Activating prior knowledge
Learning is an active process of constructing knowledge and developing
understanding. To aid this process, pupils make meaning by connecting new
knowledge and concepts to ideas and knowledge they already possess. It is
important, therefore, that teachers help pupils use what they already know to make
sense of new knowledge. This can be done through looking at or handling objects,
telling stories, drawing concept maps, referring to pupils’ experiences or getting
pupils to imagine particular scenes. An advantage of this approach is that pupils’
misunderstandings are often revealed and so corrected.
Challenge
Challenge is about setting high expectations and then teaching to them so pupils
surpass previous levels of achievement. Where learning is insufficiently challenging,
pupils can lack stimulation and interest so their level of involvement quickly
declines. This is true for all levels of ability. One way teachers create the appropriate
level of challenge is by providing learning opportunities which are pitched to avoid,
on the one hand, boring repetitive work and, on the other, tasks that are totally
beyond pupils’ capability. Pupils with special educational needs, in particular, are
sometimes provided with very low-level tasks that lack the appropriate stimulation
and challenge. Being given the chance to strive to solve challenging problems and
think through issues leads to cognitive development and higher achievement for all
pupils.
Cooperative group work
When pupils work together on a common task they interpret given information, ask
questions for clarification, speculate and give reasons. They share their knowledge,
ideas and perspectives and arrive at a fuller understanding than they might have
done working alone. When pupils work in this way, it exemplifies Vygotsky’s ‘zone
of proximal development’, where the assistance of peers helps the development of
thought in the individual. The process of cooperative work has been described as
‘talking oneself into understanding’.
Metacognition
Metacognition is thinking about thinking. The ability to stand back from a difficult
task to consider how it should be done, to monitor one’s progress and priorities
and to reflect on successes and weaknesses is critical in becoming a successful
learner. Teachers need to give pupils opportunities to plan, monitor and reflect on
their work so that they can engage with learning as a process. This is typically done
by asking pupils to consider how they will tackle a task or problem or by getting
them to reflect on how they have done a task.
Modes of representing information
The brain is forced to work hard when it has to convert information from one mode
to another. This could be, for example, from text to diagrammatic form or from
visual representation, such as film, to music (as in writing a score to accompany
some silent film footage). Such work is demanding because the individual is being
forced to think about and make sense of the original information. The same degree
of mental work can also be required when transforming information within the same
medium, for example by summarising a text.
Scaffolds
Scaffolds are structures that guide and support thinking. Complex tasks such as
problem solving and extended writing make great demands on the novice. There
are too many things to do at once. Scaffolds help by focusing attention on one
thing at a time and providing a prompt, thus reducing the demands on the pupil’s
working memory. The pupil can then move on to the next part of the complex task.
The intention is always that the support is temporary and that the pupil will
progress to working independently over time.
Deep and surface learning
Some pupils become good, motivated learners; others don’t – and many pupils
behave differently in different subjects and with different teachers. These differences
arise partly from what the learner brings to the classroom (in intelligence,
background, prior knowledge, attitudes, skills and interests). They are also the
result of what the learner experiences in the classroom. ‘Deep’ and ‘surface’
approaches to learning describe the extremes of learning experience. Deep learning
is the consequence of teachers using strategies which accord with the principles of
engagement.
Pupils are engaged in deep learning when:
• they are trying to understand and make sense of material;
• they are relating ideas and information to previous knowledge and experience;
• they are not accepting new information uncritically;
• they are using organising principles to integrate ideas;
• they are relating evidence to conclusions;
• they are examining the logic of arguments.
When pupils are merely reproducing or memorising given facts and information;
accepting ideas and information passively; not being required to look for principles
or patterns or to reflect on goals and progress – then they are only engaged in
surface learning. The role of the teacher is crucial in engaging pupils in
constructive, deep learning.
Copyright Acknowledgement
Taken from: National Strategy | Pedagogy and practice,
Unit 11: Active engagement techniques
© Crown copyright 2004
