In recent years, it has become increasingly common for researchers and educators to advocate engaging learners in authentic practices as part of their learning experiences. In the United States, authentic practices are central to many educational standards documents. For example, the National Geographic Standards argue that “students should be given the opportunity to ask geographic questions, acquire geographic information, organize geographic information, analyze geographic information, and answer geographic questions” (Geography Education Standards Project, 1994, p. 47). These are the same tasks that geographers and others who use geographic knowledge perform in the course of their professional practice. Similarly, the National Science Education Standards state, “Students at all grade levels and in every domain of science should have the opportunity to use scientific inquiry and develop the ability to think and act in ways associated with inquiry …” (National Research Council, 1996, p. 10).

The arguments for engaging learners in authentic practices tend to focus on three benefits. First, learning to participate in a particular practice may be valuable to a population of students because they will engage in that practice outside of the learning environment. Second, engaging learners in authentic practices can provide a meaningful context that may increase their motivation to learn and may improve their learning of content by focusing their attention in ways that will enhance their ability to apply what they have learned in the future (Edelson, 2001; Kolodner et al., 2003; Rivet, 2003).