Activating Prior Knowledge


Facilitator: Diana Benner (@diben) | https://bit.ly/llprior

Session Description

According to John Hattie, activating prior knowledge (effect size of 0.82) is a powerful teaching strategy. Come learn different ways you can assess what students know before giving your lesson.

definition

Definition of Activating Prior Knowledge:

A measure of a student’s prior abilities.

Prior knowledge is the information a learner already has before they learn new information. A learner's understanding of educational material can be improved by taking advantage of their prior knowledge before dealing with the new material.

Students come to the classroom with a broad range of pre-existing knowledge, skills, beliefs, and attitudes, which influence how they attend, interpret and organize incoming information.

multimedia

Before you start a new unit or text, show students a related video or slideshow, or display a photograph. Asking students to write or talk about it with a partner is a great way to instantly gauge prior knowledge, build background, and spark interest. A simple prompt could be “What did you notice?” or “What did you find interesting?” This is a great way to assess background knowledge in an engaging way.

TRY IT: What do you know about this man?

Enter your answers on this Jamboard.

K-W-L Chart

K-W-L charts are graphic organizers that help students organize information before, during, and after a unit or a lesson. They can be used to engage students in a new topic, activate prior knowledge, share unit objectives, and monitor students’ learning.

K-W-L is the creation of Donna Ogle and usually consists of 3 columns.

  • K stands for Know
    This is the prior knowledge activation question.

  • W stands for Will or Want
    What do I think I will learn about this topic? What do I want to know about this topic? This serves as purpose setting.

  • L stands for Learned
    What have I learned about this topic? The "L" is often completed after instruction but can als    o be used during instruction.

K-W-H-L

You can also add an H to the chart. H stands for How Can We Learn This, which shifts ownership of learning to students.

K-W-L-A-Q

  • A stands for action: Considering what they have learned, students brainstorm a list of actions they could take that extend logically from this new knowledge. This information goes into the Action column. They each commit to a certain action.

  • Q stands for question: After everything they have learned, students consider what questions they still have. These are recorded in the final column. This step helps to reinforce the idea that learning is a lifelong, interconnected process, and that one question leads to another.

word association

This word association strategy is an ideal way to help students activate prior knowledge that they might have about a topic.

Steps:

  1. Tell students the name of the topic or lesson.

  2. Have students take turns adding as many words related to the topic. Encourage students to write at least three words.

  3. After 3-5 minutes (or less, if no one is adding anything new), discuss their answers. Asking students to share the first three words they associate with a topic can reveal a lot about what information or misconceptions they are bringing into the learning environment.

TRY IT: What words come to mind when you think about the solar system?

Enter your answers at https://www.menti.com/g431ky68m8

the first word

The First Word is a variation on traditional acronyms. By going through the process of analyzing words and creating related sentences, you will be able to assess student's prior knowledge.

Steps:

  1. Give students the name of a topic or key concept to write (or type) vertically down the side of a page.

  2. Students should then generate a short phrase or sentence that begins with each letter of the vertical work and offers important information or key characteristics about the topic.

  3. Students can illustrate their "First Words" for posting around the classroom. Sharing "First Words" will allow students to identify important concepts that may have been left out of their own work.

Sun is the star at the center of the solar system

Orbits are the paths that planets take around the Sun

Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon gets blocked by the Earth

Asteroids are big rocks that orbit the Sun

Rings-- the planet Saturn has them

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun

You can see some planets with your naked eye

Some other planets are: Earth, Venue, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune

The Earth is the only planet with life on it

Every year, the Earth orbits the Sun once

Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun

TRY IT: Your word is BIRD.

Enter your answers on this Jamboard.

additional resources

Talking Drawings: Five Steps to Assess Student's Prior Knowledge

Are you looking for a way to access student's prior knowledge, a powerful teaching and learning technique? If so, try the Talking Drawings strategy.

Assess Prior Knowledge with ABC Brainstorming

Are you looking for a way to access student's prior knowledge? If so, try the ABC Brainstorming strategy that works for any grade level or subject area.

Strategies for Supporting Working Memory

Working memory lets us store and use information over short periods of time. How can we support students' working memory? Let's take a look.