Introduction
A recent study, as illustrated by
the Washington Post, evaluated whether universities should be held more
accountable. It stated that colleges have been
largely exempt from the accountability movement sweeping through public
elementary and secondary schools yielding the No Child Left Behind Act and
other initiatives. Within the article there is mention of backlash and
many themes arise such as the ambiguity of evaluating "successful"
education, and how to quantify (or qualify) what is working and what is not (De
Vise). This issue isn't so much about effective tests, or getting the right
money to the rights schools; it is essentially about the why and the what of today's
current educational system, and the why is
more important than the what in learning every time (Page).
Good evaluations and
questioning of student outcomes ultimately result from our concept of the
purpose of school. Some may see school as an institution primarily responsible
for preparing a child to enter the workforce, while others feel that attending
school should be an experience that helps facilitate citizenship, character,
critical thinking, and leadership skills among other things. Beyond these two
ways of thinking are inevitably countless others. Regardless of the perspective
of the role of education, however, it is unlikely that anyone feels children
and young people should be experiencing hours of what seems to them to be
irrelevant lecturing or instruction. And yet, with the current state of testing
and attitude of standardization--that is exactly what is happening even in the
face of overwhelming research that opposes it (Strauss). Said
author Daniel Pink, "In education systems tilted towards standardized
tests, grades, and 'if-then' rewards, students often have no idea why they're
doing what they're doing. Turn that around by helping them glimpse the big
picture. Whatever they're studying, be sure they can answer these questions:
Why am I learning this? How is it relevant to the world I live in now? Then get
out of the classroom and apply what they're studying . . . Think of it as the
fourth R: reading, writing, arithmetic and relevance" (179). It is not
only an issue for the students, however; many teachers are faced with the
challenge of addressing different needs and appeasing expectations as diverse
as uninformed parents and fearful political leaders. Relevance is essential on
all fronts.
This
fourth R that Pink introduced is more than just a current popular trend in education--it
is a scientific fact that appears time and time again in studies across the
nation to be important to effective learning. Students obtain more
knowledge and retain further information when they actively participate in the
learning process and when they can relate
to what is being taught (Akey, italics added). Relevance
is essential to learning because of how the brain takes in new information.
Teacher and writer Bill Page explains, "The brain works
by linking things to other things. Memory relies on patterns, concepts,
meaningfulness, relevance, and associations. New
knowledge must connect to previously learned, relevant, and meaningful
experiences and knowledge. Lack of meaning makes it difficult to study for and
pass tests. Students learn isolated facts only by rote memorization—relating it
to stored learning using pneumonic or memory gimmicks" (Page). Learner's brains are also impacted by the
manner in which those who are experts in a particular field share their
knowledge. In relation to what Bill Page discussed about the linking that goes
on in the long-term memory of the brain (this process is also called
"retrieval" in the literature), Ruth Colvin Clark writes about
additional challenges:
Expertise in all domains relies on
extensive patterns stored in long-term memory-- patterns
that enable experts to make much better use of the limited capacity of working memory. But sometimes those patterns
get in the way. Have you ever watched
a subject matter expert teach a class? Quite often they overload the learn ers' working memory with too much
content, with unfamiliar terms, and with lengthy
lectures. Experts just don't realize that their memories can hold and process information much more efficiently than
novices. (33-34)
Who is at
fault then? The expert teacher who is oblivious to the fact that the students'
working memory is overloaded, or the student who just can't seem to focus and
work hard in class? The answer is: neither. No one is "at fault", the
simple truth is that everyone desperately needs to be taught the basic fundamentals
of how the human brain learns new information.
Beyond the functions of the brain,
relevance in learning is often received with higher levels of satisfaction
among students than ambiguous instructional methods. While addressing
problem-based learning in the medical field, Clark asks, "What might
account for the popularity of problem-based learning? I think the main reason
is relevance. A medical student has already studied years of science and is now
focused on a career objective. By engaging with patient cases early on, the
instructional environment is more in tune with their career goals" (68).
Clark is talking about medical students, Pink is focusing on children's
education, and Page speaks merely to students in general, and they all come up
with the same connection: relevance. In this argument I too will focus on the
fourth R of education and illustrate
how this quality is the fiber that binds effective education together. Three
points make up my argument: relevance promotes engagement, relevance increases
motivation, and teachers who make relevance a priority become servant leaders
who change the world.
1. Relevance Promotes Engagement
Relevance is important for a number
of reasons; one being that it fuels engagement in learning. Why is engagement
important? Because "Only engagement can produce mastery [which means one] becomes
better at something that matters" (Pink 207). A flight instructor could
teach essential maneuvers and emergency procedures to new pilots, but unless he
or she is engaged in the learning process, the relevant material to the safety of
the aircraft and those on board could be in great jeopardy of never being
learned or executed. Academic disengagement continues to be
a problem within the U.S. school system (Crumpton & Gregory). While the reasons
for this truth are diverse and plentiful, the fact remains that the
repercussions of disengaged students generates a significant impact on society
as a whole. In studies done on low-achieving high school students, researchers are
finding that without seeing the value in education, low-achieving high school
students face the proximal risks of disengagement and low achievement, and the
more distal and debilitating risks of grade retention, dropout, restricted job
options, and low wages (Battin-Pearson et al.; Jimerson). It is inferred that
without relevance in the classrooms of America, along with students becoming
engaged in understanding how the material applies to their lives, the nation's
economy will continue on the path of frustrating mediocrity that has been at
the center of debates for nearly a decade. What can be done to increase
engagement in the classroom and thus impact the overall welfare of the
education system? Implementing the fourth R
of education is a start, and this can be done by closing the gap between what
students perceive they are learning in the classroom and what they will need
afterwards, and by using popular culture in instruction.
An important step to making education
more relevant in general is to address the
gap between what students feel they are doing
in classes and what they feel they need
to be doing to be prepared for
"the real world." Said one scholar, "One reason students fail or are disinterested is because they don't see the connection between today's lesson and what they really want to do someday. The more we can close that gap--to illustrate classroom relevance to their world--the better we can engage students and keep their interest. The prospect of
getting a job and working 40 plus hours per week for the next 40 years doesn't exactly
breed excitement in this generation (Masters, italics added). This concept of
closing the gap in the classroom does not have to be only the teacher's responsibility,
but parents and friends, civic and church leaders, and other influential adults
can take part in changing the culture of education. Scholar Rebecca Black feels
that even in areas such as fan fiction and social media there are many
opportunities for learners to develop as they engage with materials. She
explains, "It might be tempting to
dismiss activities such as fan fiction writing as leisure-time pursuits that
have little relationship to academic content . . . Lessons based on popular
culture can offer a wealth of opportunities for encouraging students to
critically engage in broader discussions about the ways that mass media
construct various cultural, gender, and social roles; promote particular
representations of the world; and position youth as consumers"(Black). Instructors
should not feel that important, evidence-based teaching methods are obsolete because
young people are getting bored. The key is to help students see the relevance
in what they are learning, and often popular culture-- something young people are
almost always fully aware of--can be the gateway to creating the desired
relevance and engagement in learning situations.
While not all scholars are embracing
"edutainment" models as effective teaching pedagogy, it is
challenging to argue that such practices do not generate engagement and thus
present students with relevance for their education. If it is something as
small as finding clever opportunities to integrate TV, movies, or pop culture
into lesson plans (Masters), teachers and trainers can connect the new
generation of students with relevant media which in turn will promote
engagement. The connection between engagement and relevance
is not a fad in educational research. A research team concluded at the end of a
study, "Drawing
connections between information taught and real life—such as everyday life, social
issues, and personal concerns of the age group of students—is highly effective
in engaging students in the lesson"(Heller et al.). A different study focused on struggling teens
found that regression analyses show "students
who found coursework personally relevant had increased engagement . . . Importantly,
this relationship was mediated through intrinsic motivation"(Crumpton
& Gregory). Faculty members (parents, leaders, and
anyone who is acting in a teaching role) should challenge themselves to reach out to students by regularly incorporating pop culture into their instruction. Maybe an example from a recent movie or. . . possibly posting a weekly career spotlight of someone under 30 who is successful within the field . . . Students will pay attention and be more inspired to
learn than ever before (Masters). As mentioned
before, never should the focus fall on pop culture as the end goal of learning.
When used appropriately in classrooms settings, such media and methods can
strengthen the connection between what students are doing as learners, and what they will need to do once they are out of school. As learner's perceptions of
that gap closes, and teachers use engaging teaching tools and methods, the
relevance of the material goes up along with engagement and another essential
attribute: motivation.
2. Relevance Increases Motivation
It is not uncommon to hear unmotivated
complaints ringing off the walls of local high schools about math assignments
that don't seem to have a purpose or
whining that an English teacher required a useless paper. Perhaps these
murmerings are characteristic of young people and will always exist. However,
no matter how much one might want to yell at the teens to 'get over it and just do your homework', science explains, “motivation is fundamental to learning” (Hinton, Miyamoto, &
Della-Chiesa). Thus, regardless of how the teacher, administrator, parent,
political leader, or coach views the material that must be taught, no real
learning will occur without motivation in the student. What is the general current
state of students and learning? One scholar reports, "Adolescents complain that they are more interested in and learn
more from their own explorations with the media and the Internet outside of
school than they learn in their content classes" (Magnifico). Currently
the topic of the Internet and learning is one of the most hotly discussed
issues in education, the implications are in many ways hard to evaluate at this
point. However, it is clear that students struggle to find motivation or even
relevance in conventional classrooms when they feel like they can learn what
interests them on the Internet. Part of the solution is using tools that
learners are interested in (such as new media, TV, or the Internet). In addition,
teachers can use relevant problem-based methods and help students keep a growth
mindset. Focusing on these three things will unlock the door to motivation and
enable vast amounts of student learning to flow through it.
As mentioned already, students'
motivation often plummets in classrooms because they would rather use their own
media or "digital texts, such as websites, television programs, video
games, and trade books. However, identifying the appealing elements of these
alternative texts could assist teachers in designing instructional activities
that are relevant to and motivating for today’s students" (Alvermann,
Moon, & Hagood). This doesn't necessarily mean teachers should be embracing
every electronic device and allowing students to play around every class period;
the emphasis should be on the motivation and relevance that come when students
use tools they are familiar with. One math teacher found he was constantly
pushing up against this very issue. He explains, "I have found myself bemoaning the fact that students spend more
time on their game consoles than on their math homework." It seemed that
no matter what he did, students would always choose their electronic hobbies over
his assignments. However, the math teacher later realized that this could be a strength
in his classroom if he focused it correctly. He continues, "Today’s
students are part of a gaming generation that possesses a new set of skills on
which teachers can capitalize" (Gasser). In his article Gasser discusses
his use of creative problem solving, relevant math problems (such as determining
the appropriate car that has the best gas mileage when given a set of different
numbers), and the use of problem-based instruction. This final method of
teaching deserves more attention.
At
the beginning of this paper a quote by Ruth Colvin Clark illustrated the
popularity of problem-based teaching in medical schools because students saw
the relevance of the material to what they would be doing as a profession. This
model can also be effective for other students whether in math, writing, science,
or a variety of other subjects. By creating a problem that is believable (or
realistic to the student approaching it) and relevant, students will not only
engage with learning--their motivation will increase. Thus the question of how to design motivating instruction has an answer, like this
one provided by Guzzetti: "Instructional strategies such as small-group
discussions to solve a problem or predict an outcome allow for giving and
getting different perspectives to consider and evaluate and promote critical
inquiry. These approaches allow students to be at the forefront of their own
learning and become dominant in the teaching-learning process" (Guzzetti).
While problem-based learning methods are not always the best, researches have
found that student's motivation and learning go up. Perhaps it is more than
just motivation, but also the presence of relevance that influence these
methods.
However, even with strong relevance,
motivation can often be swept aside when learners see themselves as failures or
"not smart" and they refuse to approach a subject. Gasser faced such
issues in his math classroom, finding that often students lost motivation and
interest in the materials because they just were not good at math. He stated, "We need to produce a climate where failure is viewed as an
experience from which to learn and not one of which to be ashamed. Creating
such an atmosphere is not easy, especially with students who have been raised
in a culture of competitiveness"(Gasser). His comments
are revealing about the society learners are submerged in and how that affects the
acquistion of knowledge. Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford who has studied
this perspective of failure that Gasser saw in his classroom wrote a whole book
about the concept (Dweck). Because his book focuses exclusively on motivation,
Daniel Pink provides an excellent overview of Dweck's findings on perspectives
of failure: "If you believe intelligence is a fixed quantity, then every
educational and professional encounter becomes a measure of how much you have.
If you believe intelligence is something you can increase, then the same
encounters become opportunities for growth. In one view, intelligence is
something you demonstrate; in the other, it's something you develop"
(121). In short, many see themselves at a certain level of intelligence, and
they feel that no matter what they do they will not be able to increase it.
This "fixed mindset" is the thorn in the flesh of relevant and
motivating learning structures in today's society. If nothing is done about it,
relevant material that is both engaging and motivating has no influence on the
lives of the learner. In the end it is the person who fills the role as
teacher--be that parent, leader, friend, or classroom teacher--who can assist
the learner to open their mind and heart--a "growth mindset"--to the
relevant material before them. In order to generate such a mindset, however,
students need teachers that care deeply--even to the point of becoming a
"servant leader."
3. Teachers who Make Relevance a Priority Are Good Hosts
& Servant Leaders
This argument focuses
primarily on the role of relevance in education. Engagement and motivation are natural
and important stems of relevance when addressing learning in formal situations.
In addressing the role of the teacher, little has been said about the actual
practices the teacher must use to ensure that relevance is a priority. How can
teachers prioritize relevancy in the classroom?
This important question is essential to be answered by every professional
instructor, but will not be answered in detail in this paper. Rather, we will
look at a few broad ways that people who fill the roles as teachers can do this. While years of discussion, experience, and
wisdom are behind these issues, this article merely seeks after a few meaningful traits
that instructors can adopt to encourage relevance in learning. Among these
qualities are two specific attributes: teachers can strive to make learners comfortable
by being a good host, and they can become what Robert Greenleaf calls a
"servant leader."
The first of the qualities that can
assist teachers is to be a good host. This may sound somewhat out of place,
especially when the fact is that usually the term "host" refers to
"a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere" (Host). However, when trying to
interact and influence people, young or old, it is important to receive them in
a way they feel comfortable and can open themselves up for learning. Clark
encourages, "Promote deeper learning by speaking in a conversational manner
using first and second person and polite phrases" (117). If students are
frightened, disrespectful, angry, or confused when interacting with the
teacher, then there is little chance that teacher can assist in the learning
process of the student. This concept applies to settings other than a
conventional classroom. This hosting idea spans all teaching "jobs"
such as parenting, coaching, or leadership of any kind. With e-learning and
video conferencing, hosting should still have
a presence. Clark is very clear that "When communicating instructional
content in texts, on computer, or in the classroom, adopt hosting techniques by
using appropriate social cues that make you accessible to your learners" (119).
The
second quality that can assist teachers in creating environments of relevancy
is by striving to become what Robert Greenleaf calls a "servant
leader." These two seemingly disagreeing terms make up a dichotomous title
of what learners need in order to be willing to engage and learn relevant
materials. What is a servant leader? Greenleaf explains in his book Servant Leadership, “It begins with the natural
feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings
one to aspire to lead. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the
servant—first to
make sure
that other people’s highest priority needs are being served" (13). It is
the natural instinct of most people to abuse power once they have it. Teachers
become the de facto leaders by the
fact that they have knowledge their students do not. When the very first
priority for that teacher is to communicate their wisdom successfully to the
learner, then they become servant leaders. They choose not to lead or teach for
compensation, title, reward, or status, but for the benefit and well-being of
those they care for. Throughout history, teaching as a profession has been known
for this sort of mentality, and it must continue to be that way. It is
important, even in these times of harsh teacher evaluations and reforms (as
mentioned in the introduction to this paper), that the profession and identity
of teaching be grounded in servant leadership. An article published in Educational Leadership magazine that
highlights quotations from students who had positive experiences with servant
leader-like teachers. Brittany, a five year old from Michigan talked about an
opportunity she learned from. The subtle guidance and teaching from a loving
instructor can be observed when reading the following statement.
Helping out with the younger kids and
teaching them to read made me feel good because
I could tell that us bigger kids were making them more comfortable than when they went with the adults. I
remembered how stressful it can get to not know how to pronounce words or letters. After we had been working for a
couple of days, they were getting the
hang of it. They finally whizzed through a whole little five-page book, and we all got so excited. I
would never have thought in a million years that I would help someone do something as special as that. I will never
forget that moment. ("What
Students Want")
This example is one of
untold millions, and these kinds of stories must continue or else students will
not be affected by relevant material--even if it is motivating or engaging. Several studies have found that students who noted that
their teachers were supportive and cared about their success were more likely
to be engaged in the classroom and perform well academically (Heller et al.;
Akey). While supportiveness and care can be challenging to monitor and
evaluate, it should be understood that these qualities of servant leadership
are a part of the key attributes teachers ought to be striving for. Greenleaf,
aware that these ideals are no quick fix or simple answer explained, "At its core,
servant-leadership is a long-term, transformational approach to life and
work—in essence, a way of being—that has the potential for creating positive
change throughout our society" (Greenleaf, "Servant Leadership
Within" 16). Students need not only relevant course materials and exciting
content, but parents and teachers, leaders and guides, who feel the student is
relevant to society and the future of this planet. Learners of all types need
instructors who are good hosts in the classroom, and lead by serving in both
example and attention to the potential of the student.
This argument approached a wide variety of issues, practices, and subjects that are connected
to the educational process. Though many concepts were explored, there is a
large need for further research. Health education researchers summarized this
need at the end of a particularly detailed study concerning active and passive
learning strategies in large group settings, "While both educational
theory and common sense argue that active learning strategies should lead to
improved learning outcomes over traditional didactic lectures, experimental
data directly comparing active to didactic teaching strategies using the same content
and learners are scarce" (Haidet et al). There is a need
to further investigate the methods of teachers who engage students with tools
such as social media and the Internet, as well as the academic impact of
students that are more motivated to learn than others. Relevance has been--and
will continue to be--an important quality to understand and promote in learning
centers around the world. While the research has room to improve the academic
understanding of how relevance helps learning, methods of appreciative inquiry
(AI) act as guideposts for educators as the field of learning is molded by the
revolutionizing wheel of the information age.
In their anecdotal, yet heavily researched-based book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is
Hard, Chip and Dan Heath explain a process of appreciative inquiry that
leads to the saving of countless lives. They relate the tale of Jerry Sternin,
a man who is sent to Vietnam on a shoestring budget in 1990 to solve the
problem of malnutrition and starvation among children (27). At first feeling
overwhelmed, Sternin was clueless as to how he should proceed. After
questioning the villagers for data and visiting their homes he realized it
would be impossible with the time and money he had, to go about the whole
process in ways previous experts had attempted. Like the field of education,
there were simply too many reasons that things could go wrong so children were
not getting the nourishment needed. Sternin finally came to the conclusion to
look for what was working, and what
families were getting all the
necessary vitamins. He began asking to see those families that had children who
were not lacking the essential sustenance or contracting disease. This method
of AI, focusing on the solution rather than the problem, led to a few small and
simple adjustments that increased the level of health in the region
dramatically. Positive psychology methods such as the one Sternin used in
Vietnam have been followed in countless other venues across the world, and it
is time to bring such practices to the schools and houses of learning in the
United States. It is so easy to focus on all the possible reasons America's
schools are not performing. These causes are the focus of many political
debates, the topic of blasting press articles, and the theme of documentary
films. "But as
one top executive summarized, 'If you focus on (an organization's) weaknesses,
(it will) lose confidence.' At a very basic level, it is hard for us to build
self-confidence when we are focused on our weaknesses instead of our strengths"
(Rath). So it is with education. The more we focus on the bad, the more
challenging issues we will have to "fix". Thus further research in
regards to relevance and how it promotes engagement, motivation, and shaping
teachers to become hosts as well as servant leaders, is necessary. Better
understanding the role of the fourth R of
education can change the course of America's learning system, especially when
looking to those that are already doing it and replicating their successful
examples to the best of our ability in every kind of classroom possible.
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