When working on this blog, I sometimes feel that I am straying from how we defined and implemented authentic teaching in the books I wrote with Peggy (my former and forever principal). Then I remember that in keeping my blog authentic, it is going to evolve over time!
When we originally started to work with authentic learning, we were focusing on Project-Based Learning literature. Our school counselor then made the case that what we were really striving for was authentic teaching and learning. In reality, it is semantics.
The steps to achieve authentic teaching and learning, in my opinion, are also semantics. It is what works for you, your beliefs as an educator, your environment, and your student’s needs.
So, don’t feel that this won’t work for you, if you want/need to approach this differently. That’s the point. What you do should be authentic for you. Your approach to teaching needs to work for you. Take any of my ideas that you like and modify them any way that you want to. Don’t get bogged down in semantics. Take what makes sense to you, and run with it.
Shameless promotion here: I am still really proud of One School’s Journey, Further Down the Path by Eleanor K. Smith and Margaret Pastor.
The Educational Journey 