ABSTRACT
Authentic teaching and learning requires a live encounter with the unexpected. Learning 21st-century skills is something that will not only help students when they get to the next grade, but also will help them in college, in their career, and in life. In the real world, tasks are almost always performance-based assessment. Utilizing student interests is an easy way for students to make real-world connections. Students have all sorts of experiences they bring with them to school, and connecting them to what is being taught can be very valuable. One way to have students participate in a professional learning network is to bring in outside experts to evaluate the final product. A great way to both make a lesson authentic and have students see the context of how it fits into the real world is to have the students create the lesson themselves.
