Brown Bag notes
February 9 - 1:10-2:10pm, FRC
Diana Lee and Ed Morris - Authentic Learning In Your Classroom
Diana, Craig, and Ed, teachers at PSEC, led the discussion so we
started with talking about teaching and learning principles there:
Small school concept
Students complete 2 years as a cohort
Community projects every quarter
2 coordinated studies classes (e.g. Art & Health) plus other classes,
including ones taken on Highline campus
Collaborative teaching throughout with teachers sharing knowledge of
students as they progress
No “developmental” classes: study skills, “literacies” (info, visual),
and critical thinking incorporated into every class
Learning and activities are anchored to real world demands
A lot of discussion surrounded how this method can be brought into
regular Highline classes.
Some interesting questions arose:
How is Service Learning different to Authentic Learning (the terms)?
One person postulated that Service Learning could be applied to shorter
community based projects, whereas Authentic Learning is more holistic
and applies where meaningful projects are threaded throughout the whole
curriculum over an extended period. My understanding is that the term
Authentic Learning applies broadly to a method of teaching that delivers
learning material within the context of real world problems.
Is Math a “skills” or a “content” subject? (no definitive answer:
very much under debate!)
Other points:
The method facilities a confluence of intellectual skills: critical
thinking, learning to learn, various literacies, etc.
Laura mentioned two good books: Parker Palmer’s Courage to Teach, and
another book called The Passionate Teacher—both available in the FRC.
Parker refers to authentic learning as “teaching from the microcosm” and
writes “teach it, don’t cover it.”
The idea was raised of having other teachers come into classes to teach
a specialized module, such as presentation skills, or using charts.
Stephanie mentioned another book, Teaching with your Mouth Shut, as
being good on the topic of student centered learning.
It was an excellent discussion that went on for an hour and a half.
Contact discussion leaders or Instructional Design for more information
on Authentic Learning.
Last updated:
March 01, 2007
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