Bridging the Gap: Connecting New Content with Prior Knowledge to Meet Individual Needs Without Overloading Teachers

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states that teachers should learn how to... Meet individual needs without creating unnecessary workload, by planning to connect new content with pupils' existing knowledge or providing additional pre-teaching if pupils lack critical knowledge.

Meeting the diverse needs of pupils has long been a cornerstone of excellent teaching. Yet, with growing demands on teachers’ time, mounting accountability pressures, and increasingly complex classroom dynamics, the call to differentiate and personalise learning can often feel at odds with the reality of day-to-day practice. Teachers may feel torn between the desire to help every pupil succeed and the need to protect their own wellbeing.

However, research-informed strategies exist that allow teachers to meet individual needs without creating unsustainable workloads. Chief among them is the deliberate planning of lessons that connect new content with pupils’ existing knowledge, and the strategic use of pre-teaching to support those who lack critical background understanding. These approaches are rooted in cognitive science, promote inclusive practice, and offer a practical solution to one of education’s biggest challenges.

Why Prior Knowledge Matters

The importance of linking new content with prior knowledge is a well-established principle of cognitive psychology. David Ausubel famously said, “The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach accordingly.” (Ausubel, 1968). Put simply, new information is only meaningful when it connects to something the pupil already understands.

This is because learning isn’t just about absorbing new facts—it’s about integrating them into existing mental frameworks, or schemas (Sweller, 1988). When content is presented without context, or when pupils lack the foundational knowledge to understand it, the likelihood of genuine learning significantly diminishes. For pupils with SEND, EAL, or gaps in prior attainment, this is especially true.

Moreover, attempting to teach new concepts without activating prior knowledge increases cognitive load (Sweller, Ayres & Kalyuga, 2011). Learners become overwhelmed trying to juggle unfamiliar terminology, abstract concepts, and new processes simultaneously. This results in superficial understanding at best—or complete disengagement at worst.

Planning for Activation of Prior Knowledge

Fortunately, activating prior knowledge does not require elaborate, time-consuming lesson redesigns. It simply requires deliberate planning. Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction (2012) outline the importance of beginning lessons with a short review of previous learning, which serves to reinforce long-term memory and prepare the brain for new input.

Some practical and efficient ways to activate prior knowledge include:

• Low-stakes retrieval quizzes: A few short questions on previously learned material help bring prior knowledge to the forefront of working memory.

• Think-pair-share: Pupil discussion around a prompt or image helps unearth what they already know and prepares them to receive new input.

• Graphic organisers: Concept maps or Venn diagrams allow pupils to make links between what they know and what they’re about to learn.

These strategies are fast, easy to implement, and make no distinction between ability levels—they are good for all learners and especially beneficial for those who might otherwise struggle to access the lesson.

The Power of Pre-Teaching

When certain pupils do not have the prior knowledge required to access new content, pre-teaching becomes a powerful tool. Pre-teaching involves giving targeted learners access to key vocabulary, background information, or processes before the main lesson. This ensures that when the content is introduced, these pupils are not left behind.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) identifies pre-teaching as an effective strategy for supporting disadvantaged learners and those with SEND, particularly when combined with scaffolding and guided practice (EEF, 2020). Pre-teaching helps pupils feel prepared and confident, improving their engagement and willingness to participate in class.

Effective pre-teaching doesn’t require hours of additional planning. In fact, it can be as simple as:

• Sharing key vocabulary and visuals before the lesson.

• Using a five-minute explainer video on a topic or context.

• Having a short small-group discussion with a teaching assistant.

• Sending home a vocabulary list with short definitions and example sentences.

Some schools have found success in creating “learning launchpads”—short pre-lesson tasks or vocabulary previews shared digitally with identified pupils the day before a topic is introduced.

Avoiding Unnecessary Workload

The key to success here is planning smarter, not harder. Activating prior knowledge and using pre-teaching does not require teachers to create multiple versions of every lesson. Instead, it involves:

• Identifying critical knowledge thresholds: What must pupils already know in order to access this lesson?

• Anticipating likely misconceptions: Where might gaps exist based on prior assessments or formative data?

• Using existing resources creatively: Can a textbook explanation, past worksheet, or online clip serve as a pre-teaching aid?

Importantly, this is not about creating completely different lessons for every learner. It is about making small, thoughtful adjustments to ensure that all pupils start from a position of understanding.

Tom Sherrington (2020) champions the idea of responsive teaching—not excessive differentiation. His argument is that all pupils benefit when teachers use adaptive questioning, scaffolding, and retrieval practice. These are not separate tasks for SEND pupils; they are whole-class strategies that naturally support inclusion.

Building Routines for Prior Knowledge Checks

To embed this approach sustainably, it’s useful to develop regular routines that reduce decision fatigue. For example:

• Start every lesson with a “What do you already know?” task—using whiteboards, post-its, or verbal responses.

• Keep a bank of essential prior knowledge checklists for key units of work.

• Create a “Ready to Learn” folder with slides or tasks used to pre-teach key ideas in advance.

These approaches reduce the need to ‘differentiate on the spot’ or produce extra resources each week, while still helping all learners engage with the curriculum.

Collaborating Across the School

Planning for prior knowledge and pre-teaching also presents an opportunity for collaborative workload reduction. Heads of Department or curriculum leads can:

• Map critical prior knowledge across key stages.

• Identify where pre-teaching might be necessary across subjects.

• Share centralised resources (e.g., vocabulary decks, explainer slides, knowledge organisers).

This not only reduces duplication of effort but ensures a more coherent curriculum experience for pupils.

Conclusion: Teaching that Connects, Teaching that Sustains

In striving to meet individual needs, we must remember that equality of access starts with equity of preparation. When teachers make the conscious choice to connect new content with what pupils already know—or to bridge that gap through short bursts of pre-teaching—they significantly improve pupils' chances of success. Even better, these methods don’t demand exhaustive hours of planning or endless differentiated resources.

By embedding routines for retrieval and pre-teaching, and using curriculum knowledge to anticipate and address gaps, we can ensure that all pupils are ready to learn—without sacrificing teacher wellbeing in the process.

References

• Ausubel, D. (1968). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

• Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). (2020). Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools.

• Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know. American Educator, 36(1), 12–19.

• Sherrington, T. (2020). Teaching Walkthrus: Five-Step Guides to Instructional Coaching. John Catt Educational.

• Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285.

• Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive Load Theory. Springer.