1. What makes an activity ‘authentic’?
Authentic activities are the ordinary practices of the culture. Their meaning and purpose are socially constructed through negotiations among present and past members. They have to be held in a “real” environment with real needs so that the students will be able to transfer their learning in their own context and adopt it or use it accordingly.
2. What is the problem with making everything explicit in learning?
By making everything explicit in learning there is the fear that the students will be stay passive and then the knowledge will not be acquired in a collaborative way. Students should actively work in their own learning processes according to their own needs and learning styles. They have to be able to collaborate and work together in their groups in order to exert their best to acquire the new knowledge or skills.
3. Do you think the divide between school and authentic activity can be bridged?
Some solution that could be done in order to bridge the division between school and authentic activity are the following:
- More realistic activities could be held in the classroom in order for the students to actively participate in their own learning
- The paradigm of situated modeling, coaching and fading, whereby teachers or coaches promote learning, first by making explicit their knowledge or by modeling their strategies for students in authentic activity. Then teachers and colleagues support students’ attempts at doing the task and finally they empower the students to continue independently.