Final: Prezi on Authentic Learning Research

By the time I was writing my last post on this blog, I have to admit, I was pretty sick of Authentic Learning. My final project however, helped me sum up how I feel about it. I also discovered that there is so much more out there about it to research. One thing I came across after-the-fact was that the British and Aussies call it "enterprising education." This term is highly contested in progressive education circles in the U.S. The term "enterprising" is too focussed on individual achievement and responsibility. The method gets confused with the "job training" courses that we offer low-income high schoolers that some would argue are a sign of oppression and keeping the little people in their place. (i.e. offering job training programs to inner-city kids to be hair technicians or data processors.) On the contrary, my understanding of authentic learning bases much of what happens in Vygotsky's Social Learning Theory, pointedly focusing on the advantages of group work and process. I wanted to be sure to clarify that my knowledge, conclusions, and support for authentic experiences in the classroom are different from these interpretations.

Here is the final product.