Expert performances - element 3 of authentic learning

Here we deal with the greatest advantage technology can afford students. This element refers to access to expert thinking and the modelling of processes. For authentic learning to take place students should be able to have access to experts in the field of the topic the are required to study. It is pointed out that this should not always primarily be the educator. The experts should also be at different levels for the students to be able to benefit from various perspectives. An issue at school level is that the students do not always realise that they can easily access knowledge from other students in higher grades. Students tend to rely heavily on the teacher as the only person with the experience and knowledge they are seeking (Herrington, 2011).

Further than this is the fact that students can with little effort communicate with experts in a relevant field with the aid of technological platforms such as skype, email and discussion forms. These platforms might have to be monitored and done with adult supervision, however they are resources the educator should think of making available to students (Herrington, 2011).

Students should also have opportunities to sharing their experiences. This could be with respect to various aspects. They might share what they have learnt from talking to experts or even share their personal challenges to access expert insight. It is very important than the students have opportunities to communicate and interact with various experts as this different insight for various fields might deliver different knowledge to the students (Herrington, 2011).

Reference: Herrington, J. (2011, September 30). Authentic learning 3: EXPERT PERFORMANCE [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/liPIpI8IGMs