Advantages and Disadvantages of Authentic Activities

Advantages 

Students are provided an opportunity to:  

• Integrate and connect unfamiliar knowledge 
• Exposed to a variety of activities and viewpoints 
• Apply theoretical concepts to real-life situations 
• Practice task and skills 
• Collaborate with other students 
• Problem-solve 
• Exercise judgement and increase knowledge in a safe environment (Taylor, 2014)  

  Disadvantages

• Some authentic learning activities may be too time consuming or expensive to implement in the classroom on a regular basis (Ormrod, 2012). 
• Students may become frustrated if the learning activity is not well planned out and executed (Billings & Halstead, 2012). 
• Authentic activities should be used in moderation because students, most often, learn skills more effectively when separated from other activities (Ormrod, 2012).