Curriculum design characteristics fostering perceived authenticity: flexibility, live data, disciplinary practice structure, and culminating project¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article identifies four curriculum-level design characteristics that together fostered students' sense of authentic learning: curricular flexibility enabling pursuit of interest-aligned explorations, grounding activities in live real-time datasets, structuring lessons around core data science practices, and embedding authentic assessment in a culminating project. As the article states, "The curriculum's flexibility boosted Personal Authenticity by enabling students to pursue data exploration activities and projects that resonated with their diverse interests." Each characteristic maps to one of the four thick-authenticity dimensions.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Datasets and themes selected based on student interests identified through participatory design research
Tools supporting the full data science workflow
A rubric aligned with core data science practices for assessment

Constraints¶

Tensions exist among the four dimensions; focusing on one form of authenticity may impact another

Target Learners¶

high school students in computer science classes

Learning Goals¶

data science skills and practices
engagement through personally meaningful inquiry

Claims¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

Rotem Israel-Fishelson, David Weintrop. (2026). Authenticity in a high school data science curriculum. Education Tech Research Dev. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-026-10622-1

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`api-can-code-authenticity-design-characteristics`
`title`	`Curriculum design characteristics fostering perceived authenticity: flexibility, live data, disciplinary practice structure, and culminating project`
`description`	`The article identifies four curriculum-level design characteristics that together fostered students' sense of authentic learning: curricular flexibility enabling pursuit of interest-aligned explorations, grounding act...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-10-29`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `rotem-israel-fishelson-2026`

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