Week 2 - Authentic Intellectual Work

 Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is a relatively new framework that aims to enhance student learning by making student work more personal and meaningful.  It consists of three main criteria: Construction of Knowledge, Disciplined Inquiry, and Value Beyond School.  Construction of Knowledge consists of presenting students with a challenge that at first, they may not know how to approach and solve.  They must draw upon their experiences and skills from prior work as well as available resources to construct knowledge about the assignment.  This is in contrast to traditional teaching methods involving giving students information and asking them to repeat it on an assessment.  Disciplined Inquiry asks the students to dig deeper into a problem to achieve more than a cursory understanding of the problem.  In addition, students must present their work through Elaborate Communication.  This involves providing context and meaning to their work when presenting to others.  Finally, Value Beyond School is the idea that whatever the students are working on, every effort should be made to give the work purpose and meaning outside of the classroom.  These three criteria, taken together, lead to more motivated and engaged learners.

Multiple studies have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of AIW.  Two such studies, the Chicago Annenberg Research Project Field Study, 1996-97 and the Minnesota Observed Instruction Study, 1998, showed conclusively that AIW improves student scores on rubric-graded work by teachers.  34-56 percentile points in the former study and 66% higher scores in the latter.  Importantly, AIW also shows improvement in traditional assessments.  

One example of AIW would be a lesson in theatre where students are asked to study a scene in a play, ideally with characters at the same age level.  The students would be asked to examine what problem or decision a character is dealing with and identify several possible outcomes for the character.  Then, the students are challenged to write a subsequent scene in which one of their outcomes is realized and present the scene to the class.  Finally, the students are asked to write a reflection, justifying the outcome they chose.

The 2024 National Education Technology Plan Update presents a number of recommendations to bridge the divide between students with highly effective and integrated technology access and those with more limited access.  The sixth recommendation of the plan is as follows:

Build public-private partnerships with local businesses, higher education institutions, and nonprofit organizations to help students access edtech-enabled hands-on learning and work-based learning experiences.

There is a clear connection between this recommendation and the third criterion of AIW.  This recommendation Provides Value Beyond School by literally removing students from the classroom and having them do tech-related work that can easily be useful in jobs and other extra-curricular activities.

If you were to create a Venn diagram with Kolb's Triple-E framework and AIW, you'd see substantial overlap.  Both emphasize using a students' prior experiences and skills to approach a problem they may not immediately know how to solve.  Also, Enhancement and Disciplined Inquiry are very similar.  Both ask students to deepen their knowledge through exploration rather than just recording what a teacher tells them.  Finally, Extension and Value Beyond Classroom are very well aligned.  Both involve sharing the learning outside the classroom.

In the sample lesson outlined above, the students benefit from AIW and the Triple-E framework.  Choosing characters of like age, most likely with similar problems and issues, engages and motivates students and connects the play to their own experiences.  Also, by sharing their work with classmates and faculty, they extend the learning to a larger group.