Activating prior knowledge and increasing motivation are significant elements of successful education. I believe students’ past experiences, personal identities, and content understandings are key factors of motivation. Students are more likely to be motivated about a topic if they can activate prior knowledge about the topic or if they can relate something to the topic. I completely agree that if students cannot activate prior knowledge about a topic, then they probably will not be motivated about the topic. Therefore, motivation and activating prior knowledge are closely connected and can be interchangeable.
Teachers should have a clear understanding of their students as individuals because all students are different. It is important to know which students might not have background knowledge of a certain topic so the teacher can introduce the topic to those students. For example, if there is a student who has never been to a zoo and the teacher is trying to motivate the students by activating their prior knowledge of the zoo, then that student who has never been to the zoo is not going to be motivated. They could be lost throughout the whole lesson. It is important that teachers think about these circumstances before they activate prior knowledge as a way to motivate students.
I think that the K-W-L charts are a great strategy to use in a lesson to activate students’ prior knowledge. The K-W-L charts can be helpful to the teacher to know which students are familiar with the topic. I was not familiar with the concept-oriented reading instruction (CORI). I enjoyed reading about CORI on pages 207- 210. I learned that teachers should build curiosity according to students’ interests, give clear expectations to students, teach learning strategies to the students, and give feedback and praise in a timely manner. I really enjoyed this chapter because I believe motivation is key to students' success in education.
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Hi Karey,
ReplyDeleteGood post. A couple of Qs: 1) What are some concrete ways you might "activate prior knowledge"? and 2) KWLs are sometimes overused or used in ineffective ways--do you have any ideas for making them more engaging and effective?
John
You are completely correct about not being able to motivate a student that does not have prior knowledge on a topic. My question to you is how can we get those students that do not have that prior knowledge to the level of their other classmates? What are some ways that we can give those students the knowledge on topics they do not know anything about?
ReplyDeleteWe share a lot of the same ideas. I also think that KWL charts are great. I think that teachers can use these charts in any subject, not just reading. Before teaching a science lesson about the solar system, the teacher could see what students already know and what they want to know. If students cannot get motivated about a topic without activating prior knowledge, how can teachers get students excited about topics they have never heard of? Example: The Mayan Ruins
ReplyDeleteKarey my blog is very similar to yours I too feel that KWL are great tools in activating the students' prior knowledge. You mentioned that teachers should be familiar with their students' prior knowledge and introduce new concepts to those students who possess that knowledge. But what about those students who have never been to the zoo how can we access their prior knowledge and/or motivate them to learn about the zoo as well?
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