Learning sticks when it connects to the real world. Students work on authentic, discipline-specific tasks, wrestle with genuine problems, and create products for real audiences. What they learn in one place, they can use in another.
The arc has two movements. Authenticity deepens, from teacher-provided context to real-world work students help define. And ownership shifts, from the teacher framing the task to students identifying problems and audiences that matter. A practice reaches Sustaining when both hold for every student.
Evidence base: authentic and situated learning, transfer-of-learning research, project- and problem-based learning, and disciplinary literacy.
Start with the goal
Know how practitioners in the discipline work, and who the work is for.
Understand that learning matters when it transfers to real problems and audiences.
Do apply learning to authentic, unfamiliar problems and create for real audiences.
Equity and BelongingRelevance is an equity lever. Authentic work must connect to students' own communities and contexts, not only dominant-culture examples, so every student sees their world in the work.
Technology and AIAI enhances learning only through critical use and evaluation. Each practice names what that looks like. Treat outputs as drafts, check for accuracy, bias, and false agreement, decide when not to use the tool, protect your own thinking, and disclose how you used it.
Paired practices
1Real-world context
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Builds tasks from context the teacher supplies.
Builds tasks from student-centered, real-world context.
Builds tasks around authentic, discipline-specific problems.
Builds tasks that produce something used by a real-world audience.
Student
Describe how the task fits the unit.
Describe how the task connects to a real-world situation.
Describe how the task reflects what professionals do.
Name the real audience and purpose for their product.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to draft a real-world scenario, then verify it is accurate and current before using it.
- Ask AI for authentic disciplinary tasks, then check they reflect how practitioners actually work.
Student
- Use AI to research a real audience or context, then verify the facts against primary sources.
- Ask AI how a professional approaches a task, then judge whether the answer holds.
How to measureCheck the task plan for real-world context and a genuine audience; teacher-supplied context is lower, real-world audience use is Sustaining.
2Disciplinary authenticity
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Presents content for students to absorb.
Names how practitioners in the field work.
Has students use one discipline-specific tool or method.
Has students use the field's tools and methods throughout the task.
Student
Receive information about the subject.
Name how an expert in the field works.
Use one tool or method from the discipline.
Work routinely with the discipline's tools and methods.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Ask AI to outline how a professional tackles a problem, then verify with a real source.
- Use AI to surface authentic disciplinary tools, then evaluate their fit.
Student
- Use AI to learn a disciplinary method, then apply it themselves rather than have AI do it.
- Compare their work to an AI version and judge which is more authentic.
How to measureCount the discipline-specific tools or methods students actually use; none is lower, routine use is Sustaining.
3Problem framing
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Poses problems with a single known answer.
Poses problems with more than one solution.
Has students narrow or refine a given problem.
Has students identify and define the problem themselves.
Student
Solve the problem as given.
Choose among solution paths to an open problem.
Refine or narrow the problem before solving.
Define a problem worth solving themselves.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to generate several authentic problem scenarios, then select and verify the strongest.
- Ask AI to complicate a tidy problem so it better mirrors reality.
Student
- Use AI to map a problem space, then define their own question within it.
- Ask AI for the obvious framing, then push beyond it.
How to measureNote who defines the problem; a single given answer is lower, students defining the problem is Sustaining.
4Audience and purpose
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Collects work for a grade.
Has students share work with peers.
Has students present to a school or community audience.
Arranges for work to be used by a real external audience.
Student
Produce work seen only by the teacher.
Share work with classmates.
Present work to an authentic audience.
Create work used by real people for a real purpose.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to identify potential authentic audiences, then verify they are real and reachable.
- Ask AI to role-play an audience for rehearsal, then treat the feedback critically.
Student
- Use AI to research what a real audience needs, then confirm with the audience where possible.
- Use AI to simulate audience reaction, then judge what is genuinely useful.
How to measureIdentify who consumes the product; teacher-only is lower, a real external audience is Sustaining.
5Transfer to new contexts
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Assigns practice in the taught context.
Assigns practice with changed surface details.
Assigns practice in a new, unfamiliar context.
Assigns practice in an authentic real-world context.
Student
Apply learning where it was taught.
Apply it with changed details.
Apply it to an unfamiliar problem.
Transfer it to a real-world situation.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to generate near and far transfer versions of a task, then check the rigor holds.
- Ask AI for a real-world situation that requires the concept, then verify it.
Student
- Use AI to test whether their solution transfers to a new context, then verify the result.
- Ask AI to challenge their solution in an unfamiliar setting.
How to measureJudge the context distance from the taught example; same context is lower, authentic real-world transfer is Sustaining.
6Relevance to students' lives and communities
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Uses dominant-culture default examples.
Includes a few student-relevant references.
Connects most lessons to students' communities and interests.
Builds tasks around issues in students' own communities.
Student
Work with generic examples.
Point to one example that reflects their lives.
Connect lessons to their own community or interests.
Investigate an issue that matters in their community.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Ask AI for examples relevant to students' communities, then verify accuracy and avoid stereotype.
- Use AI to localize a generic task, then check it respects the community.
Student
- Use AI to research an issue in their own community, then verify with local sources.
- Ask AI to broaden whose perspectives a task includes, then evaluate the result.
How to measureScan materials and tasks for connection to students' communities; dominant-culture defaults are lower, community-rooted investigation is Sustaining.
7Interdisciplinary connection
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Keeps the task within one subject.
Notes a link to one other subject.
Designs the task to draw on two or more disciplines.
Frames the task around a real problem that crosses disciplines.
Student
Work within one subject.
Name a link to another subject.
Use two or more disciplines in the work.
Integrate disciplines as the problem requires.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to surface cross-disciplinary angles on a topic, then verify each is sound.
- Ask AI to connect the unit to another field, then check the link is real.
Student
- Use AI to find how a problem spans subjects, then verify the connections.
- Use AI to bring in another discipline, then judge its relevance.
How to measureCount the disciplines the task draws on; one subject is lower, integrated cross-disciplinary work is Sustaining.
8Craftsmanship and revision
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Accepts a single draft.
Requires one revision.
Builds in two or more critique-and-revision cycles.
Requires revision to a published, professional-quality standard.
Student
Submit one draft.
Revise once when asked.
Revise across two or more critique cycles.
Refine work to a professional-quality standard.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to model a high-quality exemplar, then verify it meets the real standard.
- Ask AI to critique a draft against criteria, then exercise your own judgment.
Student
- Use AI to pressure-test a draft against quality criteria, then revise it themselves.
- Ask AI for the average answer, then craft something better.
How to measureCount critique-and-revision cycles before the product is final; one draft is lower, revision to a professional standard is Sustaining.
Planning and setting
Design moves that set up the practices above.
Clarity of the learning goal
Every lesson opens from a clear goal. Emerging: the objective is implicit. Developing: the objective is stated. Embedded: a clear know, understand, and do is shared with success criteria. Sustaining: students can state the goal and criteria in their own words.
Authentic task design
Plans tasks anchored in real-world context, authentic disciplinary practice, and a genuine audience or purpose.
Relevance and representation audit
Reviews content so examples, problems, and texts reflect students' cultures and communities, not dominant-culture defaults.
Evidence and measurement
Each practice above carries its own measure. These are the primary evidence sources for the component as a whole.
Evidence for this component
- Unit and task plans showing real-world context and a genuine audience.
- Student products and a record of who used them.
- Student explanations of how the work connects to the discipline and real life.