Background knowledge: Why is it important? |
Background knowledge is a term that applies to everything stored in long-term memory from direct and indirect experience. It includes pre-existing knowledge of facts and ideas that enables readers to construct meaning from texts, form mental models of what has been read, make inferences, and acquire new knowledge. It is important to recognize that knowledge is not just accumulating facts. Rather, children need to develop knowledge networks, composed of clusters of concepts that are coherent, generative, and supportive of future learning in a domain.
The relationship between existing knowledge and reading comprehension implies that students in any classroom, face-to-face or virtual, are already advantaged or disadvantaged by what they bring with them and already know. For example, studies have shown that individual differences in prior knowledge affect the ability to extract explicit and implicit information from text and integrate this text-based information in reading comprehension (Kintsch & McNamara, 2009). Other studies have examined multiple factors, including the relative contributions of inferential processing, domain knowledge, metacognition, and working memory to learning from text (Barnes, Bryant, Cain, & Oakhill, 2001). Research confirms the role of background knowledge on children's comprehension as early as preschool.
What do teachers do for students with limited or no background knowledge when given a reading assignment, listening to a fictional, narrative text, or reading and listening to information in content areas? Time spent preparing students to comprehend can pay big dividends. First, establish a purpose for reading by eliciting or supplying background knowledge and pre-teaching key vocabulary. Next, teach words in categories to engage students and trigger known information. Comparing and contrasting items and concepts while using analogies assists students to categorize information and file knowledge into their own mental framework. Filling out anticipatory guides and KWL charts while explicitly sharing information before, during, and after reading develops students’ knowledge and prepares them for learning new information. Finally, multimedia resources can engage students’ interest and supplement real-life experiences.
Today’s standards require children to develop knowledge through text, both narrative and informational, within specified difficulty ranges at each grade level. Without greater efforts to enhance background knowledge, differences in children's knowledge base may further exacerbate the differences in children's vocabulary and comprehension. The importance of supporting and building children’s background knowledge in order to provide a strong foundation for learning is imperative.
Resources
Hennessy, N. L. (2021). The reading comprehension blueprint: Helping students make meaning from text. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Moats, L., & Tolman, C. (2019). Language essentials for teachers or reading and spelling (3rd ed., Vol. 2). Dallas: Voyager Sopris Learning, Inc.
References
Barnes, M., Bryant, P., Cain, K., & Oakhill, J., (2001). Comprehension skill, inference-making ability, and their relation to knowledge. Memory and Cognition, 29, 850–859.
Kintsch, W., & McNamara, D. (2009). Learning from texts: Effects of prior knowledge and text coherence. Discourse Processes, 22(3), 247–288.
For more information, contact Diane Lewis (dplewis@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.
|
|
|
Methods for simplifying hybrid learning |
Many schools across the country are vacillating between a face-to-face instructional model and a hybrid model for providing instruction. While remote teaching and learning are not new concepts, it is a new and challenging experience for many public school educators. Mike Flynn, guest blogger for the Association for School and Curriculum Development, shares tips on how to simplify blended learning and provide practical teaching methods in his article, “How to simplify hybrid learning” (Flynn, 2021). With all the new tools and technology that are available, not everyone may be equipped to incorporate them into daily lessons. Flynn shares, “as practitioners we must manage our cognitive load” (Flynn, 2021, para. 4). What does that mean? Teachers think about content and pedagogy and what must be accomplished by the students by the end of a lesson. Now, teachers need to monitor the cameras of 20 students, mute buttons, and breakout rooms. Flynn states that “supporting good online teaching is about reducing teachers’ cognitive load” (Flynn, 2021, para. 5).
In remote learning, everything does not have to be in a digital format (Flynn, 2021). Allowing students to use pen and paper to show their work is one suggested strategy. Paper is more accessible and easier to manage and reduces the cognitive load for students and teachers. Students can share work by holding it up to the camera. In addition, they can take a screenshot and upload it for documentation and data collection. Another tip is to have the camera positioned so that it focuses on the work and not the student’s face. Students can show their work in real-time and the teacher can correct it in real-time (Flynn, 2021).
As teachers start the second half of the 2021 school year, some school divisions are requiring them to teach face-to-face and remotely at the same time. Flynn (2021) shares visuals and specific steps on how to implement hybrid learning. He suggests teachers start small with the basics of a hybrid learning classroom that includes a screen for projector or television and laptop. A second teaching spot can be created along with the use of a second device. Flynn points out that this should be done only when teachers have become comfortable with the technology (Flynn, 2021).
Lastly, this advice is offered to those who support teachers, “consider the needs of each teacher and have flexible plans that allow for some to ease into the technology and others to have access to the tools and resources that will help them implement more advanced hybrid learning strategies” (Flynn, 2021, para. 20).
Reference
Flynn, M. (2021, January 13). How to simplify hybrid learning. ASCD Inservice. https://inservice.ascd.org/how-to-simplify-hybrid-learning/?utm_campaign=ALL-r%26r-Express-16-09-1-14-21&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=106555715&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9LmNpADiPkrO2aeaG-0XZECRrYAIi1ze4lFBS71sQlPEKuFKFbE4CnN8fyodvkmQ6tvjfRAC0FOlJZqtYTbMFYYLnrrw&utm_content=106555715&utm_source=hs_email
For more information, contact LaTonja Wright (wrightly2@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.
|
|
|
Highlighting the VDOE’s Evidence-Based Specially Designed Instruction in Mathematics Resource Guide |
Mathematics continues to be an academic area where a significant achievement gap for students with disabilities exists. From an analysis of 2017-2018 Standards of Learning (SOL) and least restrictive environment data for school divisions in the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Education shares that while 68% of students with disabilities spent at least 80% of their day in the general education setting, approximately 55% of students with disabilities passed the math SOL that year (Virginia Department of Education, 2020). This analysis prompted the creation of the “Evidence-Based Specially Designed Instruction in Mathematics Resource Guide” to help educators, administrators, and parents support students with disabilities and students who experience difficulties in math. The extensive guide covers five evidence-based strategies: explicit instruction, formal mathematical language concrete-representational-abstract connections; fact and computational fluency; and word problem solving (Virginia Department of Education, 2020. The evidence-based strategy concrete-representational-abstract (C-R-A) connections is worthy of highlighting.
For many students with disabilities and students who have difficulties in math, making the connection between C-R-A concepts can be challenging. Concrete representations are three-dimensional, hands-on objects that students can touch and move. Items specifically made for this purpose are fraction bars, algebra tiles, and two-colored counters or common items that are repurposed like straws used for measurement, paper clips used for place value, or bingo chips used as counters (Virginia Department of Education, 2020). Pictorial representations such as two-dimensional images and virtual manipulatives can be found in workbooks or textbooks or can be drawings produced by students, teachers, or parents. Abstract representations are the words, symbols, and numbers that represent mathematical concepts. When all three C-R-A representations work together, they provide a powerful framework for deepening a student's understanding of mathematical concepts.
When using C-R-A connections as a framework, it is imperative that teachers provide explicit connections between all three representations. For example, when teaching students how to add the two-digit numbers 45 and 23, the written numbers (abstract representation), when accompanied by base ten blocks (concrete) and a drawing (pictorial), will help a struggling student understand the concept more thoroughly as opposed to working with only one of the representations. Moreover, to meet the needs of students who struggle with one representation more than another, teachers can vary the type and amount of practice with each of the representations to support the student’s individual needs.
Reference
For more information, contact Crystal Bell (bellcr@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
