I think designing authentic work helps drive teachers’ planning for learning with the qualities of authentic engagement. However, students can definitely be authentically engaged with learning that’s personally meaningful to them even when its not published outside the classroom.

Again, thanks for your comment and for joing the conversation!

I am thinking aloud here that engagement with process is a bit different than engagement with product, and that both are valuable types of engagement for producing learning. I am thinking that engagement can happen when it is self directed/chosen, but can also happen when it is not. I am also a believer that if we describe engagement as “authentic” then we are talking about the truths of what it feels like, looks like, and sounds like to be engaged-interested-driven-curious and not about the authenticity of the task, which is a different thing, no?

http://authenicengagement.wikispaces.com

This looks to me like the start of a Charter School mission! Or, as your post on The Edurati Review conveyed, should this be the mission of all schools?

While, as you mentioned, many ‘rock star’ teachers already do this in their classrooms, it seems to me like AE should be the norm. I agree with Rob (whose blog I love, by the way) that we often use the word ‘engagement’ when we see students working or ‘looking busy’ in a classroom. The real way to find out the level of engagement, as people have been discussing, is to ask the children about what they are doing.

When trying to make a project or learning experience authentic, I think your point about sharing it outside of the classroom is an important one. If you use the definition of ‘authentic’ as meaning ‘real,’ then how better to make a child’s learning apply to the real world than to put it out there? With the Internet, this is as simple as publishing a piece of work online. This can also be achieved through a student show after school or hosted at a local business or community center.

I agree with Paula that a student’s work must be personally meaningful. After all, authentic can also mean ‘true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.’

I wonder what people’s thoughts are on making EVERYTHING a student does in the classroom authentic engagement with learning (including memorizing times tables and learning letter sounds)?

Thanks for starting this conversation, and I’ll be looking for the #AE hashtag!