The challenge is to find the knowledge and practices in family and community life that have a common orientation with what the schools seek to teach. Luis Moll, Associate Professor in the College of Education at the University of Arizona, describes how one teacher has created a productive classroom environment by blending traditional educational activities with the cultural influences his students receive at home. Finally, understanding the student's abilities is as important to effective instruction as selecting the appropriate instructional materials. Thus, teachers should direct and guide the student through the instructional task until he or she can successfully complete it without any help. Palincsar and Brown approach instruction in a similar way, encouraging within the classroom the type of natural instructional dialogue that occurs between children and adults outside of school.
All students are able to connect new learning to their prior knowledge and experience.
All teachers relate new learning to students' everyday lives and culture. Beverly J. Armento, Professor of Social Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta, explains the importance of including multiple voices and perspectives in the social studies curriculum. Administrators, school board members, parents, and other members of the school community support an integrated curricula rooted in active, meaningful instruction that activates prior knowledge. Engage students in meaningful activities that incorporate prior learning. Use a wide variety of learning activities that reflect the students' cultural diversity and the capacity for multiple intelligences.