Rosenbaum, E., Klopfer, E., & Perry, J. (2007). On Location Learning: Authentic Applied Science with Networked Augmented Realities. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(1), 31-45. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40186768
What is authenticity?
Lave and Wenger’s (1991) vision of communities of practice centers on ‘‘real’’ problems taken on by participation in extended communities
Practice Fields (Barab and Duffy, 2000) provide
exploratory spaces where students participate in ‘‘reality lite’’ investigations with many or all of the
consequences of real explorations removed.
Other theorists (Bereiter, 2002; Dede et al.,
2005b) have called for classroom experiences to better reflect the complexity of 21st century work and citizenship.
A new set of skills is required from students in an information-based economy, and traditional classroom practices do poorly at teaching these skills
Students should be able to work with incomplete information, adapt to changing conditions, manage complexity, and fluidly create and share knowledge.
These skills, which we may have formerly seen solely as a requisite for future professionals, are now demanded
of many jobs and increasingly of every citizen.
Authenticity and Technology
Technology can play an important role in integrating
21st century skills and mediating authentic experiences in the classroom (Roschelle et al., 2000)
by facilitating the creation of communities of practice
and incorporating many of the tools that practitioners
use around issues of current scientific concern
Simulations provide the basis for one form of
authentic learning by modeling specific aspects of
real-world complex systems, allowing learners to
experiment with the system either by manipulating
parameters or participating inside the system and
observing outcomes.
The experience that we are trying to create may
be seen in the light of Dewey’s notion of ‘‘education
through experience’’ (Dewey, 1938)
Through interactions with the real-world context, natural social exchanges, and systems-based feedback, we attempt to create simulated experiences that reproduce crucial aspects of real-world experiences.
The added advantage of such experiences is that they have direct applications outside of the classroom to real problems
Participatory Simulations
Students can develop and test hypotheses by enacting ‘‘solutions’’ and observing outcomes.
Students do not need to ask if they ‘‘got it right,’’ but instead test solutions and measure outcomes that can help them evaluate their own understanding of the system
Whether they have mastered the concepts or still have gaps in their understanding becomes quite obvious
simulations provide authentic explorations of complex systems
students readily engaging in discussion
around complex systems.
‘Participatory Reality
The ideal educational tool would incorporate the
authentic experience of on-location learning, including
the tools, intellectual traditions and community
aspects of AR, coupled with the ability to interact
with an underlying model
students participate in the system and affect its outcome,
yet the simulation remains grounded in reality
through real spaces, contexts, and locations
Findings
Authenticity of Personal Involvement
Students behaved during the game in ways suggesting that they felt personally embodied in the game.
By ‘‘personal embodiment’’ we refer to the
feeling that one’s body is physically interacting with
the virtual environment
students’ speech and physical movements reflected their experience of the disease in the game as an authentic danger
This experience affected both their social interactions and their actions within the game.
Shift towards person-level goals
Perhaps reflecting their personal embodiment in
the game, students’ perceptions of their goals changed during the course of the game, from knowledge-based
goals to more personal and team-based goals
Authenticity of Practices in the Game
Authentic Roles
The students were able to understand what tasks were
associated with their own roles, and which tasks were
associated with their teammates in different roles.
The tasks that students were responsible for became tightly associated with them, and each student needed to take responsibility for those tasks or there would be individual and group consequences.
Adopted the habits of mind of their role
students saw their abilities within the game as tied to
their roles in authentic way, like a real occupation
The importance of communication and collaboration
Each of the roles was dependent on the others both for information and for action.
Students grasped the resulting importance of communication and collaboration for success in the game
shows an understanding of the interdependence of the roles
There is a tension built into the game between
staying together as a large group, and splitting up.
Staying together allows the group to collaborate
effectively, but the game is spread out over a large
physical area, so simply to visit all the locations
and gather enough information they need to split
up to some extent.
The importance of communication and collaboration
in the game mirrors their importance in realworld
problem solving lending authenticity to this aspect
of the game.
Authenticity of the Game World
Game World as Dynamic System
The world was dynamic, changing over time in response to their actions.
the dynamic nature of the model underlying the game, events unfold according to a complex network of causes and effects
students demonstrated the seriousness and responsibility with which they treated their roles