Engaging Prior Knowledge
Instruction should aspire to uncover what students already know (or not know) about a subject in order to support learning. New understandings are constructed on a foundation of existing understandings and experiences (Bransford & Donovan, 2005).
Teaching strategies that facilitate engaging prior knowledge include:
The Conceptual Change Model (CCM) engages learners’ prior knowledge because it explicitly asks students to communicate what they understand and to make predictions about systems based on their understanding. This provides educators with great opportunities to assess students' prior knowledge.
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Concept maps allow students to reflect on prior knowledge and to integrate that knowledge into the concept map in a hierarchical structure. The connection between previous and new knowledge strengthens long term recall of learning.
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Culturally Relevant Pedagogy facilitates engaging in prior knowledge by acknowledging and celebrating students’ cultural experiences within curriculum.
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The best products stem from a design thinking progression that begins with prior understanding of the situation. Students are encouraged to develop solutions to problems they have personal connections to, for example, creating the ideal classroom space or working with community partners to improve a city park (Ideo & Riverdale). Team members work together to use skills and tools they already possess at each step of the design process.
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In inquiry, students must engage prior knowledge in order to come up with questions and hypotheses, as well as think of possible explanations to describe the data and patterns they have observed. By doing inquiry and experiencing concepts first hand, students are also able to build on their prior understandings (Bransford & Donovan, 2005).
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Students must draw on prior knowledge about a variety of topics while participating in project-based learning classrooms. Since subjects are interwoven, students must bring in skills from a variety of areas in order to complete tasks and synthesize information. PBL teachers rely on students having a scaffolded baseline of experience in all areas related to the given project. This requires teachers to intentionally lay frameworks in order to prepare students for their independent group work.
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References
Bransford, J. D., & Donovan, M. S. (Eds.). (2005). How students learn: Science in the classroom. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Ideo, & Riverdale. (n.d.). Design Examples. Retrieved from http://www.designthinkingforeducators.com/design-examples/
Ideo, & Riverdale. (n.d.). Design Examples. Retrieved from http://www.designthinkingforeducators.com/design-examples/