The Prior Knowledge Dilemma

Contemporary research indicates that learning involves an interplay between what a person already knows (i.e., prior, previous, old knowledge) and what they are trying to learn (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999). In the classroom, students' prior knowledge and beliefs influence their understanding of new disciplinary concepts. On the one hand, prior knowledge provides a basis for new learning, enabling the individual to interpret, infer, analyze, evaluate, and make sense of new ideas. But, learning is inherently problematic, and prior knowledge can also impede new understanding. A person's attempts to understand a concept or subject sometimes result in partial understanding, misconceptions or disregard for the new concepts (Pintrich, Marx & Boyle, 1993; Gardner, 1991). Any attempt to teaching for understanding must take into the way that students' beliefs and prior knowledge contribute to and impede new learning.

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