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Building a Network of Prior Knowledge
In The Phenomenon of Assimilation, we discussed the need for "downtime,"
the time set aside for a child's brain to assimilate new information. We
stated that it was a time of neural reorganization and restructuring.
What can teachers and parents do to shorten the length
of this assimilation process? How can we make a child better able to
process new information? By encouraging the child to build a network of
prior knowledge.
Developing prior knowledge:
To shorten future periods of assimilation, a
parent or teacher may want to introduce topics days or weeks before
a lesson begins. By pre-exposing the child to
new information, his brain has an opportunity to form new patterns prior
to instruction. This principle, writes Eric Jensen, author of
Brain-Compatible Learning, suggests that we
ought to be aware of how the brain makes sense out of random information
through pattern-making; and the importance of engaging the child with a
big picture perspective. By building a structure of prior knowledge,
the child's brain has time to adjust the puzzle
pieces before receiving new incoming
information.
Looking ahead: At the
beginning of a new school year, when a child
brings home a new textbook, the parent may want
to write on a calendar the topics to be covered throughout the year. For
example, if in January he will be learning about
Japan, the parent can help
him develop an interest in the country during the fall. Not
statistical information like the major imports and exports, but something
he can identify with, like a Japanese childs school day. Set one clock
in the house to Tokyo time and label it Tokyo, Japan.
The budding geographer will want to know more.
When he goes to bed, he will know that his
counterpart in Japan is eating breakfast
tomorrow! What is he eating? Does he take the school bus? Is he going
to walk to school? Does he wear tennis shoes? Through this wonderful
process, the child is developing a geographical
and cultural neural network of prior knowledge concerning the country of
Japan.
If, next spring, he will be
learning about the metric system, the parent can
begin in the fall to stir up his mathematical curiosity. Convert his
height from inches and feet to meters. When grocery shopping,
he could weigh an apple, then convert it to
grams. For example, a 7-ounce Granny Smith apple weighs 200 grams. (.035
ounces = 1gram. Therefore, 7 divided by .035 = 200grams.) Would
his counterpart in Japan use the metric system?
Are Granny Smith apples even available in Japan? Now we are back to our
social studies topic. What fruits are indigenous to that region?
Building a network of prior
knowledge: Children are naturally curious. This built-in hunger
for knowledge includes a system of neural networking that is designed to
enhance learning. Helping a child develop
preliminary patterns of organization and reorganization through the
introduction of prior knowledge decreases the time needed for
him to assimilate new information.
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