The Operationalization of Authenticity in Project-Based Humanities Classrooms

• In Event: Perspectives on the Role of Authenticity in Project-Based and Active Learning Humanities Classrooms

Abstract

Objectives
Authenticity is an important component of project based learning (PBL) and active learning pedagogies (Edutopia, 2014; Larmer & Mergendoller, 2015; Polman, Stamatis, Boardman, & Garcia, 2018; Thomas, 2000). This paper seeks to illustrate how educators in project-based humanities classrooms operationalize their ideas about authenticity.

Theoretical framework
Building on prior research, we have constructed a three-part framework for authenticity in PBL classrooms that serves as the starting point for the present study (Authors, 2019). When teachers talk about authenticity in the classroom context, they are frequently referring to the alignment between what is done in the classroom and what people do in the “real world.” For example, activities, projects, and tasks in a history classroom that more closely resemble the work that historians actually do is more authentic than a classroom where students spend all of their time memorizing dates and historical facts. However, if the work that students do is entirely contained within the school walls, the authenticity of those tasks may be limited. A second component of authenticity in project-based learning is therefore how students make a contribution to the world beyond the classroom. We have found that a final component of authenticity is the personal connections that students have or build with the work.

Methods & data sources
The analysis presented in this paper draws on data from a large, multi-sited study of teacher practice in PBL classrooms. The participants included 13 teachers of US Government and African American History. The participants engaged in interviews, and shared project artifacts and student work prior to, during, and after a 13 month professional development experience focused on PBL instruction. Interviews, classroom artifacts, and student work were coded using rubrics developed according to the framework described above.

Results or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/points of view
Our results allow us to illustrate how teacher beliefs about the importance of authenticity are operationalized through specific strategies that appear in their curricula, teaching practice, and students’ work. For example, the PBL teachers in our study built connections to real world contexts by explicitly demonstrating how the project is similar to the work of professionals outside of the classroom. They supported students to build personal connections by helping students to find connections that might not be apparent. Teachers helped students make a contribution to the world by constructing projects around the actual challenges of communities outside of the classroom and reminding students of these connections. Our findings indicate that while teachers operationalize their focus on authenticity in their project work, the work that students produce sometimes less clearly achieves these characteristics.

Scientific of scholarly significance of the study/work
As project-based learning and other active learning pedagogies grow in popularity, it is critical to understand how the central characteristics of these pedagogies are operationalized in humanities classrooms and what this means for student learning. This paper provides a set of illustrations of authenticity in action that will support further examination by researchers and practitioners who are interested cultivate deeper learning and equitable access.

Authors

• Christopher George Pupik Dean, University of Pennsylvania

• Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, University of Pennsylvania

• Zachary Herrmann, University of Pennsylvania

• Rachel Kuck, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Jesslyn Poulson, The University of Pennsylvania