The structure of prior knowledge
The phenomenon of prior knowledge is deep rooted in the rhetoric of education. There is much discourse within pedagogy about its value and pivotal role in the formulation of new learning. However teachers are not able to use prior knowledge effectively as they do not have a working sense of it, but...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14553/ |
| _version_ | 1848791987130466304 |
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| author | Jain, Pinky |
| author_facet | Jain, Pinky |
| author_sort | Jain, Pinky |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The phenomenon of prior knowledge is deep rooted in the rhetoric of education. There is much discourse within pedagogy about its value and pivotal role in the formulation of new learning. However teachers are not able to use prior knowledge effectively as they do not have a working sense of it, but are using it intuitively and colloquially. While researchers provide a multitude of definitions of prior knowledge, no one has examined its elemental structure in a way that provides a model for teachers to use and support learning. This deficit is surprising as prior knowledge is a universally accepted pedagogical notion. The aim of this thesis is to fill the deficit and establish a structure of prior knowledge.
The research was situated within Year 1 primary mathematics classrooms following eight teachers across five schools over one academic year. Using naturalistic research methodology, the data were gathered through audio recordings of the interactions between teachers and children during mathematics lessons. These recordings were analysed using grounded theory and content analysis.
The research explored and produced a partial model of prior knowledge emerging from the data which includes at least eight interconnected elements – abstraction, acculturation, cognition, context, individual motivation, metacognition, perception and social group. These can be seen as elements which can shape children’s memory – the central feature of the prior knowledge that they bring to each mathematical task. Children may manifest different degrees of these elements, and possibly of others which did not appear in these data, in different proportions and balances.
Such a prior knowledge model, even though it remains partial, gives a deeper understanding to a common but widely misunderstood term. The implications of knowing and understanding more and in more depth about the structure of prior knowledge are potentially far-reaching for children, schools, teachers and curriculum development. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:37:14Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-14553 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:37:14Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-145532025-02-28T11:31:32Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14553/ The structure of prior knowledge Jain, Pinky The phenomenon of prior knowledge is deep rooted in the rhetoric of education. There is much discourse within pedagogy about its value and pivotal role in the formulation of new learning. However teachers are not able to use prior knowledge effectively as they do not have a working sense of it, but are using it intuitively and colloquially. While researchers provide a multitude of definitions of prior knowledge, no one has examined its elemental structure in a way that provides a model for teachers to use and support learning. This deficit is surprising as prior knowledge is a universally accepted pedagogical notion. The aim of this thesis is to fill the deficit and establish a structure of prior knowledge. The research was situated within Year 1 primary mathematics classrooms following eight teachers across five schools over one academic year. Using naturalistic research methodology, the data were gathered through audio recordings of the interactions between teachers and children during mathematics lessons. These recordings were analysed using grounded theory and content analysis. The research explored and produced a partial model of prior knowledge emerging from the data which includes at least eight interconnected elements – abstraction, acculturation, cognition, context, individual motivation, metacognition, perception and social group. These can be seen as elements which can shape children’s memory – the central feature of the prior knowledge that they bring to each mathematical task. Children may manifest different degrees of these elements, and possibly of others which did not appear in these data, in different proportions and balances. Such a prior knowledge model, even though it remains partial, gives a deeper understanding to a common but widely misunderstood term. The implications of knowing and understanding more and in more depth about the structure of prior knowledge are potentially far-reaching for children, schools, teachers and curriculum development. 2014-07-16 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14553/1/Pinky_Jain_PhD_-_2014_Education_-_Structure_of_Prior_Knowledge.pdf Jain, Pinky (2014) The structure of prior knowledge. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. prior knowledge; prior learning; primary schools; primary education; mathematics education; mathematics teachers; elementary school mathematics; primary school teachers |
| spellingShingle | prior knowledge; prior learning; primary schools; primary education; mathematics education; mathematics teachers; elementary school mathematics; primary school teachers Jain, Pinky The structure of prior knowledge |
| title | The structure of prior knowledge |
| title_full | The structure of prior knowledge |
| title_fullStr | The structure of prior knowledge |
| title_full_unstemmed | The structure of prior knowledge |
| title_short | The structure of prior knowledge |
| title_sort | structure of prior knowledge |
| topic | prior knowledge; prior learning; primary schools; primary education; mathematics education; mathematics teachers; elementary school mathematics; primary school teachers |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14553/ |