I’m really interested in weaving in more of our students’ background knowledge to make learning feel more connected and meaningful. Our curriculum, especially the EL program, already does a great job focusing on vocabulary as a key part of every lesson, helping students build up both general and subject-specific terms that they’ll use over and over. This steady focus on vocabulary makes it easier for students to understand and retain new concepts over time.

In addition, I’d love to bring in more questioning strategies to get students thinking deeper and exploring new ideas. Using a mix of straightforward and open-ended questions, along with giving students time to reflect, can lead to some great discussions and help students see the connections between what they know and what they’re learning. It's a simple shift that could really boost engagement and build students’ confidence in using new material.

I believe this practice could would make students' academic journey more enjoyable and engaging. This practice also supports students emotional well being and allows students to take more risks. Students also become more motivated. They would get more involved in their learning and become more curious about learning.

This practice would make a difference in my classroom. Right now, my students are not motivated and something have difficulty connecting to what we are learning. I try my best to make my classroom welcoming for my students and to support all their needs. However, my students at times have difficulty being engaged. If I change my lessons and focus on their interest, I believe it would motivated them more to learn. I have a few students right now who are afraid of taking risks, have difficulty working independently, and are extrinsically motivated. This practice may make them intrinsically motivated if they are involved in the learning process. I would also like to use this practice in my classroom because it would motivate my student to create challenging goals for themselves and to persist longer.

I believe this practice would enhance retention and understanding in students. By building on prior knowledge, students are more likely to retain new content in the long term. I think this practice would also promote active engagement and learning. When lessons are tied to students’ background knowledge and real-life experiences, the content feels more relevant. Students are more likely to stay engaged in learning because they see the connection between what they’re learning and their world.

I would implement this practice in my classroom to help my students build on what they already know. I would scaffold instruction by starting with simple concepts that students are already familiar with and gradually introduce more complex ideas. This would help to bridge the gap between their current understanding and new content. By focusing on addressing students’ background knowledge, I would relate content to students’ interests to make learning more meaningful.

In my classroom, I currently have a few students that would be tremendously benefitted by this because they would be able to connect aspects of their daily lives, their culture in the content that they are learning.