The topic that kept coming up in the Gollnick and Chinn text that caught my attention is that to engage students and have them get meaning from the content, educators must relate the material to the students. "... the subject begins to have meaning for students because it relates to their lives and what they know. It validates their experiences" (p.382). The example listed on that same page is really intriguing to me. A teacher found that changing the context of a math problem from farmers and cans of milk to something the students can relate to (money for the purchase of a leather jacket) caused the students to be able to solve the problem easier. I feel that this is something teachers can work on in their classrooms.
This is something that I constantly have my own students telling me. They want problems that relate to their lives- to their own real life experiences. Doing this allows students to make connections from the content to what matters to them. It makes learning easier and more meaningful. I really have noticed that when I re-write an example on the board or for a test or worksheet that simply includes the name of another teacher the students currently have, their faces light up instantly. I realize this may take more work, but I feel the benefits would be substantial.
I know that I use the tests that come along with the textbook. While these tests do show aspects of multiculturalism (the examples include different cultures and traditions), I'm not sure the students relate to the questions. I think that if I took a few tests a year and rewrote them to include topics that relate to the students' personal lives, it may have a positive effect. Of course, like anything else in a teacher's life, it will be a process. It will probably not be done in a year, but taking it a little at a time could be helpful. It may even require updating the tests every so often- which isn't a bad thing either! I think it's worth it if the students can make a personal connection to the material. If we "connect the curriculum to their culture and real world experiences," the students will "be able to see themselves in the curriculum to provide meaning for their own lives" (p.378).
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This is something I need to keep in mind more often in my lessons. One thing I started doing last year is taking pictures of kids at team events. I then take those pictures and work them into PowerPoints. For example, I recently had a common errors in grammar lesson. I took pictures from a team activity and added sentences next to them like: John and Amy were working on _______ project. The students then had to decide which to use: their, there or they're. Those activities always keep their attention because they're waiting to see who is going to show up next. Like you mentioned, it is more work, because the pictures have to be switched out each year. It's worth it, though.
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