Authentic Intellectual Work

Part 1: Authentic Intellectual Work/Authentic Instruction & Assessment. 

    As a young educator, I believe Authentic Intellectual Work is where the future of education should stand. As someone who is not too distant from participating in secondary education, learning is still at a surface level, where one must learn facts and regurgitate them onto paper. Authentic Intellectual work is broken down into three components by Fred Newman et. al. (2007) as the “construction of knowledge, through disciplined inquiry, to produce discourse, products, and performance that have value beyond demonstrating success in school.”(p. 82) According to Newman et. al. (p. VII, 2007), this practice of academic rigor can 1) maximize expectations, 2) increase student interest, and 3) help students address complex world issues, among other benefits. Authentic Intellectual Work differs greatly from the traditional approach, as this practice is anything but surface-level thinking. Authentic intellectual work allows students to create deep and meaningful understandings of complex topics. 
    The traditional and still current approach, in many ways, only has students memorizing facts and passing tests to prove they know the content. A component that resonates with me the most is the value beyond demonstrating success in school. As a health educator, I am a big believer in having students make meaningful connections to the real world. A great example of this in my field deals with the topic of mental health. When discussing mental health in my classroom, I feel it is very important to deliver this topic in a safe space, as many students, as young as elementary schoolers, deal with mental health troubles. In my courses, I make sure that students are making real-world connections with their mental health. This could range from ways to deal with stress to recognizing their own emotions (yes, I have shown Inside Out). Based on research collected by Newman et. al (2007), students who make real-world, rather than surface-level, connections to this information are more likely to score better on exams. (p. 16)


Part 2: 2024 National Education Technology Plan Update

    When we consider how we can implement Authentic Intellectual Work, one piece we can turn to is the National Education Technology Plan. While considering real-world connections in education, we must consider how we can implement technology into our curriculum. This plan gives a fantastic foundation for all educators in any subject and level. The National Education Technology Plan defines classroom technology use as two separate categories: passive and active use. (Office of Educational Technology, 2024) Passive use refers to just using technology to complete an assignment, while active use involves deeper critical thinking skills. (Office of Educational Technology, 2024) The National Education Technology Plan states that classroom environments should delve into active technology use. (Office of Educational Technology, 2024) For example, students in an active technology use classroom could produce some form of media for an assignment. Taking it back to my mental health curriculum, students in my health class could create a video, podcast, or short-form video series on the effects of social media on mental health. This project would make students form real-world connections with both their feelings and current facts on the topic.


Part 3: Kolb's Triple E's 

    While considering the Authentic Intellectual Work framework, I couldn’t help but think back to Kolb’s Triple E’s of Engagement, Enhancement, and Extension. (Gaer, S. & Reyes, K. 2022) Being authentic in our work and our students' learning outcomes means we must find ways to give them real-world understandings of what we teach them. My example of students creating a media project on how social media affects mental health would fit into all three categories of Kolb’s Triple E’s as they would be engaged in making the video, can enhance their understanding of mental health, and extend the topic into their own lives. With all of this in mind, utilizing Authentic Intellectual Work in our classrooms can be a game-changer in the classroom to allow our students to connect with education in a more meaningful way.





Resources

Gaer, S. & Reyes, K. ( 2022). Finally, Some Guidance! Using the Triple E Framework to Shape Technology Integration, Adult Literacy Education, 4 (3-34). Link: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1370043.pdf


Newmann, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007). Authentic instruction and assessment: Common standards for rigor and relevance in teaching academic subjects. State of Iowa Department of Education. Introduction, Chapters. 1 & 2 (30 pages).


Office of Educational Technology. (2024). A Call to Action to Close the Technology Access, Design, and Use Divides: National Educational Technology Plan. Department of Education. Retrieved from: https://tech.ed.gov/netp

Comments

  1. Jessica O'GormanJuly 10, 2025 at 4:31 PM

    Cameron, you did a great job explaining the difference between traditional and authentic learning. When students make a deeper connection to their learning, they can exceed beyond the classroom. I appreciate you touching on mental health, so often we can get caught up in the rigor of teaching to the test and pushing aside the overall well-being of students. Your assignment to have kids document how social media affects mental health would be a good insight as to how students deal with it, along with school. I think your breakdown between passive and active NETP explains how passive is just surface-level basic learning, and active is responsible for more engaging content with critical thinking.
    Jessica O'Gorman

    ReplyDelete
  2. Savannah ClaywellJuly 12, 2025 at 7:34 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Savannah ClaywellJuly 12, 2025 at 7:36 AM

    I enjoyed reading your post. I like that you included your perspective as a young educator and how you bring mental health and student expression into the classroom. As someone who (still) struggles with emotions and has seen the rise of technology use and social media, I can empathize with your mission to help students understand their own emotions and how their environments can trigger them. I wish my teachers had been privy to the effects of new technology and chatrooms and online communities on my generation. I like your idea of having students form their own opinions about it and presenting those. Good luck in your future endeavors!

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