Another fellow PIDP 3250 student, Janice Graham, has chosen to focus on the Student Engagement Technique of the “Background Knowledge Probe.” This strategy is very useful for instructors as it can help the instructor know where to focus the learning. An instructor would want to maximize student learning by focusing on new information and minimize repeating information students already know. Janice has made a very creative short video presentation of the Background Knowledge Probe using PowToon:
https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/bu84UVDs29k/?mode=movie#/
Janice makes sure to point out the fact that the lesson needs to be challenging but not too challenging as to discourage student learning. One method to ensure we are meeting student needs is to probe student’s current background knowledge of the topic to avoid repetition. Janice mentions we can do this by asking students to fill out a questionnaire prior to class. The questionnaire can contain open-ended, short answer or multiple-choice type questions. One great way to do this is to offer the questionnaire online prior to class, providing the instructor more time to prepare and/or restructure the lesson.
Karen Deol 