What
The pupil retrieves all prior knowledge he has gained on the subject. The teacher may inquire about the assignment: What do you already know about this subject? Or: Have you ever done this kind of assignment before?
Activation of priory knowledge
When
Secondly, the pupil activates his or her prior knowledge. The teacher only coaches when the pupil fails to do this by himself.
How
The pupil considers what he or she already knows about this assignment: What does he or she already know about the subject or about similar assignments?
Why
Many assignments build on the knowledge previously gained by pupils. That is why it is useful to retrieve prior knowledge related to the assignment, because you can use this knowledge for doing the assignment. The answer might be found there.
Example
Prior knowledge could be represented in the form of a word web, or by a mind map. A good book describing how a teacher can coach pupils to mind map is Leer mindmappen voor kids by Ed van Uden (2015).
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