Authentic Learning in the Digital Age by Larissa Pahomov

Author:Larissa Pahomov [Pahomov, Larissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Education
ISBN: 978-1-4166-1959-8
Publisher: ASCD
Published: 2014-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Interactive

The last flaw with traditional presentation is its static format. In many real-world situations, the stakes of a live speech are high because the goal of the speaker is to influence people—to get them to vote, to laugh, to buy. In the typical classroom, however, the only parties who really "care" about the presentation are the presenter and the teacher. Sometimes students have an authentic interest in the content, but more frequently they are preoccupied with the logistics of the assessment, either nervously awaiting their turn or tuned out because they already went. When it's time for questions, an awkward silence ensues, and then eventually the teacher poses questions that help determine a grade.

Teachers may gripe about the lack of engagement during class presentations, but students are not the ones who created this culture. If students are typically creating work that only the teacher sees and never receive feedback from anybody else, why should they suddenly care what their peers think? And why should they give attention to others when that effort on their part is not valued?

For students to care about each other's presentations, they must have a vested interest in the work. Ideally they already have some intrinsic interest in the content, but they can also benefit from a presentation structure in which some kind of interaction is integral to the project's success. This goal can be achieved in a number of ways. One is to allow for interaction before the teacher is making the final assessment, so that students can help improve each other's work. SLA math teacher Caitlin Thompson uses this strategy with her Algebra 1 students when they complete a project on systems of inequalities. Students dream up a snack that uses two ingredients and then must create a formula that allows them to determine "the most profitable and desirable combination" for that product. Once all the calculations are complete, Thompson gives each group 20 minutes to produce three slides on their project, and then devotes one class period for students to present and reflect on each other's work.

Commenting on her recent experience with this strategy, Thompson says it gave her "a quick chance to review how well students were doing in general on the topic. It was very interesting to see who caught other students' mistakes more quickly and who caught their own mistakes as they were presenting." Students valued the presentations because they were able to give meaningful feedback to each other based on their own proficiency. Thompson was so impressed with their proofreading the first time she did this project that she now schedules presentations to take place before students turn in the project for grading—a kind of live rough draft in which the student feedback helps improve the final product.

Another method to encourage interaction is to give students a role in the assessment itself. The simplest way to do this is to have students fill out the grading rubric with comments for their peers as they view the presentations. Teachers can

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