Relevance

Too many students see education as something that happens to them • Externally - they fail to see its relevance in their lives • Internally - they never understand how they learn nor develop the skills to monitor their progress


 * Relevance **...relates to student interests and needs, real-world situations and contexts, and is linked to a global economy and democratic life

Applicability of what is taught by schools to the needs and interests of students and society.
 * Relevance **...a possible definition:

Relevant learning is interdisciplinary and contextual. It requires students apply core knowledge, concepts or skills to solve real-world problems.
 * Relevance **...another definition to consider:

__**Building Relevance in the Classroom:**__ (Schlechty, Working on the Work, p.20-21) Schlechty Center

What students are to learn is usually not subject to negotiation, but they have considerable choice and numerous options in what they will do and how they will go about doing those things in order to learn.
 * Choice**

The range of tasks, products, and exhibitions is wide and varied, and the technologies that students are encoureaged to employ are varied as well, moving from the simplest and well understood (for example, a pen and a piece of paper) to the most complex (for example, sphisticated computer applications).
 * Novelty and Variety**

The tasks students are assigned and the work they are encouraged to udnertake have meaning and significance in thier lives now and are related to consequences to which they attach importance.
 * Authenticity**

Teachers and support personnel (for example, Media Specialists) generally endeavor to ensure that the media, material, books, and visuals used to present informatiuon, propositions, ideas, and concepts to students are organized in ways that are most likely to appeal to the personal interests and aesthetic sensibilities of the largest possible number of students and to ensure as well that students have the skills needed to use these materials.
 * Organization of Knowledge**

· The acquisition of knowledge in one discipline- to the application of that knowledge in real-world unpredictable situations- represents a continuum of **relevance** on the rigor/relevance framework. · A teacher who asks students to create authentic projects or solve real-world problems is teaching at a higher level of **relevance** than a teacher who asks students to complete worksheets, take notes, or write vocabulary definitions in order to learn the content. · In order for new information to make sense to a learner, the teacher must either **hook the information** to something that the student already knows, or create a new experience with them. · **Rote rehearsal** occurs when a learner practices a skill or set of information over and over again, in the same way that it was taught. · **Elaborative Rehearsal** occurs when a learner practices a skill or set of information in a variety of ways, beyond the way in which it was taught.
 * __Something to Think About:__**

The measure of rigor and relevance. Ask students to ask themselves and answer these questions during a lesson, task, activity. 1. What is the **purpose** of this lesson? 2. Why is this **important** to learn? 3. In what ways am **I challenged to think** in this lesson? 4. How will **I apply, assess, or communicate** what I’ve learned? 5. How will **I know how good my work is** and how **I can improve it**?
 * __Something Else to Think About:__**

Students can answer... ** 1. I understand how this information or skill has some application in life. 2. I have an opportunity to construct my own understanding rather than just learn “the facts.” 3. In addition to learning content and skills, I am learning how to learn.
 * __Relevance in Action: __

**__Rigor/Relevance Framework:__** Rigor (Level of Critical Thinking) as the Y Axis, Relevance (Level of Application Outside of the Discipline) as the X Axis:

From: [] · Instruction and/or assessment that requires high rigor and high relevance would fall into the D Quadrant of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. · Instruction and/or assessment that requires low rigor and low relevance would fall into the A Quadrant of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. · Instruction and/or assessment that requires high rigor but low relevance would fall into the C Quadrant of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. · Instruction and/or assessment that requires low rigor but high relevance would fall into the B Quadrant of the Rigor/Relevance Framework.
 * __More information about the Rigor/Relevance Framework:__**