Authentic Instruction

From the desk of Hope…

I had an interesting conversation with a teacher about “authentic instruction.”  As I reflect on the conversation several days later, I believe it is worth writing about.

As a literacy coach I model lessons for teachers, I observe teachers and I also provide written and verbal feedback to teachers. The feedback I provide consists of helpful tips, observations of what is happening in the lesson (scripting), and reflective questions, all  in a non-threatening way.

I saw a great lesson a few weeks ago in which high schoolers were reading a magazine article about the consequences of texting while driving. After reading the article, students moved to small groups to share thoughts.

As an observer I could tell these young drivers were anxious to talk about what they had read. It was hard for them to wait for instructions. They just wanted to talk.

I dropped in to hear one group discuss the article — how exciting it was to hear connections being made, questions being raised and opinions being formed.

After the discussions, students moved back to their seats to journal about what they took away from the article and also any confusion or questions still lingering in their minds.

My feedback to this teacher praised the fact that she had set her students up for “authentic instruction”. At the end of our conversation, this teacher asked me an important question. (I always love it when teachers reveal real questions.). She said, “Can you tell me what you mean by authentic instruction?”

I never dreamed this term would not be clear and concise. I would have never used it or, more importantly, I would have elaborated so she could see the connections I was attempting to make for her.

I had to take a minute and reflect. This was going to be a great opportunity for me to do some teaching with this teacher so It would be important that I get my words right.

When I think about authentic instruction, I think about:

•  Students studying topics that are relevant to their lives
•  Lessons being taught that will help grow a person in some way
•  Collaboration – putting heads together to figure things out
•  Reflecting – what do you know after the lesson that you didn’t know before the lesson?
•  Some type of writing that helps to synthesize understanding of a topic

Based on these thoughts, don’t you think this teacher knocked the top out of authentic instruction?

Our conversation was very important.   In education, we say, “if you know what you are doing that is working, you are more likely to replicate it.”  I needed this teacher to leave our conference understanding that she had set her students up to read, write, talk, listen, reflect. And it had worked!

Doesn’t this all seem like stuff we do, or need to be doing, in real life?

Our students need to be engaged in authentic instruction. If learning is authentic, then students should be engaged in genuine learning that has relevance to their lives.

These high schoolers are going to be out in the work world soon, if not already, and “authentic” will take on a meaning of its own.