Login
Contact Us
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
  • Home
    • Our Impact
    • How We Work
  • Products & Services
    • Student Surveys
    • Family & Staff Surveys
    • Advisory Services
  • Get Started
    • RSVP for a Webinar
    • Registration
  • Resources
    • Learning From Student and Stakeholder Voice
    • Design & Methodology
    • Success Stories
    • Research
  • About
    • Team
    • Advisory Board
    • Funders
    • History
  • News
  • Contact

Academic Challenge | Does what you learn in class help you outside of school?

Make school relevant

Why does it matter?

The question “Does what you learn in class help you outside of school?” helps educators check-in on whether or not students are being supported in making connections between their lives, the world outside school, and what they are learning in the classroom. Making learning relevant to students promotes engagement, motivation, and equity.

Back to Action Planning

It’s all about the why

Explaining why something has been put in front of students should be a part of every lesson. Caitie Meehan reflects on her experiences as a teacher and the strategies she developed to make learning meaningful to her students for Responsive Classroom.

Introduce the skill and look for a connection to students’ lives

Meehan recommends beginning by drawing on students’ own experiences and background knowledge about a topic, then connecting what students offer up to help them see the importance of what they are about to learn. Here are some more recommendations from Meehan:

Create a lesson based on personal connections

Connect a math concept to a students’ recent shopping. Choose a popular song and ask students whether or not it’s poetry. Meehan once asked a math class to create a class mall in order to teach the basics of adding, subtracting, and multiplying decimals. Each group chose a “store” in a mall” and drew pictures of products, then labeling them with a price. Connecting activities to students’ lived experiences can help them get more comfortable with a new skill, while also helping them become more invested in the outcome because there are real life implications for their learning.

Invite students to reflect

Asking students explicitly “How do you think decimals will be useful to you in class?” is another way to help students find the connection between what they are learning to their lives.

Explore sample lessons and learn more

Learn more

415-286-9538   hello@youthtruthsurvey.org

131 Steuart Street, Suite 501      San Francisco, CA 94105