Understanding Authentic Learning

Students often perceive a profound disconnect betweenwhat they learn in class and what is meaningful intheir everyday life. The Authentic Learning constructwas developed to bridge this gap. Initiallyformulated only within the social Situated Learningapproach, Authentic Learning was ill-defined incognitive terms. Using classical cognitive works andrecent neuroscience findings, characteristic featuresof cognitive authenticity are presented.Specifically, n-coding (i.e. simultaneous encoding ofmultimodal input: verbal, visual, kinesthetic, social...) is posited as a central cognitive characteristicof authenticity. A study presented tests and showsthe effectiveness of providing optimal n-codingopportunities in learning environments. Since eachlearning paradigm (eg. social or cognitive) hassevere limitations, a unified approach to Learning isdeveloped. Unification is proposed by modelizingLearning as a self-similar (i.e. fractal) process.Indeed, the Learning process is shown to bestrikingly self-similar on the neural, cognitive andsocial scales. This fractal model yields initialpredictions and provides exciting possibilities forfuture research.

Nathaniel Lasry is a faculty member at the Center for the Studyof Learning and Performance, a physics professor at John AbbottCollege and an associate at the School of Engineering and AppliedSciences at Harvard University. Understanding Authentic Learningis based on Dr Lasry's innovative work in Cognition & Instruction.