In teaching philosophy or pedagogy approach, which is better: "authentic" learning or "didactic" pedagogy? As good arguments are made by proponents of each, I think one could argue that both have an important and valuable place in education and the profession of teaching.

While most adults are quite familiar with the didactic sytle of teaching and learning where the teacher in a course lectures and assigns homework to be performed outside of the classroom by the student, the authentic learning model is less understood.

Wikipedia defines Authentic Teaching/Learning as follows: "an instructional approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner."[1] To contrast, the Didactic Method is defined as: "a teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style to present information to students."[2]

Newman, Marks and Gamoran (1995) as cited by Scott Noon (Authentic Pedagogy: Standards That Boost Performance, n.d.)[3], cites a paper where the value of "active-learning" techniques is emphasized where students "take part in small group discussions and cooperative learning exercises" and "conduct independent studies" and where "their assignments take them out of the classroom to conduct community-based projects, such as oral histories, surveys or service learning programs". It's clear the writers see major advantages of learning which actively involves students.

The Glossary of Education Reform on the subject of Authentic Learning goes even farther when it says it "refers to a wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications." The paper states the idea is that students will be more interested and therefore more motivated in what they are learning, leading to the development of new skills, better preparing students for college, careers, and adulthood. [4]

But what I find most appealing is the application of both methods of teaching and learning where all kinds of learners with all kinds of backgrounds and experiences can enjoy benefits. Kanatzis & Cope do an excellent job of explaining potential pros and cons of each approach to teaching & learning on their Works & Days, Literacies webpage, https://newlearningonline.com/literacies, chapters 4 & 5.

Which is better, Authentic or Didactic? Depending on the learning audience, subject matter, background and experiences, one might be better than another. But overall, I believe each style has its place in education and, possibly, in most coursework.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_learning

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didactic_method

3. https://www.studentachievement.org/coaches-downloads/authentic-pedagogy

4. https://www.edglossary.org/authentic-learning/