What is Relevant? Student Perceptions of Relevance Strategies in College Classrooms

The operationalization of relevance has been problematic, raising concerns about the conceptualization of relevance. The current study inductively examined relevance by asking college students to generate relevance-increasing strategies used by instructors. Responses were grouped into five categories: "Outside Course Relevance,'' "Methods and Activities Relevance,'' "Teaching Styles Relevance,'' "Inside Course Relevance,'' and "No Relevance.'' The results support previous relevance-increasing strategies suggested by Keller (1983) but also suggest that relevance may be an outcome of teacher behaviors, rather than a predictor of motivation.