Aug 18
How much a reader knows about a topic is one of the best predictors of comprehension. When readers engage with a text for which they have limited BK, the text is more difficult to understand. Even when the background is there, locating and retrieving it can be another matter. And then there’s the issue of assessment–how do you know what they know, and what they don’t know? We’ve been thinking, talking, and writing about background knowledge. Why do you think background knowledge gets neglected in comprehension instruction?
August 25th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
hmmm….good question. Perhaps because “we” divide up our professional practices into narrow categories - preventing us from seeing the forest for the trees? I didn’t call it “background knowledge” when Katie was included. But, I was conscious of the fact that she was learning concepts and words that would come in handy in her future conversations and interactions with her peers and community members. And (as Peter Block write) conversation creates connections!!!
August 25th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
–I think some teachers are afraid of not being the expert in their classrooms. Using materials that spark teens to draw on their background knowledge means that teens, especially, are likely to bring up topics or introduce information that they about which they may have more knowledge or richer perspectives than the teacher does.
–I think some teachers also worry that they may not be teaching anything, or anything new, if they use materials that draw too heavily on students’ background knowledge. Teachers need help in understanding how to use those kinds materials to advance students’ skills and understanding–and to deepen their knowledge base.
–I think some teachers (hopefully a small group) do not have sufficient respect for the richness and vitality of their students’ lives and knowledge, so it doesn’t occur to them that tapping that knowledge can be a great educational strategy.
–Finally, because teachers usually have a great deal of background knowledge about the subjects they teach, I think some of them are just unaware of how little background knowledge their students may have, and the extent to which that lack of knowledge, and other other problems, accounts for lack of interest and comprehension by their students.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:39 am
In our media rich environment, I think some students have that “parking lot puddle” (wide and shallow) knowledge of various subjects, but they have deep knowledge of few things. If they watch a History Channel documentary, they get a very narrow, and often times surface-level knowledge of a subject. So I agree with Keith Hefner’s final point: we sometimes assume they know a lot more than they do, simply because they do have a lot of facts about a topic at their disposal. Perhaps we need to purposely plan for students to work collaboratively to consolidate their “factiods” on a subject into a framework that would allow them to see connections and patterns…then with that shared bk move forward.
January 6th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Your question I think is more about general education, but I have discovered that providing background information to my fifth and sixth grade intervention caseload is critical to increasing their comprehension. I meet with the grade level content teachers every week during their PLC so that I can be aware of what the students can expect to learn. I see my caseload of students a half hour for a couple days a week, so some of what I do is to provide some “up front” background. Our present schedule prohibits me from meeting with them more frequently, but my focus is vocabulary instruction that includes content words, reading and writing strategies, and (as research notes is most important) opportunities to read! Doug, do you have suggestions on how to best meet the literacy needs of this at-risk age group?