This past Wednesday, I hosted my annual science symposium at my school.  The students who conduct year-long applied research projects participate by presenting a 10 to 15-minute oral with PowerPoint related to their topic. I try to make the experience as authentic as possible.  Students send a written invitation to their parents, and I always ask them to select a teacher in the building and send them an invitation as well.  One teacher attended, and provided me with the following email.  My response to her follows.  I think this written discussion we had indicates the nature of the power of authentic learning and its ability to affect student achievement:

Hi there,

I really was so impressed with you and your students last night.  What a successful event!  It’s astounding to see what our kids are working on, Frank.  And my goodness, you have taught them well in terms of presenting themselves, creating sound powerpoints, and articulating their projects.  I kept thinking about the millions of questions you must be asked on a daily basis.  I was incredibly impressed! 

What I especially enjoyed was the practicality of the applications.  That is something that isn’t lacking necessarily, but isn’t so evident in English.  So that was incredible for me.  Certainly, I had difficulty understanding much of what they were doing, but truly remarkable nonetheless. 

You are an asset to this building (any building) and I just wanted to congratulate you.

Corey

 Corey,

Thanks for your kind words.

 About 12 years ago I realized that to really, really improve student achievement there had to be a sense of authenticity to the work that students do. It couldn’t be “LIKE REAL LIFE,” it had to be “REAL LIFE.” It couldn’t be learning for the sake of learning only, but rather inquiry learning in context, with applicable value. There had to be a real audience (in my case, practicing scientists and engineers) that would evaluate their work – not just me as the teacher. This made my role very different – the teacher as the facilitator instead of the didactic knowledge disseminator. Ultimately the students are going to be evaluated (judged) outside of the building, so it is in our collective best interest to work collaboratively, with me assuming the role of the mentor.

 I started doing research with students, primarily because I found that a problem/project-based learning strategy was a method that worked very well for me as a learner. I also realized that in education we often scenarioize-to-death our perceived authentic assessments and projects, which I think takes away value. We also primarily use visual/auditory teaching and learning strategies with students, which often doesn’t meet the learning styles of all students. Some students are more global and tactile with their successful learning strategies.

 I also believe in concept-based learning – “big ideas” as the focus of learning objectives – and teaching students to making connections between their knowledge. Project-based learning is inherently concept-based. If we improve the 21st-century skills of students (problem finding and solving, creativity, oral and written communication) using the content or project as the vehicle for skill development, then I think we really develop the learning potential and achievement in students.

The Kennedy Center Teaching Artists define arts integration as:

an APPROACH to TEACHING in which students construct and demonstrate UNDERSTANDING through an ART FORM. Students engage in a CREATIVE PROCESS which CONNECTS an art form and another subject area and meets EVOLVING OBJECTIVES in both.

 We should review this statement carefully, because I really think it integrates concepts of 21st-century learning very well.  It also seems so relevant to science education as well.  Too often, I think students think they learn science, but infer that “they’ll never use this in real life,” unless they become an engineer or scientist.  What I try to stress with students is that the skills we teach in science are what is critical. The content is the medium to advance those skills.  I want students to be self-directed, motivated, critical thinkers who are capable of problem finding and solving.  The Kennedy Center definition also implies constructivist learning theory in their definition. 

from: http://www.ade.state.az.us/

To that end, and as a springboard point for me, I am going to modify this definition for science education integration.  What amazes me, is that it really doesn’t change very much from the art definition:

An APPROACH to TEACHING in which students construct and demonstrate UNDERSTANDING through INQUIRY-BASED QUESTIONS AND INVESTIGATION. Students engage in CREATIVE AND LOGICAL/ANALYTICAL PROCESSES which CONNECTS SCIENCE and another subject or skill domain and meets EVOLVING OBJECTIVES in both.

As a department chair, I am fortunate to have the opportunity (right now . . .) to be conducting a clinical observation of my physics teacher.  She started her class with a YouTube music video, which I must say is fantastic.  It really resonates with me on many levels.  I though it important to share it here.

Here are the lyrics from the website:

[deGrasse Tyson]
We are all connected;
To each other, biologically
To the earth, chemically
To the rest of the universe atomically[Feynman]
I think nature’s imagination
Is so much greater than man’s
She’s never going to let us relax

[Sagan]
We live in an in-between universe
Where things change all right
But according to patterns, rules,
Or as we call them, laws of nature

[Nye]
I’m this guy standing on a planet
Really I’m just a speck
Compared with a star, the planet is just another speck
To think about all of this
To think about the vast emptiness of space
There’s billions and billions of stars
Billions and billions of specks

[Sagan]
The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it
But the way those atoms are put together
The cosmos is also within us
We’re made of star stuff
We are a way for the cosmos to know itself

Across the sea of space
The stars are other suns
We have traveled this way before
And there is much to be learned

I find it elevating and exhilarating
To discover that we live in a universe
Which permits the evolution of molecular machines
As intricate and subtle as we

[deGrasse Tyson]
I know that the molecules in my body are traceable
To phenomena in the cosmos
That makes me want to grab people in the street
And say, have you heard this??

(Richard Feynman on hand drums and chanting)

[Feynman]
There’s this tremendous mess
Of waves all over in space
Which is the light bouncing around the room
And going from one thing to the other

And it’s all really there
But you gotta stop and think about it
About the complexity to really get the pleasure
And it’s all really there
The inconceivable nature of nature

I’ve been working on my philosophy of education and thought I would post it here. It is always subject to revision and change based on my socially-constructed knowledge experiences.  I’ve used my 21st-century wheel here. 

            Too often, education is viewed as taking place in a classroom surrounded by four impenetrable walls, where knowledge is transferred from a teacher into the minds of students.  This didactic approach to teaching and learning does not provide young men and women with the opportunity to construct their knowledge and develop a conceptual understanding of content.  Teachers and teacher leaders need to facilitate the development of skills, dispositions, and knowledge of students to make them competent, contributing members of society.

            Secondary educators have such amazing opportunities to allow learning to transcend the classroom walls.  Frequently the expression, “like real life,” is used within the context of learning tasks provided by teachers.  Unfortunately these synthetic scenarios only partially mimic an authentic situation.  There is no reason that learning and learning context cannot be truly genuine.  Making meaningful connections with the community, whether that community is defined as a local environmental organization, the medical field, the computer gaming industry, or perhaps the local news media, is critical to provide an audience for the production of student products.  When students have an authentic audience who value the learning products they create, they take greater ownership and produce higher quality work.  They also develop the skills necessary for their future success.

Twenty-first-century skills

            Dubbed twenty-first-century skills, educators have developed a framework to identify the life skills that are necessary for today’s learners.  The skills and dispositions associated with a twenty-first-century learner include: critical thinking, problem solving, innovation, creativity, self-directed work ethic, collaboration, written and oral communication, and leadership development. Information technology (IT) skills are often listed within twenty-first-century frameworks, however it seems more reasonable to integrate IT skills as a bridge between core instruction and twenty-first-century skills because it is the emerging, common, fundamental link that connects them (see Figure).  The concept of twenty-first-century skills is really not novel; they make logical sense and have been long extolled by the education community.  However, they provide educators with a valuable framework to ensure they are providing their students with valuable learning opportunities.

Information Technology Bridging the Gap between Twenty-first-century Skills and Core Instruction  (LaBanca, 2008).

 

When truly considering the implementation of twenty-first-century skills in conjunction with core instruction, educators must reconfigure their instructional strategies. Most recognize that constructivist-based knowledge acquisition occurs through a situated learning schema where students not only learn from the “Sage,” but from social interaction with one another. Knowledge flow can occur in two directions. Therefore, students need to become producers of information, not just consumers. Implementing novel knowledge production in this bidirectional fashion certainly will cause changes to teacher pedagogy. It is probable that many educators will need direct and specific training and mentoring to implement this type of change.

Problem Solving and Problem Finding

            Secondary school teachers have long valued developing student problem solving skills

Indeed, problem solving has become an integral part of instruction across curriculum areas. Students are challenged to use a variety of strategies to identify problems and their implications, develop action plans, utilize a variety of relevant sources, information, and data to address the problems, and formulate solutions. Problem solving, a twenty-first-century skill, often involves the integration of other twenty-first-century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and written and oral communication.

Problem solving techniques can be highly idiosyncratic. However, in perhaps too many educational settings involving problem solving, teachers provide students with the problem or question, and sometimes even the methodology for determining the solution. This approach may be due to curricular requirements, time factors, the limited scope and goals of particular learning modules, or the inability of teachers to effectively employ inquiry-oriented instructional techniques.

What, therefore, seems lacking are opportunities for students to problem find: to develop their own unique ideas for study. While problem solving requires primarily logical and analytical thought processes, problem finding is a creative process. Students benefit greatly from a more holistic instructional approach, which includes experiences in both problem finding and problem solving. When these opportunities become authentic, there is potential for great gains in student learning and achievement. Educators can simultaneously develop students’ creative and innovative potential while improving critical thinking skills.

Teachers and Instructional Leaders as Change Agents

Bidirectional knowledge acquisition as an instructional strategy is not a simple process. It involves a major rethinking and a paradigm shift for teaching and learning. Too often the educational enterprise has focused on good teaching.  While good teaching is important, it is not as critical as meaningful learning.  If there is a shift in focus from teaching to measured learning, there will be benefits to the educational enterprise, business and industrial communities, and most importantly, our students.  Twenty-first-century skills are critical to the needs of society, as we develop autonomous, self-directed learners. The only way this process can potentially approach success is through communication and sharing of ideas with all stakeholders. The collective expertise of many people, facilitated by informed leadership, can help to continuously improve the process where students become producers of information that is shared with an audience that transcends the classroom walls.