Authentic Training Activities

Tom Reeves and his associates have conducted remarkable research in the area of authentic training activities. Here’s a checklist based on their work. You could this checklist to evaluate and modify your training materials and methods to make sure that they reflect the real world.

1.     Authentic activities have real-world relevance. These activities reflect what professionals do on their jobs.

2.     Authentic activities are ill-defined. The problems presented to the participants cannot be solved by the simple application of a step-by-step procedure or formula. The participants must break down the problem into tasks and sub-tasks to solve it.

3.     Authentic activities require the participants to spend a lot of time in exploring and solving problems. Truly authentic activities will require days, weeks, and months rather than minutes or hours.

4.     Authentic activities provide the opportunity for the participants to examine the task from different perspectives. The activities will require the participants to use a variety of viewpoints and resources rather than use a single theory or model.

5.     Authentic activities provide opportunities to collaborate. The activities (and their real-world counterparts) require teamwork among the participants.

6.     Authentic activities provide the opportunity to reflect and involve the participants’ beliefs and values. These activities require the participants to make informed choices and provide ample challenges for reflection and discussion.

7.     Authentic activities are integrated and applied across different subject areas. As in the real world, these activities encourage a cross-functional approach that requires the participants to play different roles.

8.     Authentic activities are seamlessly integrated with assessment. The activities incorporate real world performance assessment, rather than artificial paper-and-pencil tests.

9.     Authentic activities create useful products valuable in their own right rather than as preparation for something else. The activity result in ready-to-use products instead of artificial objects.

10.  Authentic activities allow competing solutions and diversity of outcomes. The activity permits different unique and creative solutions, rather than a single correct answer based on the application of predefined rules and procedures.