Two questions make knowledge meaningful
Books provide us with an understanding of the world and allow us to learn from those who came before. However, if learning lacks interaction with the outside world, it can easily make learners feel that knowledge is meaningless. Therefore, here are two questions to help you find the value in learning.
Question 1: What real-life phenomena can this knowledge explain?
The journey of seeking knowledge begins with curious questions from observation. A learning program can start with a question that sparks the student’s interest and then guide them towards a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. In 1998, Sharon Anthony and colleagues designed a general chemistry program with some center questions like: Why does the ozone hole form in the Antarctic spring? How can we make our water safe to drink? Through each learning module, students develop the knowledge necessary to address such questions. They model how chemistry is applied in practice and discover connections between chemistry, other sciences, technology, and society. This approach is based on research indicating that students learn best when they can build on past experiences, relate what they are learning to relevant topics, gain direct hands-on experience, construct their own knowledge through collaboration with peers and faculty, and effectively communicate their results (Anthony, 1998).
In my own teaching, I designed a program to cultivate scientific curiosity for one eighth-grade student. I started my class by asking student about topics related to his interests. What I find intriguing is that every phenomenon in the world around us is more complex than we might have imagined. Two illustrations below are slides from my class, depict the interconnected knowledge related to fundamental questions such as "Where does water originate, and how old is it?" and "Why can airplanes fly?”
Question 2: What problems in life can this knowledge help you solve?
When solving a problem, knowledge is placed within a real-world context and is applied to address specific issues. For instance, when creating a course on how to study for first-year university students, I had to combine knowledge from cognitive science, knowledge management, and motivation for learning. In addition to this, I had to incorporate customer research to identify the customers' pain points and provide a product that addresses those issues. More importantly, when creating a product, it adds value to the lives of others, which motivates me to learn more. Drawing from my personal experience, when I teach a class on learning science, it motivates me to delve deeper into the psychology theory at the university because I understand the context of those theories and appreciate how useful they are in practice.
Conclusion
Knowledge becomes meaningful when it helps us understand the world and solve problems. As John Dewey, the American pragmatist, stated: "Learning is an activity bound up with human interests, and the standard of truth is their utility, so learning must prepare the subject for social engagement. Education ought to be dominated by real-life tasks and challenges" (Rose, 2013). For this reason, the context makes knowledge meaningful. That is why I propose two questions to contextual knowledge: (1) What aspects of life can this knowledge explain? (2) How can this knowledge help you solve problems in life?
Reference
[1] Anthony, S., Mernitz, H., Spencer, B., Gutwill, J., Kegley, S., & Molinaro, M. (1998). The ChemLinks and ModularCHEM consortia: Using active and context-based learning to teach students how chemistry is actually done. Journal of Chemical Education, 75(3), 322–324
[2] Rose, D. E. (2012). Context-Based Learning. In Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning (pp. 799–802). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_1872