The Power of Authenticity: Motivating Students with Meaningful Audiences

Join educators Laura Bradley, Kate Fox, and Jennifer von Wahlde as they discuss the ways they have been supporting students by finding authentic audiences and making connections outside their classrooms that are meaningful beyond the standard audience of one, the teacher. As LRNG Innovators Challenge grantees, these teachers have been designing for connected learning in their contexts, exploring the power that authentic audiences have for their students’ motivations and performances. Join them to hear about what they have been discovering as well as how they have been designing this work.

Guests for this episode include:

• Christina Cantrill (host), Associate Director of National Programs, National Writing Project
• Laura Bradley, teaches 8th grade English, Design Lab and Broadcast Media at Kenilworth Junior High in Petaluma, California.
• Kate Fox, is Director of The Birch School, Rock Tavern, NY.
• Jennifer von Wahlde, teaches 10th grade English and 12th grade AP Language & Composition at Darien High School in Darien, CT.

Resources for this episode include:

• Primary blog for this show: The Power of Authenticity: Motivating Students with Meaningful Audiences  
• Student work shared:
  • vonWordites, Cre-eight-tive feed
  • student-made PSA
  • Image from Birch school (used as feature image here)
• Birch Writings
• Birch School Maker Rings
• KTV Broadcast Media website
• KTV YouTube playlist
• We Too Are Connecticut 

Image features work by Rita Lyon, a 9th grader at The Birch School. Used with permission.