May 10, 2022

As humans, we love to “strut our stuff” and show what we know. It’s in our nature. As a teacher, the best part of a project is when my students get to do just that. However, there are some methods that are more effective and transformative than others. In my experience, presenting in front of an authentic audience is the most challenging and rewarding method for students.

What Is an Authentic Audience?

According to the Possibilities for Learning, an authentic audience includes “individuals with expertise in, or closely related to, the subject of the students’ product.” An authentic audience can be your classroom, which is a great place to start. And an authentic audience can be expanded to include anyone outside of your classroom. It can include students from another class, another grade, or another school. It can be people in your neighborhood community. It can also include people you’ve never met in-person but whom you have connected with using social media. 

My Students Created Their Authentic Audiences

Recently, I posed this Essential Question to my students: “How can we balance the need for resources from the ocean with our ocean impacts?” To begin, they had…