LibGuides: Universal Design for Learning Strategy Database: Building Knowledge

Building Knowledge (UDL Guideline 3)

Building usable knowledge, knowledge that is accessible for future decision-making, depends not upon merely perceiving information, but upon active skills like making connections, synthesizing information, asking questions, selective attending, integrating new information with prior knowledge, strategic categorization, and active memorization. Research has shown that collaborative environments where students engage in shared inquiry and problem-solving foster deeper understanding and collective knowledge advancement. Intentional design and multiple representations of information can offer the options and scaffolds necessary to ensure all learners have access to knowledge.

Are you working to:

Connect prior knowledge to new learning (Consideration 3.1)

Information is more accessible and likely to be understood by learners when it is presented in a way that primes, activates, or provides any prerequisite knowledge. Barriers and inequities exist when background knowledge that is unfamiliar to some learners is critical to integrating or using new information. However, there are also barriers for learners who have the necessary background knowledge, but might not know it is relevant.

Strategy
Anchor instruction by linking to and activating relevant prior knowledge (e.g., using visual imagery, concept anchoring, or concept mastery routines).	Field trip: Allowing students to have a concrete experience with the content allows students to develop the schema.
Use advanced organizers (e.g., KWL methods, concept maps).	Writing Recipe: This is a variation of the graphic organizer targeted at writing organization of a five paragraph essay. In this activity, students are able to visually understand the format of the essay. This “recipe” can be posted as an anchor chart for reference. Graphic Organizers with sentence frames: This strategy is effective in promoting academic language. In this strategy, the teacher can model more advanced academic language structures such as, "In my opinion..," and "When you compare...". Sentence frames can be used for both oral and written language. Guided Notes: Guided notes are effective in helping students to organize their thoughts while reading. Teachers can prepare guided notes, or handouts that outline readings, but leave blank space for students to fill in key vocabulary words or definitions. Guided notes promote active engagement during independent reading and notes for use as a study guide, and help students to identify the key vocabulary.
Pre-teach critical prerequisite concepts through demonstration or models.	Demonstrations: demonstrations provide visual support and modeling for multilingual learners. If you have a lesson task that includes supplementary materials, then you can scaffold information by carefully planning demonstrations that model how to use the materials and follow directions. Students can then practice these steps in groups or alone, with you or other experienced individuals nearby to assist as needed. Tableaux: The students form a tableau of characters or scenes or concepts. The teacher directs students regarding their positions; students hold their positions in a brief tableau. Teachers can assign a variety of topics related to a concept, or give just one concept to the whole class. This is a fun way to lower the affective filter! Pantomime a Tale: This technique can be used with fiction or nonfiction reading selections. Divide an article into sections; each group prepares their assigned section as a pantomime. There should be one group member who reads the section, with appropriate pauses, and three members who act it out without using words. Rehearsal is important, so allow time for it. Picture cues: Picture cues encourage students to use language to describe the pictures they see. The link leads to samples of Picture Cues that can be used to develop oral language. Using these templates/images, students can develop conversations and dialogue based on what is happening in the images.
Bridge concepts with relevant analogies and metaphors.
Make explicit cross-curricular connections (e.g., teaching literacy strategies in the social studies classroom).

Highlight and explore patterns, critical features, big ideas and relationships (Consideration 3.2)

One of the big differences between experts and novices in any domain is the facility with which they distinguish what is critical from what is unimportant or irrelevant. As learners deepen their understanding, they increase their ability to distinguish what is critical and how it relates to the learning goal. They recognize the most important features in information and allocate their time efficiently, identifying what is valuable and finding the right “hooks” with which to integrate the most valuable information into existing knowledge. As a result, one of the most effective ways to make information more accessible is to use explicit cues or prompts that assist learners in attending to those features that matter most while avoiding those that matter least.

Strategy
Highlight or emphasize key elements in text, graphics, diagrams, or formulas.
Use outlines, graphic organizers, unit organizer routines, concept organizer routines, and concept mastery routines to emphasize key ideas and relationships.	Leveled study guides highlighted text taped text, adapted text jigsaw text reading marginal notes native language texts (SIOP Feature 5) SRSD
Use multiple examples and non-examples to emphasize critical features.
Use cues and prompts to draw attention to critical features.
Highlight previously learned skills that can be used to solve unfamiliar problems

Cultivate multiple ways of knowing and making meaning (Consideration 3.3)

Equitable learning environments guide learners in the process of constructing knowledge by valuing and cultivating multiple ways of knowing and making meaning. Diverse cultural perspectives bring unique insights and methods of understanding the world. Indigenous knowledge systems, for instance, emphasize holistic and interconnected ways of knowing, which can complement and enrich Western methodologies. By incorporating and respecting these various approaches, education can become more inclusive and effective. This broad approach helps in creating a more inclusive educational environment that respects and utilizes the diverse backgrounds of every learner. Well-designed learning materials and environments incorporate multiple approaches to building knowledge, including but not limited to problem solving, storytelling, algorithms, and holistic and linear thinking. Incorporating multiple ways for meaning making, along with embedding models, scaffolds, and feedback, can assist learners in knowing how to apply different approaches and use those strategies effectively.

Strategy
Incorporate multiple ways of knowing	Storytelling Kinesthetics Problem-solving Relational learning through interpersonal experiences
Use explicit prompts for each step in a sequential process to help learners develop a logical flow specific for their understanding and create a structure of complex tasks	Pair written and oral directions, also model the task for students Name sequential steps in brief/catchy phrases that are easy to remember
Use options for organizational methods and approaches (e.g., tables and algorithms for processing mathematical operations), supporting the various cognitive approaches and enhancing comprehension
Use interactive models that guide exploration and new understandings.	Video models filmed by teachers, YouTube models, etc...
Introduce graduated scaffolds that support information processing strategies.
Provide multiple entry points to a lesson and optional pathways through content (e.g., exploring big ideas through dramatic works, arts and literature, film and media)	Provide video clips as a hook; ensure representation in entry points. Ex: When studying the civil war, ensure to show clips that show multiple perspectives. Use images of paintings or other forms of art from a specific time period or that depicts a time period. Ex: using Jacob Lawrence’s paintings from the great migration series when teaching a novel set in that time period or for teaching about the great migration in social studies
“Chunk” information into smaller elements, helping to prevent cognitive overload.	Jigsaw Reading Chunk the Text. Have students read until a stopping point and summarize what they’ve read before continuing reading.
Progressively release information (e.g., sequential highlighting).
Remove unnecessary distractions unless they are essential to the instructional goal.

Maximize transfer and generalization (Consideration 3.4)

All learners need to be able to generalize and transfer their learning to new contexts. Learners vary in the amount of scaffolding they need for memory and transfer in order to improve their ability to access their prior learning. Of course, all learners can benefit from assistance in how to transfer the information they have to other situations, as learning is not about individual facts in isolation. Learners need multiple representations for this to occur. Without this support and the use of multiple representations, information might be learned, but is inaccessible in new situations. Supports for memory, generalization, and transfer include techniques that are designed to heighten the memorability of the information, as well as those that prompt and guide learners to employ explicit strategies.

Strategy
Use checklists, organizers, sticky notes, and electronic reminders.
Prompt the use of mnemonic strategies and devices (e.g., visual imagery, paraphrasing strategies, method of loci, etc.).
Incorporate explicit opportunities for review and practice of new concepts or skills, including social skills.	Brain dumps: ask students to write down everything they can remember from a previous lesson Two things: ask students to retrieve two things they learned at the end of class Retrieve: Students should make sure they are retrieving the answer. Write down the answer or say it out loud before flipping the card over. This holds students accountable and ensures they retrieve, rather than falling for the illusion of confidence – thinking “of course I know it” and flipping the card over prematurely. As demonstrated in a recent laboratory study, students’ learning after two days was greater after overt retrieval practice compared to covert retrieval practice. Re-order: Students should shuffle their deck each time they go through it to challenge themselves with spacing and interleaving, instead of going through their flashcard deck in the same order again and again. Repeat: Students should keep cards in their deck until they’ve correctly retrieved it three times. Just because a student has retrieved an item once doesn’t mean they “get it.” We know from research that students have a tendency to remove their cards too early, so by ensuring students keep a card in their deck three times, students are accountable for making sure they really know it, rather than simply thinking they do. This also helps add space between cards in the deck (what scientists call “lag”), further increasing learning. Flashcards: Many students are turning to tech tools for flashcards, like Kahoot, Quizlet, and Anki. Check out our rundown of flashcard apps and which ones are best for retrieval, spacing, interleaving, and more. Recent research suggests that students may benefit from “conceptual flashcards” that engage students in retrieval practice of broader ideas compared to “detailed flashcards” of definitions that are more typical of students’ use of flashcards.
Use templates, graphic organizers, concept maps to support note-taking.	Marginal notes Graphic organizers: Chapter summaries, retell
Use scaffolds that connect new information to prior knowledge (e.g., word webs, half-full concept maps).
Embed new ideas in familiar ideas and contexts (e.g., use of analogy, metaphor, drama, music, film, etc.) to make learning more relatable	Connection Notebooks Ask students to dedicate a specific notebook as their Connection Notebook at the beginning of the semester (or provide one for them) and have them bring it to class every day. Approximately once a week, ask students to take out their Connection Notebook and write a one-paragraph response to a "connection prompt" at the end of class. For example: How does what you learned today connect to something you've learned in another class? Have you ever encountered something you learned today in a TV show, movie, song, or book? Have you ever experienced something you learned today in your life outside of school?
Incorporate explicit, supported opportunities to generalize learning to new situations (e.g., different types of problems that can be solved with linear equations, using physics principles to build a playground)	Generalize learning: Revisit geometry when looking at buildings in the community (what shapes do we see in the empire state building?)
Offer opportunities over time to revisit key ideas and linkages between ideas	Cycle key ideas: Cycle key concepts in new contexts. Ex: revisiting division when sharing materials evenly between groups.