Knowledge Quote by Anita Woolfolk
““Knowledge determines to a great extent what we will pay attention to, perceive, learn, remember, and forget (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Sawyer, 2006). For example, compared to fourth-graders with little knowledge of soccer, fourth-graders who were soccer experts learned and remembered far more new soccer terms, even though the abilities of the two groups to learn and remember nonsoccer terms were the same.””
About This Quote
Source Article: Educational Psychology Review, 2000
Knowledge shapes attention and memory, influencing what information is encoded and recalled.
In simple terms: What we know guides what we notice and remember.
Key Takeaway
Build relevant knowledge to improve learning.
Themes
learning
memory
attention
expertise
Mood
informative
analytical
Type
educational
research
When to use this quote
- classroom instruction
- training programs
- self‑study
- curriculum design
Key Concepts
schema theory
depth of processing
transfer of learning
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we assess and fill knowledge gaps before teaching?
- What strategies help novices build effective schemas?
A Different Perspective
If prior knowledge is incorrect, it can bias perception and hinder new learning.
![“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions of phantasmatical seeming philosophy." [William Petty]” quote by Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e5a/carl-zimmer-16331_knowledge_i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted_1770.jpg)
