Relevant Work for Students

What Makes Kids Do Good Work?

In this article the author describes the following as relevant work for students: work that has purpose, relevance, gives students choices, and gives students ownership. These are the keys to making learning meaningful to students.

“When parents and educators talk about student work, two seemingly conflicting ideas enter the conversation. The first is that kids need more rigorous and meaningful work. The other is that kids need less work for the sake of work, and more time for authentic learning.”  

This article asks the question how much and what kind of practice kids need to master a skill or concept, what motivates students to attempt a challenge.  It asks what kind of feedback encourages more effort  and how much choice is really helpful. These are questions educators need to be continually asking themselves before asking students to do the work.

Since I have been teaching at the high school level I am well aware that students need to see the relevance of what they are asked to do. Give students a choice and they take some ownership in their choice. Show them that the work you ask of them is something they may use later. I do a lot of project based assignments simulating situations or experiences that they may encounter in the real world.

Taking students to the court house and having them prepare a mock trial was a good example of making work relevant. Students could see themselves in one of many roles as juror, defendant, witness, or attorney. I even had parents tell me they were surprised their child actually discussed what they did at school that day. It’s up to teachers to keep finding ways to make work purposeful and relevant.

Scherer, Marge. (September 2010) What Makes Kids Do Good Work? Educational Leadership, ASCD. Retrieved November 15, 2010 from http://ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept10/vol68/num01/What-Makes-Kids-Do-Good-Work%C2%A2.aspx