Math, Science and Technology

Lesson 6

Authentic Assessment: Methodologies in Mathematics

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the student should be able to:
1. Define Authentic teaching, Pedagogy and Assessment
2. Identify and Describe the modes of authentic assessment in mathematics
3. Explain the Characteristics of Authentic Learning Environment

Introduction
In the 21st century, the rapid change of information and communication technology has
changed curriculum and instruction in some countries. In Indonesia, Indonesian government has
changed Curriculum 2004 into New Curriculum 2013. The purpose is to improve the
effectiveness of teaching learning quality with the increase and balance of soft skills and hard
skills that include aspects of attitudes, skills and knowledge competency. The emphasis of the
change focused on the graduate competency standard, the process, the content and the
assessment standard. The assessment standard is shifted from assessment through test (product
based) into authentic assessment (to measure all competencies attitude, skills and knowledge
based on the process and product in competency-based assessment (Kemendikbud, 2012). The
assessment now is based on the process, the output and the students‘ ability to do self -
evaluation. Authentic assessment requires students to construct unique responses and focuses
student activity on complex higher order thinking skills. So, it provides many benefits for
promoting deeper, more engaged learning. It responses the demand of external stakeholders for
universities to offer more relevant experiences that enhance graduate employability including the
development of authentic graduate capabilities. It also helps students rehearse for the complex
ambiguities and unpredictable challenges and roles of working and professional life. (Mueller,
2008)
As the consequent of the technology development, the New Curriculum 2013 has
recommended to integrate ICT to become media in teaching and learning of all subjects at
secondary school level (Kemendikbud, 2012). With the change of teaching and learning process
into ―scientific approach‖ has impact on how the assessment must be done. The challenge now
is how to prepare teachers with authentic assessment and to implement it on student learning
using technology.
Based on the aforementioned background above, the main focus of writing this article is
to briefly explain about the concept and characteristic of authentic assessment and its
implementation in learning use technology in the mathematics classroom. The discussion is
connected to the 21st century teaching, learning and assessment and preparing teachers to teach
with technology. It also gives example of the implementation of authentic assessment in learning
mathematics using technology, specifically dynamic software Autograph.

Authentic Learning/Teaching/Assessment
Authentic Learning
Revington (writes authentic learning is real life learning. It is a style of learning that
encourages students to create a tangible, useful product to be shared with their world. Authentic
learning engages all the senses allowing students to create a meaningful, useful, shared outcome.
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They are real life tasks, or simulated tasks that provide the learner with opportunities to connect
directly with the real world. In an authentic learning model the emphasis is mainly on the quality
of process and innovation. It's about developing a set of culminating skills sets, within a realistic
timeline, using self-motivated inquiry methods to create a useful product to be shared with a
specific audience.
a. The Characteristics of Authentic Learning Environments
Rule (2006) writes that authentic learning is a relatively new term that describes
learning through applying knowledge in real-life contexts and situations. The term
authentic learning is broad and has not been applied to a specific instructional model. He
explains the four themes supporting authentic learning experience are:
1. An activity that involves real-world problems and that mimics the work of
professionals; the activity involves presentation of findings to audiences beyond
the classroom.
One component of authentic learning is that it targets a real problem and
that students‘engagement holds the possibility of having an impact outside the
classroom.
2. Use of open-ended inquiry, thinking skills and meta-cognition. For authentic
learning, students must exercise higher levels of thinking, according to this. For
example, learning in mathematics should occur through discovery, inquiry and
induction. Instead of math problems that require that students merely apply a
known procedure, authentic mathematical tasks require solvers to use different
representations in their solutions and to work with realistic and complex
mathematical data.
3. Students engage in discourse and social learning in a community of
learners. A community of learners can be a group of learners working together to
unravel a problem or refer to the community setting in which the project is based.
4. Students direct their own learning in project work. Instruction can be
personalized by allowing the learner to choose from the rich variety of pathways.

To implement this kind of model in our classroom is to consider it as a kind of

framework for planning, whether at the unit, lesson, or activity level. The big idea of all learning
then may start with knowing, which leads to valuing, which informs action in relevant and
authentic communities. The teacher is the critical ingredient in the whole process of authentic
learning, teaching, and assessment.
Rule (2006) writes the successful "authentic teacher" must:
 know how to assess students' strengths and weaknesses and design lessons
accordingly.
 know how to guide students to build upon their prior knowledge in a reasonably
organized fashion by asking rich questions and providing rich resources for
students
to utilize in their acquisition of knowledge.
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 be the nurturer of the process as students view new information and assimilate
their understanding.
 be creative about how student learning experiences can be broadened through
sharing with the world outside the school walls.

b. Authentic Learning Supported by Technology

Classroom mathematics teachers have started thinking on how to use technology in their
class, in order to engage students in meaningful and immersive learning environments, and also
to enable students to use and experience with technology as a powerful-cognitive tools.
However, what often happens now is that the teacher is the only one to use the technology,
usually in the form of exposition of content, such as in PowerPoint presentations or alternatively,
the focus sometimes rests solely on the technology itself, rather than on the knowledge, content
and processes of the subject area. However, as noted by Churchill (2005) ‗technology amplifies
our intellectual and physical capacity‘(p. 347), and in this context, technology can play an
integral role in supporting higher order learning.
Jonassen (2000) has argued that computer technologies, when used as cognitive tools or
mindtools, represent a departure from traditional thinking about technologies, and also
technologies can be used by students as ‗intellectual partners, and as tools to analyze and
interpret their understanding. Moreover, Jonassen (1994) contended: ‗Students cannot use
[cognitive] tools without thinking deeply about the content that they are learning, and if they
choose to use these tools to help them learn, the tools will facilitate the learning process‘.
Teachers implement curriculum plans, that include methods and strategies for applying
technology to maximize student learning. As facilitators, teachers:
1. facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and
Student technology standards;
2. use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse
needs of students;
3. apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity;
4. manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment.

Authentic Teaching/Pedagogy
Pedagogy means the profession, science, or theory of teaching. How we teach must
reflect how our students learn. It must also reflect the world our students will move into. This is a
world which is rapidly changing, connected, adapting and evolving. Our style and approach to
teaching must emphasize the learning in the 21st century. The key features of 21st Century
Pedagogy are:
(1) Building technological, information and media fluencies,
(2) Developing thinking skills,
(3) Making use of project-based learning,
(4) Using problem solving as a teaching tool,
(5) Using 21st Century Assessments with timely, appropriate and detailed feedback and
reflection,
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(6) Using collaborative learning by enabling and empowering technologies, and

(7) Fostering contextual learning bridging the disciplines and curriculum areas.
Authentic Pedagogy was first defined as instruction and assessment which promoted
authentic student achievement. It is often involving long-term projects, usually done in groups,
about difficult issues that require some complex written or oral final presentation. Authentic
teaching occurs when the teacher utilizes information about how students learn and designs
learning experiences or tasks based upon this knowledge. Curriculum reformation in
mathematics education in Indonesia since 2004/2006 has been focused in student centered rather
than teacher-centered, problem solving approach, and using context and collaborative in teaching
learning. Curriculum 2013 has been advocating a shift to use ―scientific approach‖ in which
students are actively engaged in the discovery or "construction" of their own knowledge.
Students should not only learn basic skills, but incorporate those skills into tasks requiring
complex thinking and in-depth knowledge which is then used to solve problems and create actual
products. With scientific approach, disciplined inquiry occurs when students hypothesize by
stating questions and determining resources necessary for task completion. Beyond formulating
ideas, students explore and evaluate information, then synthesize to create examples, which
illustrate their understanding of the problem. With this approach, both teachers and students have
responsibility for what occurs. Students know what they want to learn, have flexible time
parameters, and are responsible for staying on task. Teachers use multiple teaching strategies and
maintain an environment of ongoing questions and analysis as they learn with their students.

Authentic Assessment
a. What is Authentic Assessment?
Authentic assessment is a form of assessment that is as close to student's reality as
possible. It must also have a practical performance criterion, which measures what the tasks set
out to do. Mueller and Stiggins defined authentic assessment as follows:
“ A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate
meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills”(Mueller, 2007)

"Performance assessments call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and
competencies, that is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered." (Stiggins, 1987, p.
34).

The aim of authentic assessment is to assess many different kinds of literacy abilities in contexts
that closely resemble actual situations in which those abilities are used. Both the material and the
assessment tasks look as natural as possible. Furthermore, authentic assessment values the
thinking behind work, the process, as much as the finished product (Pearson & Valencia, 1987;
Wiggins, 1989; Wolf, 1989).

b. Why Use Authentic Assessment?

Mueller (2008) writes 4 reasons why use authentic assessment :
1. Authentic Assessments are Direct Measures
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When students graduate, we want them to be able to use the acquired knowledge
and skills in the real world. So, our assessments have to also tell us if students can apply
what they have learned in authentic situations. Authentic assessments will provide the
most direct evidence of the students‘ acquire knowledge.

2. Authentic Assessments Capture Constructive Nature of Learning

Research on learning have found that students need to construct their own
meaning of the world, using information they have gathered and were taught and their
own experiences with the world. Thus, assessments must also be asked to demonstrate
that students have accurately constructed meaning about what they have been taught.

3. Authentic Assessments Integrate Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Authentic assessment encourages the integration of teaching, learning and
assessing In the authentic assessment model, the same authentic task used to measure the
students' ability to apply the knowledge or skills is used as a vehicle for student learning.

4. Authentic Assessments Provide Multiple Paths to Demonstration

Authentic tasks tend to give the students more freedom in how they will
demonstrate what they have learned. By carefully identifying the criteria of good
performance on the authentic task ahead of time, the teacher can still make comparable
judgments of student performance even though student performance might be expressed
quite differently from student to student.
In assessing students‘ mathematical performance through authentic contexts, teacher
must use examples considered to be meaningful for the students. Authentic Assessment goes
beyond simple recall of information to complex displays of student ability to communicate,
process, apply, and construct knowledge. Examples of authentic assessments include
performances which require students to make analogies, explain, exemplify, and generalize
information. They also include exhibitions of student products that convey high levels of
competence. True authentic assessment must include student self-evaluation, using teacher
prepared rubrics, or some other tool, to guide the student's assessment. Authentic assessment
must provide the student with information about how well they are learning and what areas need
improvement.

c. How to Create Authentic Assessments?

As has been mentioned before, in authentic assessment students are asked to perform
real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills. To
create authentic assessment, Mueller ( 2008) writes four steps:
(1) Identify the Standards (Basic Competency),
(2) Select an Authentic Task;
(3) Identify the Criteria for the Task ;
(4) Create the Rubric
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For each criterion, identify two or more levels of performance along which students can
perform which will sufficiently discriminate among student performance for that criterion. The
combination of the criteria and the levels of performance for each criterion will be your rubric
for that task (assessment).

The modes of authentic assessment for mathematics could be of the form:

 Problem-based learning (PBL) uses real world problems and tasks in which a team of
students,
over an extended period of time, evaluate what they know and what they need to learn in order to
gain necessary capacities to generate a response.
 Scenarios can require students to notice what is important, explain it using theoretical concepts
of the course, and plan and theoretically justify an intervention;
 Portfolios require that students understand and internalize the learning outcomes of a unit of
study and then plan their own set of activities that will generate validated evidence of their
performance capability and skills mastery.
 Writing a Journal article or short story for publication. This can be extended to requiring
students to form editorial panels to review the work produced and undertake the full publishing
responsibilities.
 Constructing a website to develop a public education resource and educate a community
group about a contemporary issue that the students have identified, studied and researched.
(Mueller, 2008)
Preparing Teachers to Teach and Assess with Technology
The challenge for teacher preparation programs in facing the new curriculum 2013 is to
preparing teachers to teach an integrated knowledge structure of teaching mathematics as a
subject matter, that is the intersection of knowledge of the subject matter with knowledge of
teaching and learning, or Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as characterized by Shulman
(1986). But, for technology to become an integral component or tool for learning, mathematics
teachers must also develop an overarching conception of their subject matter with respect to
technology and to teach with technology or a technology PCK (Technological Pedagogical
Content Knowledge). A variety of additional approaches for preparing teachers to teach with
technology to move toward the other end of the continuum by:
(1) integrating technology in all courses in the teacher preparation program in order to be
more supportive of the development of a technology-enhanced PCK and content specific
applications and
(2) requiring teachers to teach with technology in their classroom.
TPCK requires a consideration of multiple domains of knowledge. Teachers need a well-
developed knowledge base in their subject, the improvement of knowledge of the teaching and
learning and they learn how to integrate learning and teaching both the subject matter and
technology. Teachers implement curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for
applying technology to maximize student learning. Teachers:
(1) facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student
technology standards;
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(2) use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of
students;
(3) apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity;
(4) manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment.

Ways to Assess Student Learning Using Technology

We suggest four ways of assessing students learning using technology: (1) analysis of
worksheets, (2) observation of students‘ activities during learning processes, and (3) analysis of
saved files and printed-out Using technology, (4) Analysis of project presentation.
1 Analysis of worksheets
By analyzing students‘ worksheets, we can see students‘ understanding of concepts or
solving problems we give in the worksheets. We can check what student can and cannot do in the
worksheets. We also can give feedback to the students.
2. Observation of student‟s activities during learning processes
Teacher observes students‘ activities especially while working and the discussing with
other students. We can recognize their activities either in a prepared checklist or as an overall
opinion. For example: Showing interests in discussion, showing skillfulness in using the
technology, following the instruction carefully, communicating with fellow students, Justifying
their opinions, summarizing the content of discussing and applying it.
3. Analysis of saved files
By analyzing the process of students‘ works using the saved files we can get information
about students‘ understanding of concepts and solving problems. We also can ask students to
write down the steps they are doing while constructing the graph.
4. Analysis of project presentation
Teacher observes and analyzes students‘ presentation of the project done either by group
or individual. By analyzing the presentation e can see students‘ creativity in doing the project
using technology.
Example of Authentic Assessment in Ict Course
This paragraphs show example of using authentic assessment in ICT course in
mathematics education of college students. The title of the course is ―ICT Integration in
Teaching and Learning Mathematics‖. The activities was conducted out of/in classroom. All
students have laptop and internet connection. The activity was predicting graph of function using
Dynamic software Autograph in teaching secondary mathematics. The lecturer used strategy
Think-Talk-Write with discovery learning method. The scenario of the class activities described
below.
Grade Level : College level ( Undergraduate)
Course : Algebra
Procedure :
 Students have been trained to use Autograph in learning graph of various functions as
quadratic or trigonometric function.
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 The teacher gives students authentic tasks to do in pair using dynamic software
Autograph. The purpose is to enrich students with experience by investigating and through
real world problems dealing with graph of functions.
Activity : Students and teacher work outside of the class to create a parabolic curve:
1. Group1 squirting water from a hose with different angles.
2. Group 2 playing jumping rope with different distance among the rope holders.
One person on each group doing the activity and other people taking photos.
Student tasks (in group) :
a. To observe the photo on the laptop and predict the parabolic function formed by those
squirting water (without Autograph). Different group observes different photo of different
squirting angles or different distance of rope holders. (The Lecturer observing students in each
group)
b. Then, they predict the function (the math model). (The lecturer asking each group to write on
the board the predicted function/equation- cannot be changed)
c. Use Autograph to check their prediction as follows:
 Copy the picture to Autograph
 Enter the predicted equation into Autograph
 Check whether the equation fit to the picture in the Autograph (The lecturer checking
which group having the best prediction)
 Students discuss with their friends to make a change of the function by observing the
different between the picture and the predicted function
 Suppose students predict the function of the form: ax2 + bx + c = y Student discuss in the
group and can make change the value of a, or b, or c to a bigger or smaller number until
they get the graph exactly fit to the picture (The lecturer ask the group to record how
many changes they make until they get the correct answer and which group did the best ).

Things to do:
In a separate sheet of paper, complete the following table:
Modes of Authentic Definition / Description Sample Situation in
Assessment for Mathematics Mathematics Subject

Problem-Based Learning

Scenarios

Portfolios

Journal Article / Short Story

Website
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