Definition:
A measure of a student’s abilities prior to learning.
Activating and integrating prior knowledge is one of the most powerful teaching strategies. While the research is clear on this point, less well-known are the variety of ways we can do this in our classes.
Create a Google Form to assess students prior knowledge of a topic. Go deeper than a “pre-test”. Why do students feel or answer a certain way? Dive into the Responses’ charts and graphs.
K-W-L Charts can be an used for assessing prior knowledge.
ABC Brainstorming is another way to activate prior knowledge. Students complete a box for every letter of the alphabet and then (they can do it in pairs) brainstorm a word or phrase that starts with each letter.
Use Questions in Classroom as a quick bell ringer or an in-depth message board with interaction.