I love the light of November from inside my office. The light is low in the sky, producing a shimmery glow to everything it touches. Chairs, cushions, water glasses, and plants twinkle as I type. Authentic learning is a little like the November light, illuminating learners’ joy, creativity, and passions as they engage in purposeful, real-world experiences. We know these are the kinds of experiences that make school, the subject area, and learning matter!
United Local Schools (Columbiana County, Ohio) is a place where authentic learning is the north star, and earlier this month, the November light poured through the ceiling-high cafeteria windows on over 80 teachers, illuminating their creativity and collaboration during an immersive, authentic learning project, which was specifically designed for United teachers by United teachers. The project was about the spotted lantern fly, an invasive species that kills crops and trees, and we called the project, “Community Voices to Stop the Spot: An Authentic Learning Slice.” The idea of the slice was to partner with local scientists and agriculture educators to learn about what we could do to protect the county’s crops. Teams of teachers then designed a communication tool to make others in the community aware of this invasive species.
In experiencing authentic learning from the learner perspective, United teachers likely “felt” the elements of an authentic learning experience, which, undoubtedly, created a clear vision for why authentic learning experiences matter to students. Debriefing in teams after the experience led to amazing, authentic learning momentum. Today, teachers are planning their next steps in transforming the student experience with authentic learning, drafting a title for the experience, calling it, United on the Move!
United Local’s shared vision for and its north star of authentic learning was the source of “Stop the Spot,” and it had a dazzling outcome. I wonder, though, whether United Local’s mission,“United Learning for a United Future” was the brightest light of all on that November day.