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What makes a bad knowledge organiser? A self assessment of one of my early attempts.

I have written extensively about what knowledge organisers should be and how I write them. However, I also believe that, just as when teaching a class, it is important to look and dissect examples of strong and weak knowledge organisers.

In this post, I will be looking at what I see as an example of an ambitious but poorly written knowledge organiser. This document was written for a cohort of year 7s who were being introduced to Elizabeth I for the first time.



WWW:

  • This teacher clearly has high expectations of their pupils: as well as a number of pieces of complex vocabulary, this document briefly covers a number of complex concepts, such as the tension between Protestantism and Catholicism.
  • The use of quotations and dates demonstrates this teacher's emphasis on concrete examples.
  • The timeline at the bottom of the page attempts to fit Elizabeth I within the narrative of other Tudor monarchs. Assuming that pupils had already studied Edward VI and Mary I, this knowledge organiser should encourage them to make connections between the three monarchs.
  • Some of the keywords have been defined in accessible terms.
HTI:
  • This knowledge organiser contains very little in the way of concrete facts about Elizabeth's reign. While pupils should benefit from understanding the key terms generally (assuming they are used within lessons), the knowledge organiser does not actually explain why they are there or what connection they have with Elizabeth's reign. It appears that pupils would actually have to use the website in the "Useful websites" box to get the basic information needed to understand the relevance of much of this document.
  • While there are a lot of key terms, they seem to focus on what may be taught rather than understanding the content of the knowledge organiser itself. Difficult terms, such as "absolute power" remain undefined.
  • It is unclear whether pupils are expected to memorise entire quotations or, indeed, what the purpose of including quotations is.
  • The text of the timeline is far too small. Many pupils may simply opt out of using it.
  • This knowledge organiser seems to be pulling in a number of different directions. It is unclear whether it is focusing on a specific aspect of Elizabeth's reign, her relationship with other monarchs or whether it is supposed to act as an introduction.
Analysis:
This knowledge organiser is a classic example of unrestricted enthusasism: the teacher has a lot they want to communicate (arguably far too much for one A4 side) and in trying to condense that amount of information, they have lost a lot of the meaning. 

This overload also means that this document isn't fit for purpose. If knowledge organisers are primarily viewed as a tool of inclusion, this document will exclude weaker readers, those lacking the cultural capital to define the undefined key terms and those without access to the internet. Even if pupils were taught the content in lessons, the obtuse nature of the information provided would put pupils who were absent at even more of a disadvantage.

The lack of focus in this document also makes it difficult to discern the salient points which pupils need to know. This may due to a scheme of work which teaches periods chronologically, rather than by question or theme.

Final Verdict:
This is a good document to extend pupils further. However, it's obtuse nature and inaccessibility would make it unhelpful for the majority of year 7s who were being introduced to this topic for the first time.

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