Week 2 Blog

 Authentic Intellectual Work/Authentic Instructional & Assessment

Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is using the knowledge and skills that students and people learn to apply them to real-world problems in meaningful ways. AIW is more than memorizing facts or completing routines just for the sake of doing them. This reminds me of the book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 by Peter Liljedahl. The book discusses the difference between teaching math through memorization and creating opportunities for students to practice and apply their understanding of math concepts. One of the first statements in the book is, “If we want our students to think, we need to give them something to think about” (Liljedahl, 2021). This highlights the importance of creating learning experiences that require students to use and apply their knowledge, rather than simply reciting information. AIW focuses on applying knowledge, not just the teaching practice itself. It moves away from traditional methods centered on memorization.

The components and characteristics of AIW are construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school. Construction of knowledge refers to taking what students have previously learned and “organizing, interpreting, evaluating, or synthesizing prior knowledge to solve new problems” (Newmann, King, & Carmichael, 2007, p. 3). It’s about building new understanding, not just recalling facts or applying a fixed procedure. Disciplined inquiry uses prior knowledge to gain deeper understanding and encourages problem solving instead of relying on superficial awareness. It also includes elaborated communication which is how adults and students express deep understanding through verbal, symbolic, graphic, or visual forms. The third component, value beyond school, means the work students do carries meaningfulness and relevance outside of the classroom. It’s not just for a grade, it teaches students that their learning can be applied in real-world contexts.

In a 1997 study conducted in 12 Chicago elementary schools, researchers analyzed the quality of student assignments based on their level of authentic intellectual demand. Students who were given high-quality assignments scored 30–56 percentile points higher on assessments than those who received low-authenticity tasks (Newmann et al., 2007, pp. 20–21). This research supports the idea that when students are given meaningful, rigorous work, their academic performance improves significantly.

One example I use in my kindergarten classroom is during the week of Earth Day, when we focus on the three R’s: reducing, reusing, and recycling. We talk about how we can recycle old materials and give them a new purpose instead of adding more trash to the earth. We also explore what changes might happen to materials, specifically crayons, when they are melted. Students make predictions and share prior knowledge about colors and sorting as they prepare to melt the crayons into new ones. The value beyond school here is clear: students take something that would have been thrown away and turn it into something useful. Each student keeps one of the new crayons and chooses someone to give another one to. This teaches them that they’ve made a difference by reducing waste and giving someone a gift they created. It fosters environmental responsibility and shows that even small actions can impact the world around them.

2024 National Education Technology Plan Update/Early Learning and Educational Technology Policy Brief

The Early Learning and Educational Technology Policy Brief does not directly mention AIW, but the ideas align well. The brief supports hands-on learning experiences for young children (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Like the AIW framework, the policy encourages educators to go beyond rote tasks and help children develop problem-solving skills. One lesson I’ve used that fits both frameworks is a classroom cookbook. With the help of parents, students choose a dish and interview a family member about how it’s made. Students then represent the recipe using various formats: voice recordings, drawings, photos, or clay recreations. They also share who the recipe came from and why it’s meaningful to their family. To extend the activity, we sort recipes into categories (desserts, main dishes, side dishes) and graph them on an anchor chart. This lesson promotes multiple means of engagement and representation, consistent with both AIW and the early learning tech brief.

Triple E Framework 

The Triple E Framework and the Authentic Intellectual Work framework both strive to make student learning transformative. Learning is not about completing a checklist; it's about applying knowledge in meaningful ways. The Triple E Framework encourages educators to engage, enhance, and extend student learning (Kolb, 2020). When students are authentically engaged in learning that matters to them, they are more likely to retain knowledge and apply it later in life.

References

Liljedahl, P. (2021b). Building Thinking Classrooms in mathematics, grades K-12: 14 teaching practices for enhancing learning. Corwin Mathematics. 

Kolb, L. (2020). About the Triple E Framework. Triple E Framework. https://www.tripleeframework.com/about.html

Newmann, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007). Authentic instruction and assessment: Common standards for rigor and relevance in teaching academic subjects. Prepared for the Iowa Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Early learning and educational technology policy brief - eric. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED571882.pdf