activating prior knowledge
"Reminding children to begin a new activity by taking stock of what they already know (in current mechanistic terms 'activating prior knowledge') has several functions. First, it reduces the magnitude of the problem to be solved. Second, it puts the new problem in the context of an old, already-solved problem. Third, it opens the possibility of more connections among the new knowledge and what is already known." (Johnston, P., 2004, p. 45)
Working Definition
As teachers we have very limited influence over the contents of a student's prior knowledge. We can, however, create contexts in which prior knowledge will be activated. We can also model how to direct this prior knowledge once it is activated, through the use of think-alouds, then guide students to do this independently.
Prompts
Prompts are found in each of the subsets.
See:
Also see subsets in: