The Background Knowledge Webinar

will begin at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2009). Background Knowledge: The Missing Piece of the Comprehension Puzzle. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

WebinarBackground Knowledge:

The Missing Piece of the Comprehension Puzzle

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2009). Background Knowledge: The Missing Piece of the Comprehension Puzzle. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Just because the backpack is in there, doesn’t mean he can find it!

Background Knowledge Is Like a Teenager’s

Closet…

How People Learn

• Organized: Knowing where to find it

• Conditionalized: Knowing when it is needed

• Transferable: Knowing how to apply it to new situations (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000)

• Assess what students already know• Plan lessons and activities that build

background knowledge• Design ways to activate students’ knowledge

by having them interact with content

3 Practices Linked to Background Knowledge

Assessing Your Practice

Assessing Background Knowledge

Assessing Your Practice

Use the rubric to determine your goals for addressingmisconceptions and assessing background knowledge.

How do teachers foster background knowledge across the sc hool day? 5 4 3 2 1 Knowledge of Misconceptions Common to the Discipline

Units include discipline-specific misconceptions that are directly assessed. Explicit teaching is designed to interrupt misconceptions.

Units include discipline-specific misconceptions. These are assessed, but are not directly addressed in teaching.

Misconceptions are sometimes included and may or may not be assessed or directly addressed in teaching.

Awareness of some discipline-specific misconceptions. These are integrated into some aspects of assessment or teaching.

Unfamiliar with the discipline-specific misconceptions that should be anticipated from students.

Assessing Background Knowledge

Common formative assessments focus on core background knowledge, not incidental knowledge. Assessment results are used to plan instruction and re-teaching. Results are shared and discussed with colleagues.

Formative assessment focuses mostly on core background knowledge. These assessment results are used to plan instruction and re-teaching, but are based within single classrooms.

Formative assessment is used, but core and incidental background knowledge is not differentiated. Results are used for some instructional planning, but not routinely. Results are not discussed with colleagues.

Assessment is used as a pretest, but is rarely analyzed for planning instruction and re-teaching. Results are not discussed with colleagues.

Assessment is summative and is used primarily for grading purposes. Results are not used for the purposes of improving future instruction.

Core Incidental

Foundational to understanding main concepts

Representation Interesting, but incidental

Requires multiple exposures and experiences

Transmission Can be explained or defined easily (label, fact, or name)

Needed again to understand future concepts

Transferability Specific to this concept; unlikely to be used later

Will be remembered after details are forgotten

Enduring Not likely to be recalled later

Comparing Incidental and Core Knowledge

The Cask of Amontillado (Poe)

Core Incidental• Knowledge of the era regarding the importance of maintaining reputations.•Importance of revenge to resolve grievances.•Role of family reputation through generations.•Symbolism of the Montressor coat of arms. •The unreliable narrator as a literary device. •Impunity: getting away with something with no punishment.

•Carnival celebrations.

•Amontillado is a kind of wine.

•Wine cellars and catacombs are underground.

•Freemasons are a secret society.

Core Concept in Middle School Plane Geometry

• Originally developed for readability• Now used to assess content knowledge• Teacher-made• 250-word passage• Every fifth word deleted• Scoring

• Independent level: 60% correct or above• Instructional level: 40-59% correct• Frustration level: 39% or below

Cloze Assessments

Interest Survey in Biology

Rate These Topics!

Directions: I am designing several mini-units for you to explore this year, but first I need some help. On a scale of 1-4, please rate your interest in these topics. 1—I’m there—sign me up! 2—This sounds interesting and I would possibly choose this. 3—Only if I have to. 4—Not a million years! What are the causes and effects of eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia)?

1 2 3 4

What happens after something dies? 1 2 3 4 The effects of poisons on the body. 1 2 3 4 What are the advances in cancer treatment? 1 2 3 4 Why do some brain injuries result in behavior changes, while others don’t?

1 2 3 4

What’s the debate on stem cell research? 1 2 3 4 How do epidemics (black plague, bird flu) spread? 1 2 3 4 What contributes to the loss of endangered species? 1 2 3 4 How does war advance biotechnology? 1 2 3 4 What are the effects of radiation on the body? 1 2 3 4 How close are we to a vaccine for HIV/AIDS? 1 2 3 4 Why don’t hereditary diseases like cystic fibrosis ever disappear? 1 2 3 4 How can organisms tolerate the hottest, coldest, wettest, and driest places on Earth?

1 2 3 4

Does everyone really have a twin? 1 2 3 4

Opinionnaire in HistoryName: Period: Date:

Directions: Think about your own reactions to these statements and circle the description

that best matches. There are no right and wrong answers.

WhatÕs Your Opinion?

SA=Strongly Agree A=Agree D=Disagree SD=Strongly Disagree

Statement SA A D SD

History is the winnerÕs story.

A representative democracy is the best form of government.

Revolution is necessary for political change to occur.

Exploration and industrialization have done more harm than good

in Africa and Asia.

The human cost of war is too great to justify military conflict.

The world became a safer place after World War II.

Nation-building is the obligation of the victor.

Activating What Students Know

Assessing Your Practice

Use the rubric to determine your goals for buildingBackground knowledge in your classroom.

Activating Background Knowledge

Both unit and lesson purposes are established at the onset of every lesson. Varied oral and written language tools are used throughout the lesson to cause activation

Unit and lesson purposes are established during most lessons. Varied oral and written language tools are used to activate BK, but primarily at the start of the lesson.

Unit and lesson purposes are posted on the board but are not discussed within the lesson. Oral or written language tools are occasionally used in some lessons.

Purpose of the lesson is posted but is not linked to larger unit purposes. Oral or written langue tools are used as icebreakers or warm-ups.

Purposes are behavioral in nature and are not linked to larger unit concepts. Students have few opportunities to reflect on what they know about a topic or concept.

How do teachers foster background knowledge across the school day? 5 4 3 2 1

• Establishing purpose is key to activating background knowledge

• Include:– Content: “We’ll be learning about how fear

outweighed justice when Japanese-Americans were sent to internment camps in World War II.”

– Language: “What words would be seen and heard that would make people more fearful?”

– Social: “You’ll be working in small groups to analyze newspaper headlines from the weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor.”

The Role of Establishing Purpose

• Make a list of key words from a passage students will be reading

• Ask them to write their own passage using the terms in order

• Great way to assess background knowledge, and activates students’

Text Impressions

Quickwrites

• Brief written response to a question• Should be a thought-provoking question• Gives students a psychologically safe

environment to speculate• Avoid questions that are too simplistic• Extend these quickwrite questions by inviting

students to engage in structured partner discussions

•Cause/effect:

–Because _____ occurred, the results

included _____.

•Compare/contrast:

–_____ and _____ share several characteristics, including ______.

Feature academic

language in a cloze

format to promote

background knowledge

Sentence Frames

There is a lot of discussion about whether ______. The people who agree with this idea, such as _____, claim that ____. They also argue that _____. A further point they make is _____. However, there are also strong arguments against this point. _____ believes that _____. Another counterargument is _____. Furthermore, _____. After looking at the different points of view and the evidence for them, I think ____ because _____.

David Wray, University of Warwick

Paragraph Frames

Building Background Knowledge

How do teachers foster background knowledge across the school day? 5 4 3 2 1

Use the rubric to determine your goals for buildingbackground knowledge in your classroom.

Building Background Knowledge

Indirect and direct methods for building BK are used daily, including teacher modeling, wide reading, and experiential learning outside the classroom.

Indirect and direct methods for building BK are used daily, including teacher modeling and wide reading. These methods are confined to in-class learning.

Indirect methods, such as wide reading and experiential learning are used, but teacher modeling occurs only occasionally.

Methods for building background knowledge are used occasionally, primarily when students demonstrate a gap.

Lessons are designed to present content. Any gaps in background knowledge are assumed to be the responsibility of students.

Assessing Your Practice

• Teacher modeling of comprehension skills is effective with adolescents (Alfassi, 2004)

• Provides students with insights into the ways that an expert makes cognitive decisions

• An opportunity to profile discipline-specific expertise

Building Background with Think-alouds

Virtual Frog Dissection Lab

Thinking Aloud with a Calculator

• Annotating a piece of text in English

• Interpreting a piece of sheet music in band class

• Reading and interpreting an editorial cartoon in history

• Others?

Other Examples

• Wide reading

• Graphic organizers to strengthen schema

• Guest speakers

• Field trips and experiential learning

Other Methods for Building Background

Knowledge

Background Knowledge in a Classroom

Activating and Building

Background Knowledge in One Classroom

• 8th grade social studies• Core knowledge for the course is on growth

and conflict• Major theme for the course: This period of

U.S. history was marked with successes and failures brought about by the decisions of leaders and citizens.

Assessing Background Knowledge:

OpinionnaireWhat’s your opinion? SA A D SD

A patriot is heroic.

Sometimes the only thing left to do is fight for what you believe in.

The American Revolutionary War could have been avoided if both sides had compromised on taxes.

All the colonists were in support of the war.

Choosing Sides

As American colonists heard about these battles in Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill,

they faced a major decision. Should they join the ___1___ or remain loyal to ___2___?

Those who chose to __3__ with Britain, the Loyalists, __4__ not consider unfair taxes

__5__ regulations good reason for __6__. Some remained loyal to __7__ king because

they were __8__ who would lose their __9__ as a result of __10__ Revolution. Others

were people __11__ had no been part __12__ the wave of discontent __13__turned so

many Americans __14__ Britain. Still others expected __15__ to win the war

__16__wanted to gain favor __17__the British. The Patriots, on the other hand, were

determined to fight the British to the end—until American independence was won.

Assessing Background Knowledge:

Cloze Passage

• “Loyalists” and “Patriots” use a list of reasons offered by each to produce a broadside (newspaper)

• Posted the broadsides

in the hallway

• Read and debated

Activating Background Knowledge: Role Play

She says, “I’ve heard about Parliament before. That’s the name of the group of representatives in Britain that made laws. I learned about Parliament when I read about England taking over the colonies from the Dutch one hundred years earlier. I recall now that Parliament also came up with the plan to ship prisoners from English jails to the colonies. Hmmm…it seems like Parliament didn’t always have the colonies’ best interests in mind when they made

decisions.”

She reads, “The colonists objected to paying King George’s taxes without having a voice in Parliament. They called it taxation without representation. And while the tax on tea was a small one, just three cents a pound, it was regarded as a symbol of British tyranny” (p. 2).

Building Background Knowledge: Think-aloud

• Teacher provides a range of reading materials

• Differentiated texts reflect the range

of readers in the room

• Wide reading is effective

for building background

knowledge IF the text

isn’t too difficult

Building Background Knowledge: Independent Reading

Building Background Knowledge: Guided Instruction

Name of Act What Was It? Why Did It Make Colonists

Angry?

Result

Boston Port Act Closed port of

Boston af ter

Tea Party

It punished

everyone instead

of jus t the ones

who did it

Colonists

from far away

sent supplies,

and this

helped them

learn to work

together

Massachusetts Government Act

Britain took

over

Massachusetts

government

Now they

couldn’t rules

themselves

Town meetings

couldn’t be

held without

permission

Administration of Justice Act

British could

have trials in

England

Cost too much

for people to go

to the trials

Made it easier

for Britain to

win trials

Quartering Act British soldiers

could stay in

empty buildings

They didn’t like

having soldiers

hanging around

This would be

a part of the

Consititution

Quebec Act Gave land to

French west of

Appalachian

mountains

Pennsylvania and

New York

thought th is

was their land

Made lots of

Canadians

friends with

the colonis ts

Questions for Analyzing Your Unit

• Have I determined core versus incidental background knowledge for this topic?

• Have I assessed students such that I can recognize common misconceptions?

• Have I established a purpose that makes learning relevant for students?

• Am I regularly activating background knowledge?• Have I modeled and demonstrated my own understanding

before requiring students to complete learning tasks?• Have I focused on background knowledge that moves

beyond facts and isolated skills?• Have I provided students with wide-reading opportunities to

facilitate background knowledge gains?• Have I planned live and virtual experiences to build

background knowledge?

Assessing Your Practice