K20 LEARN | Impactful Engagement: Professional Resources for Authentic Teaching

Summary

This collection of professional learning resources empowers educators to use a variety of tools and strategies to foster authenticity in their teaching practices. The collection invites teachers to embrace authenticity and create a classroom environment that values genuine connections, constructive communication, and personal integrity. These resources offer practical tools, reflective exercises, and research-based methods to help educators align their teaching practices with their true selves, build trust with students, and create meaningful learning experiences.

Resources

Professional Learning

Authenticity: Transforming Your Teaching Approach with the Authentic Learning Framework

This professional learning activity asks participants to reflect on meaningful learning experiences through the question, "What makes learning meaningful?" Participants build up a definition of meaningful learning as they progress through the activities. Participants will experience a lesson that models... Read more »

Created by: Mariah Warren

Date Updated: August 6th, 2024

Professional Learning

Authenticity: Transforming Your Teaching Approach with the Authentic Learning Framework

Target Audience

All Staff or Teachers, Teachers

Calendar Placement

Any time of year, Planning/Collaboration/Conference Time, Pre-Service Training, Summer Session

Group Size

Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10), Small Group (at least 4)

180 Minutes

Professional Learning

Authenticity: It's Not Just a Fairy Tale

This professional development session focuses on the components of authentic learning. Participants will connect the components of authentic learning to a Rumpelstiltskin lesson. Read more »

Created by: Lindsay Hawkins

Date Updated: August 6th, 2024

Professional Learning

Authenticity: It's Not Just a Fairy Tale

50-60 minutes

Professional Learning

Authenticity: It's Not Just a Fairy Tale (Extended Version)

This professional development session focuses on the components of authentic learning. The session is designed to have a minimum of eight participants. Participants will connect the components of authentic learning to a Rumpelstiltskin lesson and explore ways to make their own lessons more authentic... Read more »

Created by: Lindsay Hawkins

Date Updated: August 6th, 2024

Professional Learning

Authenticity: It's Not Just a Fairy Tale (Extended Version)

2-3 hours

Professional Learning

How People Learn

In this session, participants explore the Authenticity Framework and foundations for how people learn. The Authenticity Framework is a conceptual framework that promotes a meaningful, student-centered learning environment and encourages higher-order thinking. Participants will also explore excerpts... Read more »

Created by: Brittany Bowens

Date Updated: October 2nd, 2024

Professional Learning

How People Learn

Target Audience

All Staff or Teachers, New Teachers, PLC, Teachers

Calendar Placement

Any time of year

Group Size

Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10)

Intention Or Purpose

Activate Prior Knowledge, Active Engagement, Brainstorming, Collaborate, Critical Thinking, Evaluate, Problem Solving, Reason, Reflection, Self-assessment, Student Choice, Text analysis, Text evidence

Standards

1c, 1d, 1h, 2g, 2j

135 minutes

Professional Learning

Bridging Minds: Connecting Experiences to New Concepts for Higher-Order Thinking

In this session, participants will explore the construction of knowledge, one of the components of authenticity. Participants will discover the value of learning experiences that reflect real-world contexts and challenges by connecting students' prior experiences with new concepts to deepen understanding... Read more »

Created by: Brittany Bowens

Date Updated: October 4th, 2024

Professional Learning

Bridging Minds: Connecting Experiences to New Concepts for Higher-Order Thinking

Target Audience

All Staff or Teachers, New Teachers, PLC, Teachers

Calendar Placement

Any time of year

Group Size

Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10)

Intention Or Purpose

Activate Prior Knowledge, Active Engagement, Collaborate, Compare & Contrast, Critical Thinking, Evaluate, Increase Teacher "Toolbox", Organize, Reflection, Self-assessment, Summarize, Text analysis

Standards

1d, 2c, 4d, 4h, 8j

80 minutes

Professional Learning

Wisdom in Action: Crafting Authentic Real-World Learning

During this professional learning session, participants will explore the principles of authenticity and real-world connections. They will apply academic knowledge to solve and illustrate authentic problems that students may encounter both inside and outside of the classroom. Additionally, they will... Read more »

Created by: Brittany Bowens

Date Updated: October 14th, 2024

Professional Learning

Wisdom in Action: Crafting Authentic Real-World Learning

Target Audience

All Staff or Teachers, New Teachers, PLC, Teachers

Calendar Placement

Any time of year

Group Size

Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10)

Standards

2j, 2k, 2m, 4m, 5g

90 minutes

Professional Learning

Inquiry Illuminated: Authentic Paths to Deeper Learning

In this session, participants will explore inquiry-based learning, one of the components of authenticity. Participants will identify barriers to productive student discussion and explore solutions to overcome these barriers. Participants will read a research brief on inquiry-based learning and apply... Read more »

Created by: Brittany Bowens

Date Updated: October 4th, 2024

Professional Learning

Inquiry Illuminated: Authentic Paths to Deeper Learning

Target Audience

All Staff or Teachers, New Teachers, PLC, Teachers

Calendar Placement

Any time of year

Group Size

Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10)

Intention Or Purpose

Active Engagement, Collaborate, Compare & Contrast, Conversation Starter, Critical Thinking, Evaluate, Increase Teacher "Toolbox", Physical Movement, Reason, Reflection, Self-assessment, Speak & Listen, Student Choice, Text evidence

Standards

3k, 4c, 5d, 5e, 8i

100 minutes

Professional Learning

Authentic Learning: Student-Centered Success

In this session, participants will explore the authenticity component, student-centered learning. First, participants identify characteristics of student-centered learning environments. Next, participants consider common views regarding student engagement and how it affects learning. Participants will... Read more »

Created by: Brittany Bowens

Date Updated: October 14th, 2024

Professional Learning

Authentic Learning: Student-Centered Success

Target Audience

All Staff or Teachers, New Teachers, PLC, Teachers

Calendar Placement

Any time of year

Group Size

Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10)

Intention Or Purpose

Activate Prior Knowledge, Active Engagement, Brainstorming, Collaborate, Critical Thinking, Increase Teacher "Toolbox", Organize, Reflection, Self-assessment, Speak & Listen, Student Choice, Text analysis

Standards

1b, 2a, 3i, 7j

Professional Learning

From Theory to Practice: The 5E Learning Model

In this professional learning session, participants explore the structure of a 5E lesson. They evaluate a model lesson from LEARN, determining how each section addresses components of Authenticity. Participants then examine resources on the 5E Model and discuss their findings. Next, participants work... Read more »

Created by: Brittany Bowens

Date Updated: October 15th, 2024

Professional Learning

From Theory to Practice: The 5E Learning Model

Target Audience

All Staff or Teachers, New Teachers, PLC, Teachers

Calendar Placement

Any time of year

Group Size

Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10)

Standards

3d, 3p, 4l, 6k, 8l

140 minutes

Standards

InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards (K-12th)

1b: The teacher creates developmentally appropriate instruction that takes into account individual learners’ strengths, interests, and needs and that enables each learner to advance and accelerate his/her learning.

1c: The teacher collaborates with families, communities, colleagues, and other professionals to promote learner growth and development.

1d: The teacher understands how learning occurs-- how learners construct knowledge, acquire skills, and develop disciplined thinking processes--and knows how to use instructional strategies that promote student learning.

1h: The teacher respects learners’ differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to further each learner’s development.

2a: The teacher designs, adapts, and delivers instruction to address each student’s diverse learning strengths and needs and creates opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning in different ways.

2c: The teacher designs instruction to build on learners’ prior knowledge and experiences, allowing learners to accelerate as they demonstrate their understandings.

2g: The teacher understands and identifies differences in approaches to learning and performance and knows how to design instruction that uses each learner’s strengths to promote growth.

2j: The teacher understands that learners bring assets for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities, talents, prior learning, and peer and social group interactions, as well as language, culture, family, and community values.

2k: The teacher knows how to access information about the values of diverse cultures and communities and how to incorporate learners’ experiences, cultures, and community resources into instruction.

2m: The teacher respects learners as individuals with differing personal and family backgrounds and various skills, abilities, perspectives, talents, and interests

3i: The teacher understands the relationship between motivation and engagement and knows how to design learning experiences using strategies that build learner self-direction and ownership of learning.

3k: The teacher knows how to collaborate with learners to establish and monitor elements of a safe and productive learning environment including norms, expectations, routines, and organizational structures.

4c: The teacher engages learners in applying methods of inquiry and standards of evidence used in the discipline.

4d: The teacher stimulates learner reflection on prior content knowledge, links new concepts to familiar concepts, and makes connections to learners’ experiences

4h: The teacher creates opportunities for students to learn, practice, and master academic language in their content.

4m: The teacher knows how to integrate culturally relevant content to build on learners’ background knowledge.

5d: The teacher engages learners in questioning and challenging assumptions and approaches in order to foster innovation and problem solving in local and global contexts.

5e: The teacher develops learners’ communication skills in disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts by creating meaningful opportunities to employ a variety of forms of communication that address varied audiences and purposes.

5g: The teacher facilitates learners’ ability to develop diverse social and cultural perspectives that expand their understanding of local and global issues and create novel approaches to solving problems.

7j: The teacher understands the strengths and needs of individual learners and how to plan instruction that is responsive to these strengths and needs.

8i: The teacher asks questions to stimulate discussion that serves different purposes (e.g., probing for learner understanding, helping learners articulate their ideas and thinking processes, stimulating curiosity, and helping learners to question).

8j: The teacher understands the cognitive processes associated with various kinds of learning (e.g., critical and creative thinking, problem framing and problem solving, invention, memorization and recall) and how these processes can be stimulated.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 License.

Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

Summary

Resources

Standards