The Importance of Activating Prior Knowledge
by Lindsey Theirl
1. What should the teacher know? Curiosity piques interest and increases motivation.
2. What? Students can make connections between ideas/concepts they already know and new information.
3. Why? Students learn best when they are mentally prepared and engaged in the lesson. Confidence is key in preparing a student to succeed in learning. Self-efficacy in one's ability to successfully complete a task increases motivation to do so.
4. Activating prior knowledge is similar to “building blocks,” carefully and purposefully being stacked on top of one another. The more “blocks” or pieces of relevant information that are added, the larger the structure becomes, or in this case, the more advanced the student’s cognition becomes.
5. Teachers must introduce content
6. How? Confidence is key in preparing a student to succeed in learning. Self-efficacy in one's ability to successfully complete a task increases motivation to do so. Teachers can employ numerous reading comprehension strategies that activate prior knowledge and set students up for success.
