Designing a module for authentic learning in upper secondary technology education

According to the Swedish upper secondary curriculum (Skolverket, n.d.), the subject of technology should allow students to develop entrepreneurial skills, defined as supporting curiosity, confidence, creativity and courage, resulting in the ability to act, in innovation and problem solving. Beghetto and Kaufman’s (2014) view of creative learning includes, “having students identify a need and work collaboratively with each other and outside experts to develop a creative solution for that need will help them creatively and meaningfully use what they have learned in the classroom” (p. 65). This kind of learning is related to the notion of authentic learning. Herrington and Parker (2013) define authenticity by nine key elements, namely, authentic context, authentic task, presence of expert performances, multiple perspectives, collaboration, reflection, articulation, metacognitive support and authentic assessment. The aim of this study is to map key elements of authentic learning onto the development of a five-week innovation project for implementation in a Swedish upper secondary school context. Following design and a first round of module implementation, a subsequent pilot study has deployed written questionnaire and semi-structured interview methods to investigate students’ opinions of the authenticity of the module and its outcomes. The paper also presents some early findings from this pilot study.