Whilst this might not be true for all, it will be for some: a knowledge of feeder schools, including They will be able to use their prior knowledge of historical periods when learning about new ones. Children have an understandable aversion to feeling like their current knowledge and skills are being Of course it should focus on the delivery of knowledge and skills, the balance between the two will be Designing units of work that encourage children to draw together knowledge from multiple disciplines

After acknowledging that pupils who came bounding into secondary school bright-eyed and full of wonder coverage and consistency A deliberate sequence of learning that allows children to build on previous knowledge In presenting them I acknowledged the limits of my own specialist subject knowledge, having done only

masterclasses "are a way of ensuring children are still being taught substantive, procedural and disciplinary knowledge Without this knowledge, they won't be able to complete apprentice tasks meaningfully, nor will they be the allotted time, you have to question when the pupils are going to have time to use and apply that knowledge children will need to complete practise tasks - they shouldn't go straight into using and applying new knowledge

In her own words: "...the model signifies the importance of vocabulary knowledge. This chimes with what teachers are finding in their classrooms: lack of knowledge of vocabulary is a When we make an inference, we are not only seeking information from the text, but from our knowledge. Knowledge of words and knowledge of the world both contribute to inference-making. With the prior knowledge taken care of, (definition of the word, and what it referred to in the book)

brains add this new learning to things that we already knew - things that exist in our store of prior knowledge If we don’t have the relevant prior knowledge because we haven't been taught it before then some things sequence and that children aren’t going to come across things that they don't have the necessary prior knowledge We should want children have a foundation of knowledge and skills and at the same time we probably want should know all of those things and in that case, you would make all of those things part of your key knowledge

serves as a warning of things to be aware of so that you either try to avoid doing them, or at least acknowledge Know the context - the more you have a good knowledge of the class dynamic, individual children and their might mean that you notice other things, and you might even make a note of them, however, you will acknowledge These questions can be written so as to fill in gaps in your knowledge of the class, individual children

It fits with what we know about how we learn - simply put, we learn new things by adding the new knowledge lesson, a history lesson and an English lesson, then there is somewhere to anchor each piece of new knowledge It helps teachers and pupils to refer back to previous knowledge - previous knowledge sometimes gets

Confusing the different types of knowledge I've covered this extensively in other blog posts but in summary Confusion between disciplinary and procedural knowledge has been rife. People have been told that we shouldn't think about skills anymore and that knowledge should be the priority Something called substantive knowledge has been bandied around. It's all just so confusing.

The aim is to maintain high expectations for all pupils while responding to differences in prior knowledge Very Important Idea: that fundamentally, whoever we are, whatever our diagnosis, need, level of prior knowledge For a child who has lower prior knowledge (I think this is currently my preferred way to talk about what giving them less of a foundation, and therefore less of a network of knowledge to connect the new learning process pupils can perform independently Examples pupils need more worked examples pupils can apply knowledge

this: So that they understand the potential difficulties that children might encounter The 'curse of knowledge you know a lot about something but find it difficult to imagine how hard it might be for someone less knowledgable understanding of something can mean that we overestimate what pupils can cope with at one time: the curse of knowledge It will highlight which prior knowledge you are drawing on and what the process is.

This is especially important when you consider how much prior knowledge is relied on when teaching new intentions and that teachers teach the subject curriculum effectively, focusing on the most important knowledge to  'consider the extent to which the curriculum clearly identifies and prioritises the foundational knowledge However, wherever a curriculum is in place, there should be agreed pieces of knowledge (be they substantive choose to follow lines of enquiry and individual interests beyond these and this can be done safe in the knowledge

Pupils working at greater depth may already have secure knowledge, strong independence or particular More (and More Complex) Knowledge Provide Opportunities For Children To Demonstrate And Do Something With Their Knowledge Teach Masterclasses Remove Scaffolds and Support To Encourage Independence Communicate to explain their thinking, persevere when something is difficult, take greater risks or apply their knowledge A pupil working at greater depth may already have secure knowledge and be able to work independently.