Incorporating Real-World Connections into Science Instruction

As you begin your teaching careers, students will ask….. Have you ever been in a class and asked yourself these same questions??? “Why do I need to know this?” “When am I EVER going to use this?”

Linking classroom lessons with the real-world is a crucial part of teaching. We must deliberately plan to provide these connections for students when we plan our lessons. Connections can be local or global…although I believe local connections have a greater impact Real-World Connections

Their have been many reliable studies that show a direct link to student motivation and learning of content material when real-world connections are used in the classroom. Students learn better when they are taught knowledge within the context of actual experience, rather than abstractly. The Research

Examples When studying a plant unit, there are many ways to incorporate real-world connections… –Grow a classroom garden and keep a journal on its progress –Find an article on plants…..an interesting topic would be the loss of bees and how this effects pollination –Show a YouTube clip – there’s a great one I use when a tube-lipped nectar bat pollinates a rare plant – Kids Love it! –Invite a local farmer to come in a speak –Find native Michigan plants around school. You can identify them and research what they are used for. Dandalions have many uses!!

Advantages Students just plain learn more… - According to Richard Lynch, a professor of occupational studies at the University of Georgia, “Ninety-four percent of the students said that they learned a lot more in CTL (contextual teaching and learning) strategy classes than in other traditional courses in that same subject area.

Advantages Students feel they have personally achieved more when real-world connections were made in the classroom Learning is memorable and less abstract Students learn subject matter more deeply and can recall it better They become interested and motivated to learn Incorporating real-world connections can tap into many different learning styles Minority students are more engaged – you can do projects and discussions that relate to their culture and community

Disadvantages There are only a few…. –Teachers need to be creative in their lesson planning –The requirements of the state curriculum sometimes does not allow the time for larger projects –Resources are limited

Think/Pair/Share Think about your Unit Plan topic and jot down a few ideas on how you could incorporate real- world connections into a lesson or two.

Think/Pair/Share Now…discuss what you wrote with your table partner Be prepared to share out with the class!!

Some suggestions for incorporating real-world connections into your lessons Incorporate science articles Help solve local and community issues Show a news clip Bring in an expert Do video conferencing with a scientist Do inquiry labs that relate to real-world Have students share their own experiences with the class Teach using case studies

References Techniques January 2004 Issue Putting it into Context – Author Sarah R. Predmore Source: