Blad, E. (2018, January 17). ‘When Are We Going to Use This?’ Strategies to Help Students Find Relevance in School Work.

When students see school work as a series of isolated problems, disconnected from real-world challenges and their personal interests, they can grow disengaged and disinterested in classroom work. But researchers have found that the opposite is also true: Students who see relevance and purpose in what they are learning are more motivated and more willing to persist and master challenging concepts. And the same researchers who’ve made those discoveries have also developed strategies to help students identify a personal connection to what they are learning in the classroom and, hopefully, a reason to be more motivated about school.