Looking at the perspective of Buehl is an interesting one. In Chapter 3, there is a perspective to translate knowledge onto a individual that makes them comprehend the information they may be familiar with. Processing knowledge has many ways to be comprehended that are important to understand to consider the difference between the knowing and learning beyond what you know. An essential question that is asked in the beginning of the chapter which is an something to think about "How do academic knowledge gaps affect the reading of disciplinary texts?" I would assume that the knowledge being interpreted whether new or refreshing on old matter takes a measure of critical thinking to process the meaning, context, or value of a reading prompt. There are multiple ways to read from either from looking at historical details to comprehend the causes of history to recognize the effects that establish our present, to reading a fiction and analyzing the context, main idea or key themes to write/reflect upon, and making connections to ideas, theory or emotion that are similar and share a sense of value that needs to be kept in mind for future interaction.
When I think about prior knowledge think about how certain subjects such as English and History when certain topics felt repetitive. An example would be when I was in high school certain history classes from junior and senior year, we talked about 20th century U.S. history and I was able to recall the same details from history talked about when I was in 8th grade. Over the years, I ask the same question along with other students is why are we discussing a concept already have been previously talked about considering that their is far other topics to talk about especially the ones that aren't mentioned or very little get mentioned but play a role into talking about history that may impact a underrepresented community. I realize that it was good to refresh on materials not just for the sake of remembering it but to practice the skill of memorizing knowledge to improve the skill of comprehension for future lessons and improving the quality of critical thinking when needed.
I share an article that talks about the value of prior knowledge and some key suggestions on some strategies to help students improve on their prior knowledge, I personally believe that the value of prior knowledge is an important concept to consider when teaching material especially with recognizing the material that seems familiar to an individual.
https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2012/01/importance-of-prior-knowledge-to-learning/
The information is unique with the fact that there are different ways to look at processing information not just looking at from one simple basic approach. I'm a little surprised by the complexity of opening inter knowledge that has been locked away from previous years or difference between domain knowledge and topic knowledge. There are so many concepts its both fascinating but curious to really understand the amount of different interpretations of information which at first seemed to reflect on the different ways a person can interpret information but also includes the way information can be interpreted. An example of this is looking at procedural knowledge, which is the knowledge of and facility with the use of algorithms - series of problem solving steps - that can lead to certain problem solutions. The text to self knowledge is the direct knowledge accrued from one's personal life experiences. This method of knowing connects with one's personal perception and integrating or connecting the concept for looking for comparisons, differences, or relating to information seemingly understood. Basically to summarize my point there weren't many labels and concepts to understand when I was younger because knowing, knowledge and the process of thinking seemed a bit simply...providing the struggle of interpreting information stayed with an individual to use it.
Thanks for sharing your experience with feeling like your prior knowledge was underestimated. Do you think it would have been helpful if your teachers had used something like a prediction/anticipation guide that would compare what you knew before reading to any new ideas gained? I imagine that it might have helped students realize the development of their own comprehension and/or helped the teacher recognize when no one learned anything new, signaling that they could have brought in more complex, detailed, or diverse texts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question, from my experience and understanding I would say having a form of predictions or anticipation can be setup ideally through lecture but in past I remember some teachers either gives us a preview of our next lesson through an assigned reading or a worksheet mixed with other questions from the current lesson. How ever way you structure your lesson plan or lecture your students is up to you. Its good to keep it creative if possible they tend to be more engaging.
DeleteI like that you talked about how the way that our reasons for reading affect what we get out of texts. While this may seem like an obvious point, it is important. In our own classrooms, we may assign a reading and give guiding questions to think about while we read. Or, we can assign a reading and give questions about the text after the reading. Or, we may not assign questions at all and simply as for student thoughts on the text. If students are reading a text with the questions that have been assigned at the forefront of their minds, then this will affect what they get out of the reading. However, if they are allowed to make their own judgements of what is important, then this may be a more authentic way of reading the text. However, it may be more difficult for educators to get a certain point across, since students are left to interpret as they wish.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Erin, guiding questions are important it would be ideal to consider that for every lesson if possible just to be mindful of the knowledge but to have it structured in a that analysis the assessment in students in what they know or need to from either having a presentation ready or having an assignment set up in a way that makes them think beyond the objective of the assignment is one that should be kept in mind. I also don't believe we need to make a certain point beyond seeing the value in the material we teach them but to help them navigate the historical or factual information as it was or is and at least get them to engage if not question to reaffirm the facts they need to know.
DeleteI like the article you referenced. I think that teaching students self assessment is an important skill that allows students to understand what they know and what they don't know. This will further help their education and allow them to improve their own cognitive processes. They will know what questions they need to ask to help themselves and further their understanding. I really appreciated the new ideas being proposed. - Kiley
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the reading, its important to remind yourself of the knowledge that has been talked about but also thinking and considering the different dimensions of learning, receiving or understanding knowledge to challenge not just the students we teach but to challenge ourselves as well.
DeleteThe idea of unlocking old knowledge distances by years is interesting to me. I began reading novels in my teens, then one day I realized I couldn't recall the majority of a book I had read a couple years back. I was dismayed. I went into a literary fugue and stopped reading books for the next year, because I thought "what's the point". But I realized later that even if it isn't easy to recall, old information can still be useful. It is easier to learn something the second time, and the value of different perspectives in novels is always enriching for a person.
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