My Experience with Elaboration
There have been plenty of times where I have used prior knowledge to help solve a problem. Some problems, for example, I remember needing help to complete, so having prior knowledge helped me decide if I could solve the issue on my own or avoid a headache by asking someone else to assist me. As a learner, using existing knowledge can help greatly in the process of solving a problem. If I have knowledge of each step of the problem, suddenly a multi-step solution is quick to come by.
Connections to Social Studies
Every subject has real-life scenarios. I teach Social Studies, so in my opinion, it is easier to connect my subject area to real-world scenarios. I always try to connect my students’ lives to what we are learning in class. For example, my World History students recently learned about the Magna Carta. Historically, the Magna Carta is a turning point in which the people and the monarchy mutually signed into law their agreement about the rights of the people, including rule of law (no one, including the king, is above the law), people have the right to a trial, as well as many other rights. My students examined the Magna Carta, understood its main principles (such as individual rights), and then they created their own Magna Carta about the rights that students should have in the school. They will better remember the purpose of the Magna Carta after using its principles to enumerate the rights of students in our school district.
Takeaways
All of the steps are important, but the elaboration stage truly allows students to apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios. This is the most important part in my eyes. Our students constantly ask the question, "Why am I learning this?" and application to real-life is exactly why learning is necessary.
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