ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

MARIA CONCEPCION M. LANSANG

The initial step before the actual teaching of the desired concepts is to check the schema of learners to determine the learning competencies which should be given much emphasis in the presentation of the lesson. Most teachers perhaps find it beneficial for it sets the mood and hooks the learners to sustain interest during the teaching-learning process. A priming activity that a teacher should tailor fit to lead in the acquisition of the skills and competencies.

One effective crucial teaching strategy is brainstorming. This is set as a priori in the discussion proper where learners are given tasks to share what they have in mind relative to the given topic. They are likely to think of significant past experiences and tie those with the others to come up with a shared consensus. This actually directs the learners for easier understanding of the concepts to be explained by the teacher and later appreciate the morals entrenched in the text structure. This is tantamount of encouraging the learners to participate in the discussion since the initial task involves them freely to share their insights and thoughts.

The increasing level to maximize the importance of brainstorming as a priming task should be religiously included in the teachers’DLL or DLP especially when the lesson requires a review of the previous topic to make meaningful connections. In this manner, learners are used in this initial activity and they are expected to share their insights for they are given the opportunity and liberty to voice their personal perspectives. This likewise enhances the learners’sense of commitment and collaboration in a small focus group discussi on.

Moreover, it is believed that group dynamics actually escalate self esteem among our learners. That they do not simply work in isolation and they won’t feel that they are being discriminated inside the classroom. They give the power to build friendship and destroy the barrier of poor communicative competence. This simply relates to improving the cognition, affection and psychomotor skills of the learners. That is why teachers are challenged to include in their DLL and DLP the priming activities that generate the good activation of the learners’prior knowledge. K-W-L chart is an effective graphical organizer to help learning easier to achieve.

What I know, what I want to know, and what I learned are questions that need to be processed in the entire teaching and learning process. The “what I know” part in the K-W-L chart probably brings about learners’prior knowledge which leads to the understanding of the concepts. And later when all questions are already answered, it will in fact lead them to the acquisition of the desired learning outcomes and competencies.

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The author is Teacher III at Salu Elementary School, Division of Pampanga