Knowledge matters for reading. But what knowledge?
Hattan et al. (2023) systematically reviewed the literature on prior knowledge and reading, and found promising results but also a need for more specificity.
Reading matters, as LeVar Burton taught so many of us:
Lately, there’s been a lot of attention on the best ways to help students read, and the best ways to help them read for understanding (e.g., this, this, this). And, there’s been a big push for expanding students’ prior knowledge (e.g., asking them to read the newspaper regularly, exposing them to a broad curriculum), because of evidence that students use that knowledge to fill in the gaps in text, leading to better comprehension (see here). But what “counts” as prior knowledge? And perhaps more importantly, what should count as prior knowledge? Hattan et al. (2023) have done a systematic review on that very topic, as well as ways of effectively activating students’ prior knowledge, because unfortunately not all students do so, all the time.
Hattan et al.’s review revealed that researchers haven’t always been very clear or specific regarding what they mean by “prior knowledge.” After synthesizing the evidence, Hattan et al. (2023) argued for this working definition:
“Prior knowledge can be understood as the sum of individuals’ existing knowledge, including personal, domain, topic, strategic, social, cultural, and linguistic knowledge (Alexander et al., 1991; Hattan & Lupo, 2020). Further, individuals’ existing knowledge extends beyond academic knowledge to knowledge of self and the world outside the classroom. Moreover, individuals’ prior knowledge affects their learning and development even when it is incomplete or inaccurate” (p. 100).
I like that definition because it includes important types of knowledge that often don’t get enough attention, like social, cultural, and linguistic knowledge. Yes, we want students to have lots of academic or “school” knowledge, but the knowledge they bring from their own lives matters too - in fact it matters a lot. And if our goal is to help students understand texts, then we should encourage them to use every kind of knowledge they have, including the social and cultural knowledge they bring with them to the classroom.
Now, how should we activate that prior knowledge? Well, it seems like there are some promising techniques but we need more research in this area. But activating prior knowledge before, during, and after reading seems helpful (particularly during), and activating students’ prior knowledge in pairs or groups seems like a good technique. I hope this really great review, which people interested in reading comprehension should definitely check out, spurs more research into this area. And in particular, I hope it helps to broaden the discussion of what the “science of reading” is and should be.