Connections to prior knowledge
One reason why assessment is so important to effective instruction is because it allows teachers to see what students already know as well as what they have missed. By building on what students already know, teachers can increase student confidence as well as reinforce new learning and test-taking skills. An instructional strategy called KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) makes use of prior knowledge:
- In a new lesson (for example, a new unit in history) instruct students to make a list of what they already know about the topic.
- Based on the title or introduction to the new topic, ask students what they want to know.
- After they have studied the new topic, have students tell what they have learned.
The ability to identify both what students do know and what they do not yet understand is similar to a scaffolding approach.
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Scaffolding