Supporting a knowledge-rich curriculum
Knowledge organisers help children to learn and retain the knowledge of our curriculum. They are only effective at helping children to learn and remember more when they are built on a knowledge-rich curriculum, sequencing knowledge over time that links to children’s previous and later learning across the whole school.
What are the benefits?
The main benefit of using knowledge organisers is that they give children and teachers the ‘bigger picture’ of a topic, subject area or specific concept. Some topics can be complicated, so having the essential knowledge, clear diagrams, explanations and key terms on one document can be beneficial.
Research shows that our brains remember things more efficiently when we know the ‘bigger picture’ and can see how chunks of knowledge within that subject area link, forming powerful schemas. Making links helps information move into our long-term memory. The more you know, the more you learn, which helps children gain a deeper understanding over time.
Another key benefit is their use for retrieval practice. Regular retrieval of knowledge helps us remember more effectively, as Roediger and Butler explore in their article ‘The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention’, featured in Trends in Cognitive Science. Again, it helps us store and recall knowledge from the long-term memory and frees up space in the working memory to take on new knowledge (Hirsch, Why Knowledge Matters, 2016).
The other benefit is that they make the knowledge explicit. So, even if a child misses a lesson, they have a constant point of reference. They give a class a ‘level playing field’ of knowledge, with more children having a general awareness and set of knowledge about a topic.
Summary
- Knowledge organisers are a key part of helping children know and remember more.
- Students are able to memorise key knowledge, or have that key knowledge at their fingertips, therefore reducing cognitive load when working on complex tasks.
- Enables them to be more critical in their thinking about that topic.
- Provide students with summary notes for reference.
- knowledge organisers offer an excellent way to help fill pre-existing knowledge gaps.
For further information contact Mr Stephens [email protected] or Mr Afzal [email protected]