Ryan M. Banaria

Chapter 4 AUTHENTIC LEARNING TASKS AND THE PERFROMANCE OF BIOLOGY STUDENTS This chapter is a presentation og the results and findings og the study on the use of authentic learning tasks as a strategy in teaching selected students in biology I. Students Performance in the Pre-test The performance of the students in the pre-test was determined with the use of a 50 item multiple choice test. The following table shows the performance of the students in II-Mahogany of Saint Joseph School, Naga City where the pre-test was administered. Table 1 Students Performance in the Pre-test SECTION MEAN Mahogany 23.95 The table indicates a poor level of performance of the students. The performance of the students in the posttest is shown in Table 2. As can be seen from the table the over-all performance of the students is 30.24, which is a 7.24 mean gain. This is interpreted as performance in biology. Table 2 Students performance in the Posttest Section Mean Mahogany 30.24 54 This result is in congruence with Newmann’s1 findings which indicate that authentic pedagogy has positive effect in student achievement. Moreover, the researcher asserts that inauthentic work in school must be minimized because advocates of authentic learning have found that implementing authentic strategy is far from easy. Indeed, modern students are primarily active learners and just pure lectures may increasingly be out of touch with how students engage in the world. Moreover, the change of pedagogical focus from passive to active learning gives beter learning outcomes and does not come merely form the use of specific technology or technique. It is therefore important that the students should be able to see the connection of every learning experience to what he will expect in the outside world. The results was supported by Bruner2 who claimed that there is a big difference between learning to be a phycisit and learning about Physics. It is important to immerse the students with varied learning experiences which will drown them with activities which they can relate and will help to correct student misconceptions. Therefore, activities that the teacher will provide must be easily understood by the students, to ensure that the connections to the concept can easily be seen; no matter how well and enjoying different activities that was designed by the teacher, it will not guarantee the desired result if the students is having hard time in comprehending the concept behind it. They will not be able to relate such activity to his prior experience which can be the reason that all of the teachers’ effort will be put to waste. In addition, Frey3 stated theat the task of the teacher is to provide the students with attitudes in the classroom which has real world application. The result also complements the statement of Hirumi that the traditional teacher-centered modes of instruction are inadequate to meet the needs of an informationbased technology-driven society. It was clearly shown by the result in Table 1 and 2 that the teacher should provide the students with carried activities that will help the students formulate their own conclusion, since textual and verbal explanation are not enough to ensure that there is learning among the students. Indeed, the activitiy in each lesson is the missing link that connects the textual explanation to the concrete world of the students. The experience that the students will gather in each activity and the 55 prior experience he have are the key ingredients to formulate their own explainations on how things work and why things work. The results were supported by Eckert et al4 who claimed that many educators view kids engagement in non-school activities as a destruction of learning but it seems that the depth of learning these activities brings is unequalled in the classroom. While most educators consider it as an active measure for learning the researcher suggest that these non-school activities can be revised to suit and be used as an educational activity. The teachers can design varied authentic activities which according to Thu Thuy Vu et al should be able to enhance processes which students can call things into questions, take a stand on who they are and act accordingly. Cooperstein et al5 claimed that authentic learning task is inductive, wherein action is done after the concepts are in place. All the activities done in the classroom is geared towards achieving a concept, concepts does not lead to activity, it is the activity that leads to concept. They further emphasized that skills and concepts are acquired from the activities acquired from the activities in the classroom. It is important to note that the standard classroom procedure in constructive learning does not involve lectures, demonstrations and presentations. Such procedure promote active learning where students are given activities in which they will derive relationships that will lead in understanding the concepts concretely. The results in their study supports the presumption that there is a need to engage the student in an active learning environment. Moreover, it highlights the need for authentic learning tasks in the classroom in science instruction which can never be understood by mere lecture. The study clearly suggest that authentic learning activities plays an important role in attaining higher order thinking skills because the students have to device ways in addressing the problem at hand. This finding was supported by Negrite6 which stated that practical work approach is an effective strategy since pupils of the experimental group performed better than the control group as reflected by pre-test and posttest. 56 Clif Mims7 outlined the different reasons why authentic learning takes on a different form. He claimed that (1) Learning is centered on authentic tasks that are of interest to the learners.(2) Students are engaged in exploration and inquiry. (3) Learning, most often, is interdisciplinary. (4) Learning is closely connected to the world beyond the walls of the classroom. (5) Students become engaged in complex tasks and higher-order thinkingskills, such as analyzing, synthesizing, designing, manipulating andevaluating information. (6) Students produce a product that can be shared with an audience outside the classroom. All of these reasons oultlined in his book are supported by the performance of the students after the intervention of authentic learning lessons among the students. The researcher suggests that a careful study of the beneficial effects of awakening interests among the students must be done. A careful study on correlation between interest and performance could help educators in choosing materials which they can use to further improve the performance of the students. Authentic learning tasks open a venue for students to help promote and learn how to learn together as to develop collaborative and shared mental model and meanings that bind them together as teams in learning community. While authentic learning task had attained result in this study, it is important that teachers that will employ authentic learning task would ensure that they are well-versed in using the strategy because they will not be able to attain desired learning performance among the students. Similarly, the work of Campbell and Carlson had given the idea that authentic task approach is based in performance and reality. Therefore, the desired performance will not be attained if the activities which are geared towards their performance were not crafted. B. Effect of Authentic Learning Tasks in Students Scientific Attitudes and Values Teachers must not only teach a certain subject he should also integrate values among the students to ensure that student are growing holistically. The attitude of the child must also be honed during classroom instruction. A questionnaire were administered among the students. 57 Statement Interpretation 4.43 AGREE 4.50 4.23 STRONGLY AGREE AGREE 2 4.03 AGREE 1 4.65 1 3.85 STRONGLY AGREE AGREE 1 4.13 AGREE 4.23 AGREE 4.13 AGREE SA 22 A 15 NS 2 26 8 6 19 12 8 15 15 8 29 13 2 5 18 12 19 11 7 2 8. The games help me to retain and recall the lesson in biology. 9. Learning in biology is more challenging with the sue of games. 10. It encouraged me to think critically. 18 14 7 1 20 11 5 2 11 19 7 3 3.95 AGREE 11. The lesson becomes simpler with the use of games. 12. I am more comfortable to learn the lesson with activities. 24 9 5 2 4.38 AGREE 28 7 5 4.60 STRONGLY AGREE 13. It improves my self-confidence. 15 15 8 1 4.05 AGREE 14. I am encouraged to particvipate in discussion in biology. 19 12 6 2 4.13 AGREE 15. The game brings me a worthwhile learning in biology. 23 11 5 1 4.40 AGREE 1. I enjoy learning the subject when the authentic taks were used. 2. The games motivated me to learn more concepts. 3. I understand the lesson easily through the use of games. 4. It gives me more chance to share my ideas. 5. I become more interested with the lessons. 6. The games changed my negative attitude toward the subject. 7. Learnig becomes more interactive with the use of authentic tasks. D Weighted Mean SD 1 1 1 2 1 To determine the attitude of students toward biology the students were asked tto answer a fifteen item evaluation sheet. The table shows the summary of the students’ attitude towards biology. As shown in the table the students agree that authentic tasks has a positive effect in the attitudes of the students toward the subject. The statement “ I become more interested with lesson” got the highest mean of 4.65. We can infer from the result that using authentic task can be used a sstrategy tomotivate the less motivated students. Since authentic task is a good tool to provide action packed learning environment, such strategy can be used to ensure that students will be able to experience things which is 58 almost similar to real life. This result was supported by North Dakota Teaching Technology Innovative 8 which claimed that involving the students’ emotional orinternal commitment in the learning process is imperative in addition to cognitive interest. It is therefore important that students are able to understand why they have to learn the concept presented by the teacher, such can be done by giving the students a well-designed activity which has a connection to what they will expect if they go out to the four corners of the classroom. Authentic learning tasks activities are good way to invite the studetns to be involve in the learning process since the statement “I managed to participate in the discussion in biology” got a mean score of 4.125 which was interpreted as Agree. This finding was supported by Carlson who claimed hat by writing, discussing, analyzing and evaluating information, students become active participants of the learning process. It is also suggest that the students are more responsibile in their own learning and should demonstrate what they learn to their professors in other ways than the text. Using this strategy, will ensure that the students will be able to acquire skills more that what can be measured by the test papers. The statement “ I enjoy learning the subject when authentic task were used” got a mean score of 4.43, which suggest that authentic learning tasks are engaging and provides the learner the opportunity to work for his own learning. Such findings supported the statement of Frey11 who claimed that discipline problems occur when students are not motivated to learn because they do not feel this as a purpose to their learning. Such statement suggests that the key to ensure the engagement of the learners is to explain well the connection of the teaching-learning activities to real life. The statement “ Motivated me to learn more concepts” got a weighted mean of 4.50. The reason for such high mean score can be explained by the statement of Guthrie and Carlin who stated that modern students are primarily active learners and lecture courses may increasingly be out of touch in their world. Therefore, the traditional approach should be made more engaging by using authentic strategy to ensure that the students are motivated to learn. Such things should be done since according to Edwards it centers 59 the learner at the heart of the learning process. It is therefore important that teachers provide the students a learning environment that involves them; that they will be able to learn what is relevant for them in ways that are appropriate. It is therefore important that activities in the classroom must be th reflection of the more complex and varied situations the students will expect in real life. The statement “I understand the lesson more easily through the use of activities” got a mean of 4.23. This suggests that the involvement of the students is necessary and the traditional teachercentered approach in teaching the students must be minimized. Hirumi explained that traditional teacher modes of instruction are inadequate in meeting the needs of an information-based technology driven socity. Thus, it is necessary to prepare the students in the workplace in the 21st century new methods. Activities that will given to teach the students should prepare them in facing real-life situations and not just an activity that only requires paper nd pencil. The researcher suggest that such activity must be cost- effective by using appropriately self and peer assessment strategies to share judgment making on the quality of student work amongs key parties in the educational process. The statement “ It gives me more chance to share my ideas” got a mean of 4.03 which suggest that authentic tasks is an ideal strategy to be used in cooperative learning approaches. This finding was supported by Adler which stated that the role of a teacher id the transfer, meaning, acquisition of knowledge. In this role the teacher will guide the students in facilitating information and explain the problems through such instructional strategies, graphic organizers, divergent questioning and probing, simultaneous problem based learning, Socratic seminars, reciprocal teaching and student self-assessment. The statement “ the games changed my negative attitudes toward the subject” got a mean score of 3.85, which brings to conclusion at using such strategy will lessen gradually active perceptions of the students and can increase their motivation to excel well in the subject. Such finding is important to use activities which promote achievement among the students in this manner the teacher can ensure that students will be able o have earning in the subject holistically. 60 The statement “ learning becomes ore interactive with the use of authentic activities got weighted mean of 4.13. Such finding was supported by Conner which opined that the senses are the gateway of information yet we ultimately learn by doing. Authentic activities ensure that the students are involved in the instruction. It is important that the activities designed by the teacher sparks the interest of the learners. It is important that the activities will motivate them to think on how things work. Additional activities that will let them experience the concepts at hand must be devised by the teacher since this is one good way of presenting the lesson to the students. It is because according to Kolb, we engage in abstract conceptualization or create generalization or principles that integrate the observation into sound theories because of reflected observation. The statement, “The activities helped me to retain and recall the lesson in biology,” got a mean score of 4.23. This tells us that when students are involved in the lesson it creates an invisible connection between the learners and the concept at hand. Such findings are complimented by constructivists which claimed that as students learn they do not simply memorize or take on others perception of reality, instead they create their own meaning and understanding. It is therefore important that teachers must do something with the prior knowledge of the students and ensure that the transfer of knowledge is not only done in a passive way. The findings also support Kolb who claimed that without integration students are just passive participants in the teaching-learning process and it does not engage the higher brain functions or stimulate teacher’s lessons into their existing schemes. The statement “Learning biology is more challenging with the use of activities,” got a mean score of 4.13. It is therefore important that learners should be constantly challenged with task that refers to skills and knowledge just beyond their current level of mastery. The researcher believes that when students are challenged it invites them to participate more in the lesson, and therefore will gain more mastery in the topic. 61 The statement “It encouraged m to think critically,” got a mean score of 3.95. Constructivist claims that the experience and reflection taught more than any more than any manual or lecture ever could. Moreover, Conner opined that our senses are the gateway to information, yet we ultimately learn by doing. Therefore, more learning can be gathered if the teachers will design activities which promote the involvement of the students. Moreover, Conner suggested that to be effective learners it is important to perceive information and reflect on how it will impact some aspect of life, and compare if it fits into students expectations and think about how the information offers new ways for learners to act. Newmann claimed that compared to the work of the students in scholl, which often seems contrive and superficial, the intellectual accompishments meaningful. Moreover authentic intellectual work involves original application of knowledge and skills, rather than just routine use of facts anf procedures. They contended that successful construction of knowledge is best learned through a variety og experience that call for this kind of cognitive work, not by explicitly teaching a set of discrete thinking skills. Constructing knowledge alone is not enough. The mere fact that someone has constructed rather than reproduced a solution to a problem is no guarantee that the solution is adequate or valid.(Common Standards for Rigor and Relevance in Teaching Academic subjects. Fred M. Newmann et al, M. Bruce King and Dana L. Carmichael. Iowa Department of Education, 2007) The statement “The lesson become simplier with the use of authentic learning tasks got a mean of 4.38. this support the claim of Herrington that there is need for strategies to support and encourage learners in what are sometimes unfamiliar and discomforting. Activities are an important element in the learning design process. He continues that authentic learning settings appear to provide support in the intial stages of learning, enabling students to experience suspension of disbelief through intial difficulties. Moreover, the findings supports Chamber in claiming that when students are actively involved in the learning process they gain invaluable learning experience which will help them face real world problems with confidence. 62 The result supports the idea that in real-world authenticity the materials and activities of the learning environment reflect or recreate some aspect of the real world outside of the school ( or outside of the learning environment). The idea is that people should learn by doing the same kinds of things that they will do in real life outside of the environment in which learning styles take place. There is therefore a need to provide the students with activities which is a direc reflection of the real world environment. Such environment should involve the students to ensure that maximum learning would take place. The researcher suggest that there should have another study which would aim to compile learning activities or device tools which uses authentic learning approach. Such move will help the teachers in using such approach in the classroom environment because the teachers that tool in making their classroom environment more authentic.( Journal of Interactive Learning research-) David Williamson Shaffer. Thick Aithenticity: New Media and Authentic Learning) The statement “ I am more comfortable to learn with activities,” got a mean of 4.60. This only proves that Lao et al is correct in claiming tha the bonus incentive in using Authentic Learning Tasks was effective in motivating students. There is indeed direct relationship between improved interest and high performance. It also complements Lombardi who claimed that educators consider learning by doing as the best to learn but for decades, implementing authentic learning tasks has been difficult but the returns of using such strategy is great. The statement “ It improves my self-confidence got a mean of 4.05. It was ecplained by Frey that the task of the teacher is to provide the students with activitis in the classroom which has real world application, making the classroom as venue of activities in the classroom. Moreover, the findings alo upported the conclusion that when learning becomes entertaining and less fastidious pupils does not only improve their knowledge but also have fun. It is therefore safe to say that authentic learning tasks are good instructional strategy as well as good assessment. 63 The statement “ authentic tasks brings me a worthwhile learning in biology” got a mean of 4.40 which supports the study of Berge et al that using authentic cases appeared functional o prepapre the students in academic practices. The characteristics of ALT that improves the multiple levels of interactivity, encompassing issues of context content,understanding, knowledge and problem solving engages learners and enable them to gain control if the learning process. Moreover, Abrol concludrd that to be in a competitive global job market the students of today must become comfortable with the complexities of ill-defined real world problems. Thus, it is important that students are more exposed to learning tasks so they will be comfortable in facing real-world problems in the future. Authentic assessment presumes that students will produce something that reflecs not a narrow. compartmentalized repetition of what was presented to them, but an integrated scholarship which connects their learning housed in other disciplines and which is presented in a setting consistent with that in which the learning is likely to be the most useful in the future. While multiple choice tests could measure what the students are learning, it is just an abstract representation of what the students are learning. The teacher will not be able to measure the skills acquired if there is not enough authentic assessment were given to the students. The researcher suggest that multiple choice type of test and paper and pencil tests should be used to measure the pre- requisite knowledge of the students and use authentic assessment to validate the learning acquired by the students. Audrey C. Rule made a clear explanation of the result in his study. He found out that many recent instructional theories focus on authentic tasks that help learners integrate needed knowledge, skills and attitudes, coordinate individual skills that comprise a complex task, and transfer their school learning to life or work settings. Approaches that focus on such authentic tasks include project-based learning, the case method, problem-based learning, cognitive apprenticeship, situated learning, constructive learning environments, collaborative problem solving, and goal-based scenarios. Notes 64 Newmann. Secondary Education the Key Concepts. “Authentic Assessment: Reconstructing 1 Schools for Intellectual Quality”. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.1996 Grant Wiggins and Jay Mactighe. “Understanding by Design”. Expanded Edition 2nd edition Alexandria VA ASCD, 2005 2 3 Negrite Cynthia Frey. “ Teaching and Learning MFL in the United Kingdom: Analysis of Traditional Versus Modern Resources” 4 Penelope, Eckert et al. “ The School as a Community of Engaged Learners”. Journal of Education Volume XVII No. 4. 2003 5 6 Susan E. Cooperstein and Elizabeth Kocevar-Weidinger. Beyond Active Learning: A Constructivist Approach to Learning. Emerald Group PublishingVolume 32 · Number 2 · 2004 North Dakota Teaching and Technology Iniiative. “ Authentic Learning Teaching with technology Initiative 7 Marcia Conner. “Teaching from Experience” 8 9 Dianne Chamber. Problem-based Learning and IT to Support Authentic Task in Teacher Education 10 Audrey C. Rule. Editorial: The Components of Authentic Learning . State University of New York at Oswego, Journa of Authentic Learning. 2006