Authentic+Learning+Components

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Below are the ways in which this educational resource refers back to the authentic learning principles as defined by Dr Jan Herrington on her website Authentic Learning.

**Authentic Context**
This assignment enables ideas to explored over a longer period of time not just one lesson. It is not giving step by step instruction to the students it is enabling them to make decisions and problem solve. It enables students to do further research.



**Authentic Task**
The goal of this assignment is to research and create a presentation that will be viewed by an audience, consisting of other students and/or parents on completion of the assignment. By researching and studying the life cycles of their appointed minibeast student groups will become familiar with the impact of physical conditions to the survival of living things in local and global environments. Students will be interacting with local community members and groups, observing and photographing creatures found in their own school environment, bringing a real world perspective to the research they are completing. Students will learn about making a video using 'Educreations'. They will practice making a short video, email it to the teacher for feedback. All group members will be required to meet with the teacher and discuss any concerns, confusion, problems to be addressed. Once, confident in video production the group begins preparations for the final 'peer presentation'.

Students have to work together and organise a plan in which to complete this task. During the course of this assignment students will be required to take photographs, create video recordings, research, design and work together as a group to prepare a presentation to be viewed by other students.

Groups will have access to various online and media resources. Through discussion and collaboration they will be required to analyse and choose information that is relevant to their work and discard that which is unsuitable or unneccessary.



**Expert Performance**
A task and instruction tutorial will be shown to students giving instructions and directions to follow, during the course of their assignment process. Examples of webquests will be provided for students to view and relate to. Guest speakers with expertise on the area of study have been organised to speak to and share information with students. A resource facility will be provided to students giving them suggestions and URL references to websites, articles, journals, books, authors etc.

Groups will be provided with scientifically accurate reference information chosen by the class teacher. In challenge one, groups will access the 'Bug Catcher' website created through the Museum of Victoria. Narrator, Ken is the curator and shares his expert knowledge with students in a variety of format and activities. Guest speakers with expertise in the fields that each group is working on will be available to interact with students, providing information and answering questions. Students work together in their group to create a short story narrative. The information included in this narrative will be chosen by group members through discussion and consultation with each other. They record their version on a transparency and share it with the class. Students will also be required to compose an interesting and factual video, using shared information from each member and putting it into an 'Educreation' to present to their class peers.

During lectures given by the teacher, guest speakers, experience and expertise will be shared. Groups will work together to combine individual knowledge resulting in a creative short story narrative. This will be shared with the class. When 'brainstorming' and working together on mind maps members of groups will have the opportunity to share their own expertise with the other members.

Giving students controlled access to the internet means they can access a variety of sources in their combined search for information relating to minibeasts, creating videos, presentations, literacy and language formation and techniques, and narratives. Research information will also be provided through journal articles, books, videos, documentaries and other mediums. Each member of the group will be designated an area or task to cover. The way it is covered is up to that individual. Discussion with the other group members will occur and suggestions, opinions will be forwarded, but ultimately the choice belongs to the individual. This gives the student the opportunity to access information at their level of expertise and understanding. Information gleaned from any research is placed on the group information folder to be accessed by other members of the group, discussed, filtered, discarded or used accordingly. Some students will have expertise in ways different to others. By working together as a group, the students will share and combine various stages or forms of expertise and support the other members as required.

Guest speakers, community members and family with expertise in areas relevant to the assignment will be invited to share stories and their experiences with the students. Discussion will be encouraged after the guest speaker has finished the talk. Students will be encouraged to share any experiences they have had in relation to the topic presented by the expert speaker. Online tutorials, YouTube, website presentations, give students the opportunity to hear stories about professional practice. Once viewing and listening to these stories, group members can discuss and share stories with each other in relation to the practices mentioned by the expert online.

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**Multiple perspectives**
Groups will have access to online resources, with teacher providing a list of websites on the research page of the webquest. Students are also encouraged to expand their search however they wish (with controlled internet use). Students will access information from a variety of mediums depending on their familiarity, competence and understanding. Digital cameras will be provided to observe, collect information relating to their minibeast. Students will be encouraged to research information online, power points, blogs, websites, movies, documentaries, through questionaires, surveys, observations, libraries, school texts, to find appropriate information re: their assignment.

Information will be researched and compiled by the individual group members, giving way to different points of view in relation to the focus subject. When the individual research is placed on the group information page, there will be variations in how each student percieves the information they have acquired. Levels of structure will differ, what information is and isn't important will depend on the individual, how information is presented and in what text it is provided, will come from varied levels of expertise and understanding. Students will probably choose similar information, but presented differently.

Prior to commencing this assignments the class teacher will ensure that students are familiar with an extensive variety of learning resources and mediums, in the provision of information material, class workshops and familiarisation through use. Students will be provided with individual iPads, digital cameras, access to library and school texts, specialist guest speakers, whiteboard interactive information programs. Computer applications will be used to create 'posters', screencasts, narratives, wikis, and group information pages. Students will be required to use word processing packages to present written information.



**Collaboration**
As a group students will need to discuss, clarify and interrogate various ideas and components of the webquest.

Students are familiar with and confident users of whiteboards, Groups will be required to use whiteboards to study language based elements such as rules of conjunctions, clauses and complex sentence. After they have worked on the exercises they play an interactive board game, reinforcing this knowledge in a fun way. Using a 'Poster' application, each group will design an A3 poster to to hang in the classroom. The focus idea will be placed in the centre of the poster, leaving room on the page for information and key details to be added and built upon by members.

Students will be working collaboratively in small groups to complete this task. As a group they need to research a teacher assigned minibeast, design and create a lesson for their fellow students utilising various technologies. This will be done constructing a webquest using Wikispaces. During this time they will be required to participate in and contribute to group discussions.

Students will be encouraged to develop and put forward their own ideas and opinions. As an individual they will be expected to support their research, suggestions and arguments within the group. Brainstorming will take place within the groups.

It will be important for students to work together in analysing the information that they research. As a group they will need to decide what information will be incorporated into the assignment and what information is unnecessary.

Teamwork is incorporated into the marking rubric we have created. Category 1: Team did not work together. Team members did not perform according to their roles. Category 4: Team worked together extremely well. Team members excelled in their roles. Throughout the various lessons roving conference will be conducted to observe and question students both individually and within their groups to establish an understanding of how students are processing the information they have learned. By assessing students this way it is possible to evaluate how they are interacting with each other, who is doing, contributing to the final outcome, whether as a group students are supporting each other and sharing skills and experience. These observations will be taken into account when completing the marking rubric.



**Reflection**
Each student will be paired up with a 'mentor' from year seven. This provides students with a 'sounding board' to share feelings, reflect on decisions, choices, discuss issues, as well as giving support, encouragement, assistance and guidance.

On entering the 'Bug catcher' website groups are provided with a choice of minibeasts to choose from as their topic of interest. Groups will have to follow basic guidelines and refer to the marking rubric when completing the tasks in the assignment. As long as criteria is covered and guidelines are followed the design, creation, input, delegation, group politics, research, work methods will be decided by the individual groups.

In completing the challenges and tasks students will be developing life skills such as social interaction. Student desks will be positioned to faced others in the group encouraging interaction and discussion. The work will be completed by students with very little input from staff making it necessary for students to confer with others when they need assistance or clarification with any issues. Staff will be available at all times, but mainly in an observatory, disciplinary and supportive aspect. This assignment was created with group collaboration and interaction in mind, hence the creation of a narrated video. Group members will be required to fulfill their roles in the production and presentation of the video. The designation of roles will be worked out within the members of the group, according to strengths, interests, abilities, attributes of each member.

Each group will have an information page where they will place their combined research. This page will give students the opportunity to write down what they have attempted or achieved, how they did it, what information they accumulated and when this was was done, giving other members access to this information. Students will be expected to contribute to this page on a daily basis to provide an accurate record of events which can be accessed and referred to by each group member and staff.

Each group will be given the option of how they wish to present their research to class peers. Students will share their combined knowledge data base re: Creating a poster using a poster app on the iPad, a transparency, Educreations and a webquest.

The tasks in this activity are spread over a ten week period with the presentation due in week 9. During this time students will be required to follow a basic structure of workshops and lessons, but will have the opportunity to revisit elements whenever they wish by accessing their group information folder and database. In the lesson plan we have provided a basic timetable to follow, but lessons will probably roll into one another and an allowance for varying time frames has been included for each individual lesson (pg 4) of lesson plan.

Through the course of the assignment students will have access to information provided by guest speakers, community members and parents, mentors and 'knowledgeable others'.



**Articulation**
Daily reflections will be expected from each student in regard to the progress of the assignment. The reflections will be from the individual's point of view and will provide other group members and the teacher with some idea of how the student is managing and contributing to the task. Each group has an information folder and this is where the daily journal will be located and up-dated.

Groups will plan, rehearse and deliver a presentation to the rest of the class explaining the information they have researched, providing an opportunity for discussion and conversation between class members.

The aim of this assignment is for student groups to research, compile and design a short video to be presented to their peers. This will also be placed on the class wiki to be accessed by students and family online.

Students will learn how to create a summary of the objectives they hope to achieve in their learning environment. Once they have completed the summary this information will be used to begin a mind map in the form of an A3 poster.

Students will spend one lesson observing and taking photos of minibeasts, exploring within the classroom and school grounds. Students can use these photos to expand understanding of the concept of 'What is a minibeast?'.

Prior to this assignment students have been developing their group collaboration skills. It is required that the group members meet regularly to share and discuss ideas, suggestions, opinions and information related to the progress of their designated tasks.

Groups will be required to create an A3 poster to be used as a mind-map. The main focus idea will be in the centre. Group members are to contribute and add facts, key points, information as they wish. These ideas, suggestions will be discussed by the group when considering the information to be included in the short story created and the final class presentation.

Students will be required to create, using a 'Poster computer application' an A3 poster giving a brief introduction of the paths they plan on investigating/discussing in their research and collection of information. This poster is to attractively presented, using images taken from group observations or research pages and will be displayed in the classroom. In their groups the students will learn about 'Educreations' and how to make a video. Each group will then discuss, collaborate, design and create a short video using the required technology to be presented as a polished product to their class peers.

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**Scaffolding**
Prior to the assignment students will have received the necessary learning skills needed to finish the tasks they need to complete: Group collaboration skills whilst working in a co-operative learning environment; Aware of difference between fiction and non-fiction text structures; Prior knowledge of working with iPads; Knowledge of how to take photos looking at angles, perspective and lighting; and Confident and proficient use of whiteboard. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge. Each student will have the opportunity to describe to their peers what they have learnt and what prior knowledge they have to share in relation to minibeasts. At the commencement of the assignment each student will be paired up with a year seven student as a mentor. The role of the mentor is to provide assistance, encouragement and support to the younger student. The teacher will be their to provide support but only when the students have exhausted all their avenues of knowledge and experience from within their group.

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**Authentic Assessment**
Students will have access to the requirements expected of them through the marking rubric they are given and will be expected to organise their information presentation to meet the criteria listed. Staff will photograph groups through the course of the assignment as they perform the required tasks. These will be used to reflect on when final assessments are being made, along with information gathered from informal discussions between students and teacher during lessons.

Students are provided with the knowledge, skills and equipment required to achieve a professional, polished narrated video presentation. Assessment will be made in accordance to the delivery of the oral presentation, the use of creative applications, originality of the work, graphics, factual information being shared in a way that is interesting, rehearsed and holds audiences attention.

Through observations, photos, informal discussions with students and the final presentation quality staff will assess how the students worked together in their groups on a level of 1 to 4.

Groups are assessed on the presentation they have created after completing a ten week research and language based assignment. The presentation is assessed in relation to: Quality of information: Information used: Look of the presentation: Creativity: Teamwork: Oral presentation. In the marking rubric there are four categories for each assessment point starting at 1, being the lowest and 4, being the highest level of achievement.

//References//
Emmitt, M., Zbaracki, M., Komesaroff, L. & Pollock, J. (2010) Language and Learning: An Introduction for Teaching (5th Ed). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press Herrington, J. (2013). Authentic Learning Resources and ideas about authentic learning and authentic e-learning. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://authenticlearning.info/AuthenticLearning/Home.html