I watched this video with my kids in one of their youtube compilations- it’s pretty insane to look at all that paper! This video highlights the value (or often lack of) that these students place on their worksheets.

 It also reminded me of a comment my son made last year when I was asking him to complete his homework, “Mom, why does it matter, it’s just trashcan work.” I asked what he meant and he said all his worksheets just went in the trashcan anyway and made him feel like his work (and he) didn’t matter. #ugh

Like many educators, I have been guilty of creating my fair share of assignments that were just for the grade book to have evidence of a certain standard and had no further goal than to be turned in, graded and handed back, which ultimately landed in the trash can in most cases. In contrast to the many isolated worksheets and activities, Ron Berger reminds us in this article that,  “when we finish school and enter the world of work, we are asked to create work of value—scientific reports, business plans, websites, books, architectural blueprints, graphic artwork, investment proposals, medical devices and software applications. This work is created over weeks or months with team consultation, collaboration and critique, and it goes through multiple revisions. The research, analysis, and production involve multiple disciplines, such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, engineering and design.”

Make Learning Public

We had the opportunity to attend learning exhibitions for our kids and  it was powerful as a mom and as an educator to see the impact of and an authentic audience by observing my daughter’s experience this semester.

Abby’s class worked on a project called Overcoming Obstacles throughout the semester – where much of (but not everything) what they were reading, writing, discussing and creating tied into this theme. The kids had been learning about challenges- physically, mentally, and emotionally- and worked over the semester to train for a triathlon in teams where one student paddle boarded (instead of swimming), another biked and another ran.

They trained for each of the events, worked with their teams to set goals and overcome obstacles. They read about people who have overcome challenges and wrote their own biographies about the people they read about the lessons that they learned. They wrote poems about their own strengths and their poems were published long with pictures that represented each of their unique talents. They also wrote and produced a song and made video that they are sending to the Ellen Show. Abby has not stopped talking about the video and has actually written another song and is working on her next video. BTW she is convinced that that they are getting on Ellen, it’s just a matter of time (and if she does I hope she brings me!). Check out their music video here. 

An authentic audience pushes learners to work hard go through the process to create the best product because of the public nature of the work. On their final exhibition, my daughter and the other 4th graders in her school convened at Mission Beach for a triathlon. Cheered on by her classmates, families and other teachers, Abby had to get on a bike and work through some obstacles to complete the triathlon in front of 100s of people. Throughout the semester she made something that mattered to her, developed new passions, a wider world view, and participated in a poetry slam in front of her classmates and families.

Each of these opportunities to present to an authentic audience took the basic skills and the standards that she was learning and put them in a context that mattered. Not only did she learn and improve in her reading, speaking, writing and communicating but she also demonstrated them in ways that were authentic and meaningful to her. The best part for me, as her mom, was that I watched her struggle and grow as a person in each of these experiences.

Here are a few examples:

• She forgot her bike on the day of the triathlon and she had to borrow one that didn’t quite fit (or work) but she had to jump on the bike and do her best (we both agreed she needs improvement in responsibility but showed great character in her resilience and perseverance). She was frustrated and wanted to quit but there was an authentic audience and she persevered and made it. That lesson is worth is weight in gold! 
• When she was supposed to get up and recite her poem, the printer broke and she wanted to quit. She was nervous and wanted to blame other people but the show was starting and she pulled herself together, got up there and read her poem. We were all proud of her accomplishment.
• She wrote a rap and practiced with her classmates over and over until they got it right and has developed her writing (and rapping) skills while also in the process she has developed strong friendships, which means the world to her- and us.

I love the quote from Thomas Friedman that George Couros shared in the Innovators Mindset.

The world doesn’t care about what you know. It only cares about what you do with what you know.

Authentic learning is often at odds with the need to cover, document, and assess. The standards we teach are important but when we connect them to the students lives and experiences and help them to expand their own worldview, we teach and they learn, so much more.