Make science relevant: let the learner find the connection

Start with their reason, not your sales pitch

“When will I use this?” can be an opening for a conversation, not a challenge to shut down. Instead of supplying a ready-made answer, invite the learner to find one connection between the science they are studying and something they care about.

That connection might involve cooking, sport, a favourite animal or a question about the world. It does not have to be a career plan. The aim is to give the learner room to explain why one idea could matter to them.

What the research found

Hulleman and Harackiewicz’s 2009 randomized study involved 262 students, mostly ninth-graders, in two US high schools. Across a semester, students wrote either about science’s relevance to their lives or summaries of course material.

The relevance activity improved science interest and course grades for students with lower expectations of success. Students with higher expectations did not show a statistically significant benefit. The intervention involved repeated writing, not a single encouraging conversation.

Grade records were available for only 100 students at one school. The authors cautioned against generalizing this one study to more diverse settings without replication. It did not test SASHA, younger children or the routine below.

Try one concrete connection

The following is a practical adaptation, not the tested intervention. After teaching a science idea, offer a brief prompt: “Where might this help you understand something you already care about?” Let the learner choose the connection rather than requiring everyone to use the same example.

Ask for a few sentences explaining both the idea and its connection. For a fictional example, a learner interested in baking could connect a lesson on gases to bread rising. A teacher or tutor can then help separate the relevant science from a tempting but inaccurate explanation.

Check two things separately: does the connection genuinely interest the learner, and is the scientific explanation accurate? An enthusiastic example still needs checking. An incorrect explanation is a useful place to teach, not a reason to dismiss the learner’s interest.

If no connection comes to mind, offer a small choice of contexts or explore a question together. “I am not sure yet” is an acceptable starting point. Do not demand personal disclosures or turn the exercise into a test of ambition.

Keep a simple note for the next session: the idea, the learner’s chosen connection and one question still to investigate. For example: “Gas production and bread rising; wants to know why a dough needs time to rise.” This records a useful next step without treating enthusiasm as proof of understanding. At the next meeting, ask the learner to explain the connection again and see what needs clarifying.

Keep support alongside relevance

A reason to care does not explain an unfamiliar word or make a difficult task accessible. Continue providing clear instruction, examples, feedback and the supports the learner needs.

For a learner who finds writing difficult, a short conversation or dictated response may be a more accessible starting point. Those are practical adaptations; their effects were not established by the written intervention in this study.

Parents can listen for a specific interest rather than insisting that every topic will lead to a job. Teachers and tutors can use the response to plan a better example or identify a misconception. Return to the idea later and ask whether the connection still makes sense.

A useful question for any learning tool

When reviewing a learning tool, ask whose connection you are seeing: the learner’s own explanation, or an example supplied for them? Can a teacher check the reasoning and follow up on a misconception? These are evaluation questions, not claims about available SASHA features.

The practical takeaway: invite one personally meaningful connection, listen to the learner’s reason and check the science together. Relevance should open a route into learning, not replace the teaching.