for answering constructed questions for standardized tests. It definitely emphasizes student-centered philosophy of teaching and learning. That is evident with education philosopher John Dewey being referenced as well as an emphasize on cultivating democracy among students (2007, pps 11-12).The expectation is that students should be able to explain how and why they completed a task, and then, students should be able to transfer the knowledge and skills they learned and used to other subjects or outside of the school context.
2. Again, the main components of AIW are constructing knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and having value beyond school. The element of disciplined inquiry is one that gets a lot of talk among educators and during in-services. Administrators and teachers are always wanting to encourage the higher order thinking skills, but most lessons don't achieve that goal. Newmann et. al. in the Authentic Instruction and Assessment guide provide a research summary where they present results from several studies. These studies demonstrated that teachers who implemented lessons with an AIW framework and strategies, student academic performance increased and benefited. This emphasizes the importance of the role of the teacher. However, the element of disciplined inquiry seemed to have the most influence on helping improve student academic performance. This could be related to putting less stress on rote memorization, which can allow students to be able to breathe and enjoy their learning. Newmann et. al. explain it in this way, 

"When teachers demand authentic intellectual work, they may not consistently use extensive drills and recitation to teach the meaning of words. Instead, they require students to think about and use words and concepts to solve problems that have personal meaning, rather than asking them to use words only to complete routine school exercises. When students construct knowledge through disciplined inquiry, they must often consider alternative solutions, justify their conclusions with reasons and evidence, apply their knowledge to new contexts, develop deep understanding of topics, rather than only superficial awareness, and express themselves through elaborated communication... Since cognitively integrated knowledge is more likely to be internalized and retained by students, it is more likely to be remembered and correctly applied on standardized tests than knowledge memorized as discrete items only for the purpose of repeating it when called upon" (2007, p. 27). 

        3. One example of authentic intellectual work could be students in a world language class considering and analyzing the benefits of being bi- or multilingual. The students could learn through reading or watching about people who are fluent in more than one language. They could learn from the experiences and lives of those people. While learning about those people, they could identify different ways the people benefited from knowing more than one language. They could also research studies than have been conducted to show the benefits of knowing more than one language. These findings could be assessed and analyzed to think about how these benefits and findings could shape and improve the lives of people and their communities. Then, the students could identify situations where they could benefit from knowing another language. This study and constructed knowledge could be presented in some form or fashion.

Part 2: Relationship Between A.I.W. and 2017 National Education Technology Plan (NETP)

The Authentic Intellectual Work framework and NETP could align on every level, but both approaches align on the third element of AIW: "value beyond the classroom." Within the first pillar of the NETP, "Learning: Engaging and Empowering Through Technology," one of the components is "project-based learning." We read, "Technology can help organize learning around real-world challenges and project-based learning – using a wide variety of digital learning devices and resources to show competency with complex concepts and content" (2017, p. 18). This is seeking to direct students to make connections with life outside of the formal classroom. Global citizenship is also an important element of the NETP. It is argued, "Increased connectivity also increases the importance of teaching learners how to become responsible digital citizens. We need to guide the development of competencies to use technology in ways that are meaningful, productive, respectful, and safe" (2017, p. 15). This focus helps students consider how what they are learning in the classroom can make them a better global citizen outside of the classroom.

Part 3: Relationship with Kolb's Triple E Framework

I notice that both Kolb's Framework and the AIW Framework both have a focus on the end goal of learning. One thing that is debated within educational philosophy is whether or not a teacher is actually teaching if the students are unable to demonstrate that they learned anything from the lesson. Kolb and AIW are emphasizing that the aim of education is that students learn content and skills in way that they can use them beyond their school environment. This is the idea of the third E: "Extension."

On top of that, both emphasize that there's no silver bullet in education. Kolb notes that "research is clear that the type of tool selected is not nearly as significant as the instructional strategies a teacher creates when using the tool" (2020, p. xv). She elaborates on this idea when debunking myths about the three E's, specifically under "engagement" and "enhancement." About screen time under the category of "engagement," Kolb writes, "the key is understanding how to support students in using screen time that is academically or socially beneficial while also knowing when it is purely for entertainment and could possibly become excessive" (2020, p. 3). When debunking myths about adaptive software that pertain to "enhancement," she explains, "The researchers concluded that using the adaptive software for literacy learning was not a magic bullet, but rather, the key to success was how to teacher  designed instructional interventions around the software" (2020, p. 17).

The guide for AIW points out, "Research may have shown some practices to be more effective than others for teaching specific skills or content to a specific group of students, but no single practice or set of practices have been shown to be most effective for varied intellectual outcomes for most students across several grade levels and subjects. Further, any given teaching method can usually be used to cultivate different kinds of intellectual work, but knowing only the method used offers no assurance that authentic intellectual work is involved." The guide later explains, "According to the AIW framework, the merit of any practice or technique, whether conventional or innovative, should be judged on the extent to which its use includes intellectual demands consistent with the production of authentic intellectual work" (2020, p. 15). This shows a desire for teachers to not depend solely on one teaching method or one technology tool for teaching. The emphasis is on the proper teacher involvement or guidance and the proper implementation of the technology tool and teaching method.

Kolb, Liz. (2020). Learning First, Technology Second in Practice: New Strategies, Research and Tools for Students Success. International Society for Technology in Education.

Newmann, Fred M., King, M. Bruce, and Carmichael, Dana L. (2007). Authentic Instruction and Assessment: Common Standards for Rigor and Relevance in Teaching Academic Subjects. Prepared for the Iowa Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education (2017, January 1). Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update. Retrieved July 7, 2023, from https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf