Two-Column Notes

Date:
Name:
10/26/16 Erin Bramley

Class/Subject:
EDTL 2760: Introduction to Teaching Social
Studies

Topic or Chapter
Five Standards of Authentic Instruction by Fred M. Newmann and Gary G. Wehlage
Newmann, F.M., & Wehlage, G.G. (1993). Five standards of authentic instruction. Educational
Leadership, 50 (7), 8-12.
Page #

The Text Says

I Say

Notes (key concepts, direct quotes, etc.)

My notes, commentary

Authentic vs. inauthentic instruction or

education
Authentic instruction as defined by the
authors;
(1) students construct meaning and
produce knowledge, (2) students use
disciplined inquiry to construct meaning,
and (3) students aim their work toward
production of discourse, products, and
performances that have value or meaning
beyond success in school.

Authentic instruction engages all students

through meaningful, advancing work. Every
aspect of the lesson/activity connects to
students lives in meaningful, impactful ways.
The students should know WHY they are doing
what they are doing. On the opposite of that,
inauthentic instruction reminds me of busy work
and useless videos. Obviously, one side is easier
for teachers, but another side is more rewarding
for both the students and the educator.

Higher-order thinking (HOT) requires

students to manipulate information and
ideas in ways that transform their meaning
and implications, such as when students
combine facts and ideas in order to
synthesize, generalize, explain,
hypothesize, or arrive at some conclusion
or interpretation. Manipulating information
and ideas through these processes allows
students to solve problems and discover
new (for them) meanings and
understandings. When students engage in
HOT, an element of uncertainty is
introduced, and instructional outcomes are
not always predictable.

Higher-order thinking is an aspect that

instructors need to develop during lesson
planning. If you connect essential questions to
your lessons, this aspect of authentic instruction
might be easier to achieve. We are asking
students to connect their knowledge, to
synthesize, and reflect, to manipulating
information as a way to process the world
around them.
My issue with higher-order thinking, as a
student, is uncertainty. I hated not knowing the
answer or worse, having a vague answer, drove
me insane. But, that was something that I had
to overcome. Higher education comes with
uncertainty. As a teacher, this is an important
lesson to communicate to the students.
Sometimes we do not know all the answers, and
sometimes the answers are not what we wanted
to hear. But that doesnt make the questions
any less important. We just have to search for
the knowledge to be able to answer the
question or, at the very least, contribute to the
conversation.

Connectedness to the World:

A lesson gains in authenticity the more
there is a connection to the larger social
context within which students live.

Meaningful instruction is important in order to

connect and engage with students. It also helps
build strong relationships and an authentic
environment within the classroom. I think a goal
of all instructors is to connect learning to life. I
Substantive Conversation:
believe that education is not a preparation for
There is considerable interaction about the life, education is part of life. There is no real
ideas of a topic (the talk is about disciplined world outside of the classroom, because the
subject matter and includes indicators of
classroom is part of the real world. Therefore,
higher-order thinking such as making
education is not a goal but a process.
distinctions, applying ideas, forming
Also, education is a lens in which students can
generalizations, raising questions, and not
understand the world. I connect social studies
just reporting experiences, facts,
instruction, specifically, to current events in the
definitions, or procedures).
community, country, and world. There is always
Sharing of ideas is evident in exchanges
a connection that can be made, and it helps
that are not completely scripted or
students become more informed about the
controlled (as in a teacher-led recitation).
Sharing is best illustrated when participants world in which they live.
explain themselves or ask questions in
In my field placement, the students watch CNN
complete sentences and when they
Student News clips each class to keep them up
respond directly to comments of previous
to date on current events. In each class that I
speakers.
have observed, the students have found a way
to connect the stories from the news to the
topic of the lesson. That helps the students
understand the concept in practice in the world
around them.

One of the key aspects of this reading that jumped out at me were the authors use of rhetorical
questions in the writing. This brings me back to our discussion on essential questions in the classroom or in
the construction of authentic lessons. Sometimes, questions are too complex to have a black and white
correlating answers. Sometimes, the questions cannot even be answered and thats why they are still
addressed today (ex: why do we study history?) I think some of the questions that the authors propose in

this piece cannot be answered, only attempted. Education is a complex web of ideas, practices, and
personality. Thats part of the reason that there are MOVEMENTS in education. I am thinking of a Language
Arts example: teaching grammar outside of writing and teaching grammar within writing. Both of these
approaches to grammar instruction have dominated education at one point or another, and every few
years, the pendulum swings back causing the popular approach to fall under the other. The same thing has
happened in the content of Social Studies with the attempt to eliminate Social Studies instruction from
curriculum.
Many of the readings we have addressed throughout this course highlight the importance of
authentic instruction for students. That was evident in our discussion on essential questions, democracy in
the classroom, the importance of social studies, and the content of Social Studies instruction. I think that
can extend beyond Social Studies and apply to all subjects in a students education. The bottom line is that
whatever we teach, we need to be authentic with our students. If they see that we are not 100% invested
in their learning, the lesson, them as people, or the content, then we have failed as instructors. But, if we
are invested in our students and in our teaching, then authentic instruction will become second nature.