1.+Relevance

Relevance

DEFINITION
Relevance describes how pertinent, connected, or applicable something is to a given matter. A thing is relevant if it serves as a means to a given purpose. Imagine a patient suffering a well-defined disease such as scurvy caused by lack of vitamin C. The relevant medical treatment for him would be doses of tablets containing vitamin C. Other medicines, such as vitamin B, are non-relevant. Relevance is argued to depend upon the "remoteness relationship" between an actual world in which relevance is being evaluated and the set of possible worlds within which it is true. []

In general, adults engage in learning by choice. The circumstances that prompt the learning may be external, such as a job loss or radical change in one’s personal life; but the decision to participate in education or training is  nearly always an individual’s decision. However, as an instructor, you face groups whose attention can be easily lost, whose interest may wander, and whose willingness to extend effort is conditional. Adults have a strong need to feel that what they are learning will assist them in achieving their goals. Adults must be personally convinced that what they are about to learn is not a waste of time or unrelated to their lives. Personal relevance is an important component of a desire to learn. And, this relevance is not always readily apparent to each student. Some will need to discover relevance. Instructors are well advised to spend some time at the start assisting participants to understand how the training can serve the participants’ needs.
 * RELEVANCE**

NOTES //from Raymond Wlodkowski //

> > media type="youtube" key="oFLxudGuahw?fs=1" height="385" width="480" Notes from the Ivey Case Method Ivey best simulates business environment, need to learn about all disciplines Not only exposed to case method, but real life scenarios that translate to industry Pre-amble to business life where you are on the fire line, forced to make decisions and to make decisions quickly while defending your thinking. No one that stands above and ahead of and Ivey graduate Ivey students hit the ground running
 * DEVELOPING ATTITUDE **
 * The pragmatism of most adults makes personal relevance a key ingredient in developing a positive attitude at the outset of a professional development program. Participants are extremely sensitive to the degree to which they can identify their perspectives, needs, and values in the content and processes of the program. The program is relevant when learning reflects the personal, communal, and cultural meanings of the learners in a manner that shows a respectful awareness of their perspective. For example, two participants may both believe their company has to do something to diminish sexual harassment, the program’s focus. However, what constitutes sexual harassment may be quite different for each participant. A relevant workshop will have to address both points of view respectfully.
 * Relevance leads to what human beings experience as interest, the emotional nutrient for a positive attitude toward learning. When we feel interested we usually have to make choices to follow that interest in the most meaningful way. That is why opportunities for adults to select what, with whom, and how to learn and be assessed can be so important in developing a positive attitude toward learning. When we teach diverse groups, we often do not know all the possible meanings, so these choices—such as how to learn (learning styles and multiple intelligences)— are usually determined in cooperation with the participants. Using the topic of sexual harassment again, one learner may prefer to analyze court decisions whereas the other may prefer to role-play a manager dealing with a complaint.
 * Whenever participants witness people similar to themselves (in age, gender, ethnicity, class, and so on) competently perform the desired professional development goal, their self-confidence is heightened, because they are prone to believe that they too possess the capability to master such activities. These people also convey information more likely to be relevant to the perspectives and values of the participants themselves. With film and video technology we have creative and economical ways to offer learners vicarious examples that are pertinent and realistic. Past participants are an excellent source for live modeling sessions. For example, the instructor of a program to develop action research methods could present a panel of past participants who have successfully conducted research to share their experiences and findings with current participants.
 * APPLICATION**
 * The Ivey Case Method**

Industry relevance: [|//http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/about/rankings.htm//] // “Ivey alumni experienced a 92% // // increase in their salaries three years // // post graduation - the highest in Canada” //