Real world connections in the classroom answer the question kids are asking these days: “Why do we have to learn this?” These connections make every subject relevant and boost student engagement, says Dr. Annalies Corbin, author of Hacking School: Five Strategies to Link Learning to Life.
In today’s show, we talk about practical ways to help students know why what they are learning matters to their lives. This is a great episode for teachers who feel like “because I said so” isn’t cutting it anymore. Dr. Corbin founded the PAST Foundation to help link learning to life, and she shares how we can connect real world learning to the standards we already teach.
For Motivational Monday today, we’re focusing on motivating students to learn in a super simple way that so many researchers keep telling us will help.
In short: Real world connections make learning relevant by connecting the standards you already teach with students’ lives, their community and local careers. Dr. Annalies Corbin says teachers can structure learning around a theme, a real problem, or one local job to help improve student motivation and engagement.
Dr. Corbin has spent 25 years linking learning to life. Here’s what she told teachers who are tired of hearing “Why do we have to learn this?”
Here’s where the facts in this episode come from, with the time stamp so you can hear each one. Checked November 9, 2026.
This transcript was generated using AI and has been reviewed by humans for accuracy. Minor errors or artifacts may remain but I worked my best to find any issues with the transcript as I reviewed the show. – Vicki
Vicki Davis (00:00): Do your students keep asking, why do we have to learn this? And because I said so isn’t cutting it anymore? Does real world learning really have to wait until after the test?
Our guest today says that’s backwards. Today we’re talking about real world connections that make learning relevant. For Motivational Monday, episode 1026.
Announcer (00:24): This is the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.
Vicki Davis (00:28): So today we’re talking with Dr. Annalies Corbin. She’s the founder and CEO of the PAST Foundation, an organization dedicated to transforming STEM education by bridging scientific research and real-world learning in K-12 classrooms.
Annalies’s new book, Hacking School: Five Strategies to Link Learning to Life, is one that really tries to make all of these practices relevant. So thanks for coming on the show, Annalies.
Dr. Annalies Corbin (00:58): Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.
Vicki Davis (01:01): Let’s talk about the scientific research and the real-world learning in K-12 classrooms. A lot of times, teachers will say things like, I have standardized testing. I’ll get to the real world after that.
But that’s not really the case, is it?
Can I teach real world learning and still prepare students for standardized tests?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (01:13): No, absolutely not. And there’s no reason why we can’t roll in all of the standards that we need to teach. And in fact, we should, and tie that back to real-world applied learning, right? The reality is we can learn from everything around us. And if we really tap into the real world and the context that can come from tying the learning that we need to do to the lives of our learners, to the communities we live in, our neighborhoods, our states, our countries, as soon as we do that, it’s relevant to our learners and it makes all the difference in the world. And honest to goodness, it can be more standard rich than traditional curriculum or the standards that your particular district or your school may naturally adopt. And you can amplify absolutely anything that you’re required to teach by tapping into your own interests, your own passions, and understanding your students.
Vicki Davis (02:06): We did a three-part series on math education and interviewed some of the top researchers. And do you know, Annalies, that every single one of them that I’m sitting here rolling through in my mind said, start class with the real-world connection for what you’re teaching.
Dr. Annalies Corbin (02:19): Absolutely.
Vicki Davis (02:20): But kids want to know why. And because I said so… is not really the great answer.
Why do students keep asking why they have to learn this?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (02:26): It’s not. And kids get bored with it really, really quickly. And we all know that student engagement is an all-time low across educational systems and the modern world.
And part of that engagement issue is because the kids really want to understand what does this have to do with me? Right? Kids are disengaging because they just don’t get what does this have to do with X, y, or Z.
And it’s just so simple. I agree with your math experts 100%. Everything should be steeped in real world, and there’s no reason for it not to be.
Vicki Davis (03:00): Let’s talk about some measurable outcomes and evidence that show these different approaches you advocate actually impact student learning, besides just our anecdotal stories.
Dr. Annalies Corbin (03:10): One of the things that we see repeatedly when we work with educators, schools, or districts, and they really make this transition into fully applied, transdisciplinary, problem-based teaching and learning, is that the outcomes are so much more robust. Because when you make that shift, the reality is, those standards that you need to hit so that your kids perform well on those standardized assessments or even in the momentary assessments that are going on at the classroom level or even the grade level beyond what your district or the state is requiring of you. We see this repeatedly. Those students are outperforming the national average.
And typically the reason this is happening is because in a real world applied learning environment that you create to really make it work well, you co-create it with your learners. Because again, that engagement, that agency piece that we know is so important.
But you hit the standards more times in the same amount of time and space. So what happens is the students get it, right? They get introduced to whatever that standard is that you’re trying to hit.
That metric and that outcome, and then they get to see it in action, and then they get to apply it, and then, oh, wow, now they’re going to apply it to something else because the standards come back over and over again across the learning span instead of just episodic because I have to get through this particular lesson. That’s the difference.
Vicki Davis (04:35): So you used the word problem-based on this show before. We’ve talked project-based learning and problem-based can be in project-based. But could you explain good definition of problem-based learning and give us some examples across some different types of subjects?
What is the difference between problem-based and project-based learning?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (04:51): Get this question all the time. So problem-based is the big umbrella under which inquiry-based, project-based, place-based, all these other based things live underneath the problem-based umbrella. And the reason that the problem-based is the capstone of all of it is it’s all one and the same thing.
Problem-based just says that we’re going to take a real-world issue and we’re going to use a series of projects, activities, modules to really explore that issue robustly. So rather than it just being a simple element that is limited in time and space, problem-based says we’re going to give students an opportunity to explore all the facets and we’re going to let them run down all the tangential roads as they’re exploring, as they’re really living inside that project. They have questions.
It’s honoring the opportunity for students to dig deeper in the things that really appeal to them, to learn the things that they might not be so interested in and be able to move on to the parts that they are interested in.
Vicki Davis (05:52): So could you give me some examples?
What are examples of problem-based learning in science and health?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (05:54): A really great one to think about is anything that has to do with the environment or climate, right? These are big, hairy, audacious problems. There’s lots of problems that don’t have to be huge and overwhelming, right?
But the reality is that there are lots of problems that are incredibly complex. It can be as simple as, you know, the fact that we’re losing glacial ice around the globe or clean water or deforestation, right? Those are big, giant problems.
You can tackle that problem from so many different lenses, points of views, or opportunities. That’s an example. Problem-based.
Same thing in healthcare, right? We’re desperate to have more people going into the healthcare industry as our population is aging because we’re living longer.
Right? How do we solve that problem of making sure that we have enough people working in all facets of that industry? It’s an example.
Vicki Davis (06:44): Isn’t there a way to have problem-based learning on an individual daily basis in my class?
Can I do problem-based learning every day in my classroom?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (06:50): Absolutely, 100%. And in fact, that’s what I really, really love about it is that we can take a theme as an educator and say, look, this semester or even year, however you want to do or it could even be this month, right?
We’re going to take this theme, and maybe as an elementary teacher. Our theme is going to be about ecosystems. And we have a local zoo in our community, and we’re going to actually do a field trip at the end of this quarter. We’re going to take them there. And so I want my students to really, really engage in understanding all the different ecological systems that the wildlife represented at the zoo are coming from.
So I can, in fact, do that, and I can just do it on a daily basis. We can tap into it.
I can spend a week doing it, two weeks, so on and so forth. What’s really nice about problem-based learning is, once again, because it’s so learner-centered. When done well and done right, it becomes very individualized.
So that differentiation educators strive for is really simple because it taps into a kid’s own curiosity and interest. It doesn’t have to be big, and it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and we can weave it in and through all the different pieces and parts of the work that we’re doing with our learners.
Vicki Davis (07:58): When schools are working to make sure that their students are ready for the workforce by solving problems, how do teachers and schools tap into the local needs that they have without limiting their kids?
How can teachers connect lessons to local jobs without limiting students?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (08:11): A hundred percent. And the answer is it’s both and, right? So there is a national perspective.
At the end of the day, what are you really preparing kids for? Doesn’t matter if you’re elementary, middle, high school, or even collegiate, right?
What are we preparing kids for? What is that intended outcome? And almost everybody will tell you the same thing, right, is we want these folks to go on and be prepared to be citizens in the real world, to have a career no matter what that happens to be.
And to be contributing to our economy and to our society. What’s that really all about? It’s about skills.
It’s about problem solving. It’s about rational thinking. It’s about really being able to wrestle with, to be a great communicator.
So it’s all of those types of skills. First and foremost. We’re really talking about being prepared to go out into the world and make a contribution.
So how do we get there? The easiest and most tangible way to get there is going to be tapping into that local resource.
Look into the local community. Who are your biggest industries? What are the local job reports where the needs are the highest?
It’s on your state’s website or your county website. It’s really, really easy to find. And so you can bring these different career options into your programming in that problem-based environment very simply, just by whatever you’re studying, then tie some job in the local community that is applicable to, right?
And your kids will love that because they’ve heard of company XYZ that’s down the street from them. They drive by the signs.
Maybe a parent works there. So it really is easy to get there if you wrap around the fact that we’re going to infuse all of this work with the skills that we need these students to have to be truly successful. You know, the reality is there are far more jobs and career possibilities than we have people ready to roll into those spaces right now.
And that’s only accelerating with the rate and pace of technological change. You know, we need people in all levels of these career opportunities. From technicians to the professionals and everything in between.
And our students have no idea what’s out there or what’s possible. And if we pigeonhole them, they’re never going to get the opportunity, not just to find a viable career, but more importantly, I would argue, is to find something they truly love and can be passionate about.
How do career exploration programs help middle school students choose a career?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (10:38): Because as soon as they’re able to figure those things out through exploring and a lot of exposure to the different possibilities, then suddenly those light bulbs go off. In some of the summer programs that we do, we will have, for example, a program that’s around health care for middle school kids. And we’ll have a survey at the beginning. You know, so what is it that you’re interested in?
And they might say something like, oh, you know, I really want to be a nurse. Great, you want to be a nurse.
Well, what kind of nurse do you want to be? Or do you really understand all the different possibilities that the nursing profession has to offer you? And the answer is they have no idea, right?
An experience that’s really well designed and robust to provide students with the insights into the specifics, that same child when surveyed at the end of those five days will tell you. I want to be a pediatric nurse. So they can get really specific because we gave them the tools to choose the thing that appeals to them.
Vicki Davis (11:35): So let’s talk about your book for a minute. What are some things that you’re like, hey, I want to bring attention to this from your book, which is Hacking School: Five Strategies to Link Learning to Life?
What are the five strategies in Hacking School by Annalies Corbin?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (11:44): The first one is that there is nothing in the book that is going to be new. The five strategies are all things that we do, but we don’t necessarily do all of them. Right?
We’ve heard of them as educators. And the five strategies are student agency, cultural relevancy or responsiveness. Mastery-based learning or standards-based, whatever words you want to use, and transdisciplinary.
That’s a really, really important one that people really struggle with. And then problem-based. So we know what all of those things are, right?
But the work of the book is really to say, like, if you’re not doing these things or you’re only doing one or two of these things, let me give you some strategies, some examples, some case studies from real educators who’ve gone down this road about how they actually are applying that in their individual classroom. Because if you can take your own individual classroom and your practice with your students can be transformed.
What does student agency mean in the classroom?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (12:40): The two that I think are the most meaningful out of the box is the idea of agency. Sometimes educators really, really struggle with, feeling like that is turning over control of their classroom to their students.
And that’s not what agency means. Student agency is really around understanding who your students are at a really, really finite level and being able to work with those students to co-design what the learning is. That’s part of their learning journey.
You allow them to own that direction. And it’s a game changer for educators.
How can a math teacher teach across subjects?
Dr. Annalies Corbin (13:13): And the other one is transdisciplinary. Once we step away from saying, hey, I’m the math teacher and I’m only the math teacher. And I really embrace the idea I’m an educator today.
And I’m on a learning journey with my students. And I am the math content expert, but I can help my students see the connections between mathematics and social studies, or math and art, math and music, and so on. Right?
As soon as we break down those silos, it magically changes the student’s perspective from that engagement point of view that we talked about right at the beginning, because now it has some context, and it’s relevant.
Vicki Davis (13:50): The transdisciplinary, where you go across different disciplines is relevant in every class, because it helps people understand that, you know, the world is not science is here and math is here and social studies is here. The world, it’s all together because that’s what the world is like.
Dr. Annalies Corbin (14:08): And it’s a really odd constraint. And as an anthropologist, you know, studying humanity in the way humans and systems interact, this is one of the things that’s always been really mind boggling to me, because the real world is not siloed at all, right? We do not at our jobs or even in our real life stop what we’re doing because now it’s time to do math or stop what we’re doing because now it’s time to do science.
It does not work that way. And nobody rings a bell to tell us. Okay, now do the next thing.
So we have a lot of these artificial constraints that we’ve built into K-12, that honestly become a hindrance to our learners’ ability to be successful and adaptable once they get into the next thing that is not structured like that. We really have to take that K-12 system and we have to make it as adaptable as possible. And we’re not going to be able to do that if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing.
Vicki Davis (15:04): The book is Hacking School: Five Strategies to Link Learning to Life, Dr. Annalies Corbin from the PAST Foundation. Thanks for coming on the show.
Dr. Annalies Corbin (15:14): Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.
Announcer (15:14): Thank you for tuning in to the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast. Join us here every weekday and subscribe to the Classroom Matters newsletter. See you later, educator.
Dr. Annalies Corbin is the Founder & CEO of the PAST Foundation. In 2000, Dr. Corbin founded the PAST Foundation, an organization she envisioned could lead the way to connecting scientific research with classrooms, schools and communities. From 2000-2006, Annalies concurrently led the PAST Foundation and taught at East Carolina University’s Program in Maritime Studies. In 2005, when PAST opened its headquarters in Columbus, Annalies turned all efforts to building the PAST Foundation, assembling a team that could grow the reach and mission of linking learning to life.
From a single school partnership in 2006, Annalies has grown PAST’s supporters across the nation, building a reputation for both transforming teaching and learning by understanding tomorrow’s education needs. In 2015, Annalies’ commitment to transforming schools led to the development of PAST Innovation Lab. Connecting directly with teachers through online professional development courses, MAEd program and on-site workshops, PAST Innovation Lab impacts more classrooms and expands learning opportunities for teachers and students everywhere. In 25 years, PAST has impacted more than 3 million students, over 25,000 teachers across 42 states, hosting nearly 20,000 visitors and building hundreds of partnerships.
In 2019, Annalies and PAST launched Learning Unboxed. This podcast series highlights industry experts and students talking about the changing needs in the world of teaching, learning and the future of work. Rather than trying to fix a system that is working exactly as it was designed, this series challenges listeners to join the conversation of how we “unbox” education and create innovative solutions to better meet workforce needs. Follow Annalies on social media to join the conversation.
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