What is the point? Why do we even have to do that?

Two questions that students ask

teachers far too frequently, and often teachers do not have a good answer. Work is often being
done because it needs to get done: it is in the curriculum therefore we must do it. This
means that students are completing tasks that have no real-life application and have no lasting
impact other than the 45 minutes they spend half-heartedly filling out the worksheet. This
becomes a waste of time for both the teacher and the students. So, what is the alternative?
How do we ensure that students are truly engaging with their learning and that they are
leaving the class with genuine knowledge, understanding and skills that will help them in the
real world? The answer may lie in authentic and active learning, and the theory of
constructivism.

The children we are teaching need more than just the ability to pass the NAPLAN test, they
need the opportunity to develop skills that have real world application and empower them to
become proactive seekers of knowledge throughout the rest of their lives (Watters & Ginns,
2000). This can be achieved through teachers integrating active and authentic learning into
their classroom practice. Authentic learning occurs when the learning that happens within the
four walls of the classroom is closely linked to the world that the students are living in
outside of the classroom (Reynolds, 2014). As an active learner, students learn more than just
content; they learn high order thinking skills that are required for a lifetime of learning (Van
de Bergh, Ros & Beijaard, 2012). When a classroom engages in authentic and active learning,
students will be self-directed in their learning and will have some control in their learning
process by taking on elements of the decision making process regarding their learning goals
(Van de Bergh et al., 2012). This will most likely involve students working collaboratively in
small groups, often undertaking different learning activities at the same time; to achieve
different, but related, learning goals (Van de Bergh et al., 2012). Students can construct their
own understanding, which includes drawing on their prior knowledge and past experiences,
as they interact in a social and authentic learning environment (Van de Bergh et al., 2012;
Bevevino, Dengal, & Adams, 1999).
For active learning to occur, collaboration is essential (Van de Bergh et al., 2012) and the
social nature of learning must be acknowledged (Mantei & Kervin, 2009). This is where the
constructivist theory comes into play. A common constructivist view of learning is that
learning is a collaborative process that believes students not only gain new insights from each
other but encourage one another to elaborate and refine their existing knowledge (Van de
Bergh et al., 2012; OShea & Leavy, 2013, Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). Constructivist
theory is grounded in the works of Piaget, Vygotsky, the Gestalt Psychologists, Bartlett,
Bruner and Rogoff (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012) and advocates strongly that the learner must
play an active role in the learning process (OShea & Leavy, 2013). Woolfolk and Margetts
(2012) and OShea and Leavy (2013) suggest several common elements when classroom
learning is explored and presented through a constructivist perspective. These include: active
engagement, inquiry, problem solving and problem based learning, collaboration with others,
complex learning environments, authentic tasks, social negotiation, multiple perspectives and
representations of content, understanding of the knowledge construction process and student
ownership of learning.

Authentic and active learning have many advantages both inside and outside the four walls of
a primary school classroom. By engaging in problem solving, students are put into situations
that demand critical thinking (Bevevino et al., 1999); a skill that will result in our students
being able to make informed decisions based on all information they are given. Authentic
learning tasks help students to understand that in the real-world problems are complex and ill
defined; often with no clear-cut answer (Mantei & Kervin, 2009). Through students working
together and supporting each other in their collaborative construction of knowledge, they are
encountering and working with multiple perspectives (Mantei & Kervin, 2009). This is vital,
as when students are engaging with their community they will come across people from every
walk of life, with opinions and beliefs that may be drastically different to their own.

Teaching is an ongoing process of supporting and scaffolding students learning (Mantei &
Kervin, 2009; Van de Bergh, 2012). By adapting authentic and active learning into their
classroom practice and lesson plans, teachers are making the learning of their students
meaningful and providing authentic contexts that accurately reflect the way that knowledge is
used in real life (Bevevino et al. 1999; Mantei & Kervin, 2009). It is the role of the teacher to
create and implement learning experiences that authentically reflect the community, and the
practices of that community, that students will be encountering in their day to day lives
(Mantei & Kervin); ensuring that what students are doing in the classroom has clear and
positive implications outside of the classroom. For this reason, it is important that teachers
have an awareness of what is going on both locally and globally (Van de Bergh et al., 2012).
When implementing authentic learning tasks, the teacher will provide coaching at critical
times, but focus on scaffolding the students and providing authentic and integrated
assessment of student learning within the learning tasks (Mantei & Kervin). Additionally,
incorporating a constructivist approach into their classroom practice requires teachers to
consider and identify what implications and applications that constructivist theory has when
applied to teaching (OShea & Leavy, 2013).

Creating a classroom environment that is influenced by constructivist theory and utilizes

authentic and active learning can present some challenges for teachers and changes slightly
the traditional role that they may have been used to undertaking. When students are
participating in authentic learning, and to make sure that they are motivated to participate
actively, the learning environment they are in must support and encourage collaboration
while still maintaining any existing rules and protocols that the teacher and the school may
have in place (Van de Bergh et al., 2012). This means teachers must teach their students how
to work collaboratively with others in a positive and respectful manner (Van de Bergh et al.,
2012) so that the learning space remains a place where all students can work and achieve.
With students working in cooperative and collaborative groups for much of their learning,
some modification may be required of what is traditionally recommended as a classroom
behaviour management strategy (Van de Bergh et al., 2012).

If teachers wish to provide their students with learning activities that have a real-world
context and are applicable in situations and experiences beyond the four walls of the
classroom, it is important that they have a clear understanding of authentic learning, active
learning and how the constructivist theory can be applied in the classroom. By making
authentic and active learning a priority in the classroom, teachers emphasize that their focus
is on the process of learning, on thinking about learning and on student acquiring skills;
rather than just the simple transition of information. Authentic and active learning provides
teachers with the opportunity to provide students with authentic contexts that reflect the way
that knowledge and understanding will be used in real-life, a skill that is arguably much more
important than the ability to follow a formula or write in a way that allows students to pass a
standardized test.

References

Bevevino, M. M., Dengal, J., & Adams, K. (1999). Constructivist Theory in the Classroom
Internalizing: Concepts through Inquiry Learning. The Clearing House: A Journal Of
Educational Strategies, Issues And Ideas, 72(5), 275-278.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00098659909599406

Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. K. (2009). Authentic learning experiences: what does this mean
and where is the literacy learning? University of Wollongong.

OShea, J., & Leavy, A. M. (2013). Teaching mathematical problem-solving from an

emergent constructivist perspective: the experiences of Irish primary teachers. Journal
Of Mathematics Teacher Education, 16(4), 293-318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10857-
013-9235-6

Reynolds, R. (2014). Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences in the Primary School (3rd
Edition). Oxford: Sydney.

Van den Bergh, L., A. Ros, and D. Beijaard. 2012. Teacher feedback during active learning:
Current practices in primary schools. British Journal of Educational Psychology.
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8279.2012.02073.x.

Watters, J., & Ginns, I. (2000). Developing Motivation to Teach Elementary Science: Effect
of Collaborative and Authentic Learning Practices in Preservice Education. Journal
Of Science Teacher Education, 11(4), 301-321.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/a:1009429131064

Woolfolk, A. E., & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational Psychology (3rd Australian ed.).
Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.