Re: Authenticity in education

Cary Larson-McKay (Cary_Larson-McKay who-is-at firstclass1.csubak.edu)
Tue, 1 Jun 1999 14:31:10 -0700

I have a question, or more accurately a request. I am currently
working on a project where we are using metaphors as a teaching
approach....metaphors to explain content, answer questions, and as
examples to focus student attention on the topic at hand. One of the
things that I have noticed is the student small groups in this class
have approached the experience as a problem to be solved and the groups
are far more successful at supporting each other and helping the
members use the information content to then produce a product. The
students are creating a very rich context for the memory and use of the
information related to this class. And, because each student is
creating a personalized understanding of the content, students that
traditionally have a very difficult time with this class (students who
use English as a second or subsequent language) are doing better than
expected.

As you might imagine the discussion of the last few weeks has beem very
useful and stimulating....Any ideas on how to extend and support this
project with an eye to PBL?

Thanks to everyone for an interesting source of input....

Cary