Authentic Teaching and Learning Standards That Assure Quality Higher Education

Quality assurance is becoming a necessary aspect of many institutions of higher education. Teaching and learning is a major area of scrutiny and requires institutional agreement on the benchmarks and standards by which quality will be determined. This chapter provides a framework for conceptualising the elements of teaching and learning that need to be accounted for in any quality assurance process, with particular focus on teaching activities that reflect an authentic approach to learning.

Using IT to Augment Authentic Learning

This chapter discusses how information technology (IT) can be used to augment the authenticity of the learning experience in student-centred learning environments. It argues that technology provides the opportunity to embed students in learning activity by bridging the gap between the “real world” and the classroom. The particular learning environment used to illustrate this is a restaurant complex with a number of outlets that was designed by the author to provide a common work environment. Using the Distributed Learning System (DLS) to which all students have access, the author was able to increase the authenticity of the “case” by first, having students access information (as employees and/or lessees’) about the commercial conditions facing the company, and its policies and practices). Second, “employees” were able to communicate through discussion boards. Third, students were able to access resources through hyperlinks to external Web sites. The author concludes that there is need for a mixture of face-to-face and virtual learning opportunities in order to add real-world authenticity to experiential learning opportunities.

Using Related Cases to Support Authentic Project Activities

This chapter describes the design of a technology-supported learning environment in which small teams of students worked on authentic project tasks to develop a multimedia product for a real client. The students were enrolled in an advanced-level subject offered in a postgraduate education program, with most studying part-time, and many located a distance from the main campus. Jonassen’s (1999) model for a constructivist learning environment was used as the framework for the design of the subject. A key feature of this approach is the use of related cases to support authentic project activities. The specifics of the design were informed by the research and conceptual literature, and by pilot testing with two class groups. The implementation of the subject was the focus of a qualitative case study that investigated learners’ experiences of the environment. A rich set of data was collected, including student assignment work, discussion records and interviews. Analysis of the data provided insights into the role of the cases in supporting the collaborative project work.

Constructing a Clinical Experience in the Classroom

This chapter demonstrates how contemporary chiropractic education uses authentic “classroom” learning opportunities to prepare students for the clinical practice. Safe professional practice requires a combination of factual knowledge and mastery of those thinking processes required to update and selectively utilise fresh information. This chapter demonstrates how three problem-solving formats can be used to aid students achieve both of these learning objectives. The first scenario describes how, by requiring students to formulate a personal nutrition program, they become aware of the impact dietary choices have on health. An example is then provided of how skills acquired in the area of nutrition can be expanded to incorporate the various dimensions of wellness and transferred into a situation in which a wellness program is negotiated with a client. The final scenario explores how simulated cases can be used in the classroom to create a cognitive environment that simulates and prepares students for the clinical consultation.

Using Characters in Online Simulated Environments to Guide Authentic Tasks

The use of characters to present tasks and critical information in a simulated environment has proven to be a useful strategy in the creation of more authentic learning environments online. Such characters can not only perform the role of setting and structuring tasks within the fictitious scenario, but also that of providing useful and realistic guidance. This chapter describes a learning environment designed to create an authentic context for learning evaluation skills and strategies appropriate to technology-based learning settings. The subject in which this approach was adopted was a masters-level course in evaluation of technology-based learning environments. The chapter focuses on the use of a fictitious CEO (chief executive officer) who requests certain evaluation tasks of “employees.” Students are given realistic jobs with realistic parameters, and in this way the subject is dealt with in a much more authentic manner than if presented in a more decontextualised way. The rationale for adopting the approach is described together with a description of how it was implemented and summary findings of an evaluation of the approach.

Creating an Authentic Learning Environment in Economics for MBA Studies

This chapter discusses a postgraduate economics program that forms a core part of a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree course. The program has been structured so as to create a learning environment in which students construct an understanding of economics through a semester-long, authentic learning task — specifically the development of a competitive strategy for a business in which they have a personal interest. The curriculum, teaching and learning activities and assessment are aligned in such a way that they all contribute to the achievement of this task. The authors have observed that this approach has resulted in greater student engagement and a deeper conceptualisation of the role of economics in business as compared to the traditional approaches to teaching economics in MBA programs.

Professional Development for the Online Teacher

While telecommunications and telematics have been available in schools and universities for decades, the speed of adoption of the Internet into general use has been unprecedented. This has placed a great deal of pressure on university teachers to re-evaluate their roles in the light of new teaching and learning opportunities. The Internet has opened up possibilities beyond the simple acquisition of information, and has created teaching and learning challenges that many teachers feel ill-equipped to meet. This chapter examines the impact of the Internet on the teacher’s role and explores the types of skills and strategies that teachers will need to be effective and efficient in online learning environments. The professional development needs for the new role of online teacher will be discussed within the context of a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning designed to encapsulate authentic approaches to learning.

Authentic Learning at Work

This chapter describes models of work-based learning and outlines key features of the authentic learning pedagogy that informs its application. It contextualises work-based learning in the political and economic imperatives driving curriculum change in universities in the Western world. In so doing, it refers to curriculum development based on generic skills and notes analyses of the role of universities in contemporary society, with particular reference to the relative importance of practical and theoretical training. Innovative case studies provide practical examples of the implementation of authentic learning pedagogies through work-based university programs. The key to successful implementation is assessment, which links theory and practice. The underlying message of the chapter is that what counts are not the teaching and learning tools you have, but the way that you use them. There can be nothing more real than real, and this is the strength of work-based university learning: it offers authentic or situated learning environments that reflect the way knowledge will be used in real life.

Reusable Resources and Authentic Learning Environments

There is currently a high degree of energy and enthusiasm in the e-learning world being given to developing strategies and systems that support the reuse of digital learning resources. The activity involves a number of processes including the development of specifications and standards for the design and development of reusable learning resources, the storage and access of these resources, and systems for delivering the resources to students. This chapter explores the potential impact this area will have for teachers developing authentic learning environments, and argues the advantages that teachers employing such learning settings will derive from the developments. The chapter suggests design and development strategies that are needed to ensure that potential advantages are realised.

Using Online Discussions to Provide an Authentic Learning Experience for Professional Recordkeepers

Providing authentic learning in a distance education course that leads to a professional qualification is challenging. However, working in a totally online environment on ill-defined problems provides students with opportunities to seek and evaluate their own learning resources and to collaborate with others in their learning. This chapter provides an example of a performative assessment strategy for students in archives and records management studies, requiring them to find on the Internet, analyse and evaluate examples of policy documents and standards, just as they would in the workplace. Student evaluations of the exercise were unanimously positive. Discussions helped to overcome isolation felt by remote students; depth of knowledge gained was improved and students’ reflections developed awareness about learning through the assessment.