Make a Course Connection
On the QT Newsletter, Make a Course Connection
February 5, 2008
Did you know? If we ask students at the start of a course, at the start of any new topic, or after the first few experiences with a new subject: “What do you know about…?,” then these five words become magic. Born to Learn author Rita Smilkstein, explains in her lecture notes how the brain constructs new learning from what it already knows. We know that students don’t enter a course with a blank slate. Rather they come with many ideas and experiences. Assessing what they already know and linking their prior knowledge to new course concepts will help students learn more effectively. You may want to simply ask them a few questions, or you may want to construct a Background Knowledge Probe to help you quickly identify where to begin.
Try This:
- Write several open-ended questions on the white board or hand out questionnaires, with short answer and/or multiple-choice questions.
- Explain to students that this is not a test but will help you quickly assess where to begin instruction.
- After you review their responses, share with your students what you learned and how you will use the information.
Want More: Here are several sample Background Knowledge Probes to review. This Political Science probe shows the questions asked and the responses received. You can modify this Background Knowledge Probe template, from Georgian College in Ontario, Canada, to fit your course content. For additional information on Classroom Assessment Techniques, (CAT) this Penn State report will give you a good introduction, with an explanation of Background Knowledge Probes on page 3.
