DisruptED TV Magazine
Designing Instruction for the Future with Authentic Learning Opportunities
By Phil Strunk
Once upon a time, there was a school. In this school, students regularly accessed technology. They completed online worksheets, typed essays, and created PowerPoints.
Tell me… Does this school exist in the 1990s or 2018? The unfortunate answer is “both”.
As a student, I completed countless posters, collages, dioramas, and fruit models. However, I can honestly say I remember nothing from them except that grapefruit works great as a replica sun. How will our students explore the heavens, cure diseases, promote freedom, revolutionize industry, or establish an era of prosperity if we continue to rely on activities of the past over designs of the future?
This past year allowed me to engage in multiple opportunities to empower my students. I stopped settling for how I was taught, and started working toward what my students need. To teach the Roaring Twenties, I had my students build websites to educate potential museum visitors about the themes of the era. Concluding the project, I provided space for my students to reflect on the task. One student worded part of her reflection powerfully, and anytime I talk to people about the task, I tell her words, “I liked this project…
