Learning builds in schemas; knowledge allows you to accrue more knowledge.
What does it mean?
As we learn, we arrange information into sets of ideas (schemas) that help us make sense of the world. This makes future recall easier because whole sets of ideas can be recalled together. This is why knowledge builds on knowledge. Every student’s schema for a particular knowledge domain will be unique to them. It’s a blend of the learning they have gathered from their experience of the world, reading and what they’ve been taught. If a schema is based on flawed understanding or limited experience, then it is harder for new information to stick; the schema has to be reconstructed before it all makes sense. We also might revert to more primitive schema unless new ideas are clear and reinforced strongly enough.
What are the implications for teachers? Your students can’t have too much knowledge; it all helps. The more intricate our schema become, the more able we are to accept n
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