11-24-2008 Chapter 7: Knowledge Construction

What??

To promote knowledge construction, one important thing is to assign authentic activities. Authentic activities are real-life situations, hands-on activities that ask for comparisons, and have students analyze and find a solution. Authentic activities give students examples very similar to what they are apt to encounter in the outside world.

So What??

Authentic activities are important for students because they give real-life examples the students must think through. By seeing real life examples and problems, students are able to discover the reasons they are learning certain things. A student will care more about math if they are given specific examples they would need to use math in the real world (cooking, shopping, etc.)

Now What??

Now it will be my job to provide authentic activities for the students I teach. Although authentic activities are not always possible or practical, there are several instances in which students would benefit from these activities. Science activities would be excellent for students. If they are able to actually perform experiments and see what happens, students will not only be much more interested and engaged, but they will remember what they learn and how it relates to them.