Extending My Professional Development

  What makes a great pasta dish? The sauce! Every individual (family) has their own way (process) of making their famous sauce. Wether it's canned and doctored sauce or all fresh ingredients, everyone agrees- it's in the sauce! A good sauce fills gaps, blends ingredients, and binds. Like The Sauce, much of our Prior Knowledge and cultural nuances are nothing more than ingredients that come together to create learning experiences. Ingredients that are dictated by the language used to retrieve them, cultural and sub-cultural norms and personal experiences as well as high-context and low-context and trauma.  Prior Knowledge is not strictly canned or homemade sauce (an either/or) in on student's learning journey. I see the misconception of Prior Knowledge's 'either/or' application in education as well as culture misconceptions as opportunities to upgrade our thinking as educators. Asking key questions during the lesson planning process, like,"How can my student

  If we continue on the line of thought that PK is not an 'either/or' task, but a process we should also consider Prior Knowledge as it relates to culture. Meaning the process that the educator brings into a classroom to engage and connect with students require sensitivity as well as an understanding and appreciation of the student's culture and subculture to provide PK activities that personal, profound and positive. For example, in my English class writing themes around death, religion and dystopian society may allow students to think critically, engage in the process of learning, and demonstrate understanding within their world. If I ask my students to answer, "How they can use?", "Why they must use this?" and "When will they use this?" 

The misconception is on the focus of Prior Knowledge as an event rather than a process. Educators like myself often focus on the what a student should already know and how to present the new information. And PK activities are used as straight pathway between the two endpoints; often an after thought.  But by shifting our understanding that PK may not have a starting point on the pathway due to trauma gaps or cultural miscommunications we can avoid negatively effect students' acquiring new information.  If PK is seen as an 'either/or' situation, both teacher(s) and student(s) may intentionally or unintentionally assume that the student lacks an ability, or skill-set for a particular subject area. When the educator actual missed an opportunity to present questions that not only triggering students' PK, but spark the students on a personal level. The result can be that students do not immediately recognize how that new information can be applied to: the present task and fa

Another misunderstood concept that impacts students' Prior Knowledge (PK) and is directly related to education is culture. Culture is often boiled down to static features; such as, holidays, foods, religions, the arts including languages. However, culture is actually intricate and dynamic. (Nieto, 2008) For example, a teacher that is a 50+ caucasian and from a traditional middle-class to upper-middle class family will have different cultural and subculture norms, values, and symbols than a 16+ Dine' student from a non-traditional middle to upper-middle class family when engaging PK and connecting it to new information. As a result PK may remain inconveniently inaccessible by students because it goes against cultural and subcultural norms.

One misunderstood concept in education is the focus on prior knowledge (PK) as an 'either/or' scenario when it comes to helping or hindering content area instruction. I experienced gaps myself and struggled to articulate how PK is misapplied as an either/or because educators aren't asking students the right questions. For example, typically teachers fall into the mindset that either a student can draw on PK to build-on or they cannot for a particular content area, like writing or mathematics. It is widely accepted in education circles that PK can either help or hurt ones progress in acquiring and assimilating new information. This is easier and neater than exploring why traditional PK techniques do not always work, for example, experience trauma while learning and cultural dynamics.  Can you recall a time when you were a student and were completely gobsmacked that others around you knew something that you didn't? Perhaps you recall a time you felt embarrassed or dumb fo