1. Schema Activation and Schema Acquisition by John D. Bransford
Presented by Michele Farah and Marsha Malone
RDG 707

2. Schema Activation and Schema Acquisition by John D. Bransford
Reemphasize Anderson’s major arguments
Elaborate on the implications
Potential Shortcomings

3. Schema Activation and Schema Acquisition by John D. Bransford
Knowledge possessed by the learner has pervasive effects on performance
Some students may appear to have poor comprehension and memory skills not because of memory or comprehension deficits but because they fail to activate background knowledge presupposed by a message or text.
Differing interpretations
If phrasing of a question is not congruent with children’s initial interpretation of an event they may falsely conclude that the child did not learn
May affect teacher assessment and the way children see themselves

4. Schema Activation and Schema Acquisition by John D. Bransford
Activating appropriate knowledge is fundamental act of comprehending and remembering
What does it mean to be “familiar” with words in a story
May be sufficient to understand some statements not all
It is important for children to understand how texts differ and how different text structures influence their ability to comprehend new information and remember at a later time
Ways to alleviate these problems is to simplify text, be more precise in the analysis of what it means to be “familiar “ with the text
Children’s books do not need to be elaborated explicitly

5. Schema Activation and Schema Acquisition by John D. Bransford
Schema construction and schema activation
Most experiments that support schema theory used situations with students which are prompted to activate preexisting schema not construct new schema
Understanding significance helps develop knowledge structures and facilitate memory
By giving information that will clarify significance and relevance
Need to examine the processes involved in acquiring knowledge about a more complex domain
Developing a more sophisticated schema rather than simply activating a schema which already exists