One of my goals as a teacher is to be able to provide my students with realistic projects that support authentic learning. I want my students to know how it feels to explore real world situations and create projects to simulate real-world conditions. I learned in my undergraduate coursework that research project-based instruction is anchored in the real world. So, what better way to fuel students' interests than with an authentic research project!

Authentic research projects go beyond the traditional pen and pencil project, students have to think about a topic, then research the topic, decide on the project, and then present the project. When students are writing about their project they are writing for an audience, not just their teacher. Students then use the internet to gather the information about something they are interested in with a variety of problem solving tasks that give students the freedom to generate projects and the impact of that project in real world environments. When students are net working with other students and writing on a topic that is of interest to them, then they are communicating for a clear purpose and become eager writers as well.

This type of research project also reaches into all the learning styles of students. Whether you are a visual learner, kinesthetic learner, or auditory learner there is a project for your students. Some projects are PowerPoints, making photo albums, building a car model, posters, writing a song, chant, simple machine, map, plant a garden, experiments, and it goes on and on.

Now that I researched the data about incorporating authentic research projects, I feel I am ready to begin teaching my class. I would love to hear from other teachers about their authentic research projects and what worked and what did not work and any other advice you have to offer. I look forward to hearing from all of you.