To activate students’ prior knowledge, a constructivist mindset helps students draw on prior experiences and knowledge so they can create new meanings and new learning can take place. In some cases, certain strategies are more effective when used within the subject.
Particularly with math, it was a good idea to ask students what they know about key concepts before delving into a new topic during the first week. For example, students introduced to algebra benefit from clarification of the terms “variable”, “unknown”, and “like terms” in Grade 9.