TEACHER STANDARDS

Activating Prior Knowledge

This course is designed to support you in your understanding of the importance of activating your pupils’ prior knowledge before teaching them something new. It takes you through the foundations of Constructivist theory and introduces the concept of schema to highlight why pupils’ prior knowledge is so important. This resource suggests some activities to try in your classroom as well as extra reading to further support your learning. It guides you to make a strategy, through action points, to embed this practice in your classroom.  
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Anna Edwards

2 hours

Online Course

By completing this course, you will:

Have an understanding of constructivist theory and how it can influence your teaching.
Know what the term ‘schemata’ means and how the brain uses them to organise information.
Realise the importance of your pupils activating their prior knowledge before introducing new information.
Know when and how to address misconceptions.
Learn a range of activities to help activate your pupils’ prior knowledge.

Course Lessons

Anna Edwards

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Anna has been working in education for the last 12 years in a variety of roles. She has worked across London in a range of different positions and settings, including as an assistant headteacher in one of the largest federations in the capital.
Anna now splits her time between writing for Twinkl, class teaching and consulting for a charity which specialises in parental engagement with school. Parental engagement, alongside curriculum and behaviour, are of particular interest to Anna. In her spare time, Anna is the mother of two young boys and enjoys long walks with her dog.