Unit 7-Assignment 7-Approaches for Activating Prior Knowledge

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Written Assignment Unit 7: EDUC 5210 - AY2021-T5 APPROACHES FOR ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE In partial fulfilment Of the requirement in Education in Context: EDUC 5210 - AY2021-T5 Learning Theory At the University of the People 4 th August 2021 By: UoPeople Student

1 Approaches for Activating Prior Knowledge Introduction: Brain research has confirmed that it is easier for learners to acquire or construct new knowledge when they are able to attach the new knowledge to something that the learners already know. In order for this to occur, we need to create cognitive links between prior knowledge and the new knowledge. Strangman, Hall and Meyer (2004) present ideas and approaches on how instructors could cognitively activate prior knowledge and incorporate different strategies into their lesson plans (Strangman et al., 2004). Two of these instructional approaches, namely: reflection and recording, and interactive discussion, will be presented in this paper. Reflection and Recording This is one of the simplest forms of prior knowledge activation. The teacher directly asks the students what they know about the topic before engaging with the new content. The learners can respond orally and speak about what they already know and understand about the topic, or all of them could be asked to write what they know down. Once the learners have shown what they already know about the topic, the teacher can assess whether their existing knowledge is sufficient to begin with the new topic, or if a learning gap still exists that needs to be addressed in order for the new knowledge to be meaningful to the learners (Roschelle, 1997). Prior knowledge activation requires active stimulation of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, which are responsible for short term and long-term memory. Once the existing knowledge has been activated from memory, the brain is geared to receive new information that would scaffold onto the existing information. This would also add to the longevity of knowledge retention due to continuous neurotransmissions between existing knowledge and new

2 knowledge, which strengthens the connections between concepts ( Schunk, 2012 ). In an example of a Science class about electrical circuits, the teacher could ask the students what they already know about the components of a circuit. The learners would then demonstrate their existing knowledge orally by giving information about which materials are conductors and which are not, and they would recall the differences between an open circuit and a closed circuit, as well as the function of a switch. Based on this information, the teacher would assess on whether or not the learners are able to proceed with the practical implementations of constructing an electrical circuit. There are very few limitations to this approach, however, repetition of this same approach at the beginning of each lesson could become monotonous or predictable for the learner. Teachers are advised to apply different approaches and techniques to avoid this problem, and to maintain student interest and enthusiasm. Interpretation of Topic-Related Pictures Presenting students with images that are related to the topic are a unique way of introducing the topic, as well as finding out what learners already know about this topic (Strangman et al., 2004). It serves as a combination between a prediction activity, as well as an activity that allows learners to recall and activate existing knowledge about the topic from memory. The teacher uses these pictures to illicit the thoughts, ideas and information about the current topic. The students would then mention whatever they know or can identify from the images. The students can write this information down, or orally present their ideas about the pictures to the teacher and the class. An example of the implementation of this approach in the Science classroom, can be seen if the teacher presents the learners pictures related to electrical circuits such as conductors,

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