Declarative Knowledge
Declarative Knowledge
The first of three types of knowledge a teacher develops in students.
What it is
- Knowledge declared in books, papers, and lectures
- Sometimes called cognitive knowledge
Two parts
- Facts: discrete pieces of information (Pakistan founded 1947)
- Concepts: rules and principles (Newton’s Laws, grammar rules)
Best methods
- Lecture
- Discussion (can also touch metacognition)
Watch out
- Most schools focus only on declarative knowledge
- Tests and exams measure mostly this type
Each has its own definition, its own teaching methods, and its own pitfalls.
What declarative knowledge is
Declarative knowledge is knowledge that has been declared somewhere. It sits in books, research papers, newspapers, lecture notes. A learner acquires it by reading, listening, and remembering.
Facts. Discrete pieces of information that can be stated and memorized. Pakistan came into being in 1947. Pakistan has five provinces. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level. The capital of Japan is Tokyo. These are facts.
Concepts. Rules, principles, and frameworks that organize facts. Newton’s Laws of Motion are concepts. The rules of English grammar are concepts. The principle of supply and demand is a concept. The structure of a paragraph (topic sentence, main idea, conclusion) is a concept.
Both facts and concepts can be written down, transferred to memory, and recalled later. They make up most of what general-knowledge books cover. They make up most of what students get tested on.
Why declarative knowledge matters
A student needs declarative knowledge to function. Without facts, the student has nothing to think with. Without concepts, the student cannot organize what they know. A doctor must know human anatomy. An engineer must know mechanics. A teacher must know their subject content.
The trouble is not that schools teach declarative knowledge. The trouble is that most schools teach only declarative knowledge. The other two types (procedural and metacognitive) are often neglected.
A student rich in declarative knowledge but weak in procedural or metacognitive knowledge can recite a lot but do little. They know that a paragraph has a topic sentence, main idea, and conclusion, but they cannot write a good paragraph. They know how a microscope works, but they cannot use one. They know problem-solving steps, but they freeze in front of an actual problem.
Schools that test only on declarative knowledge produce students who are good at tests and weak at applying what they know. That this is the dominant pattern in many school systems.
Best methods: lecture and discussion
Two methods fit declarative knowledge well.
Lecture. The teacher delivers organized information about facts and concepts. Students listen, take notes, and store the information for later recall. Lecture works because declarative knowledge can travel through speech without distortion. The teacher knows the facts; the students need them; the lecture moves them across.
The course you are reading right now is delivered partly through lecture. Kusia Kalsoom states facts about education and explains concepts. The format works for this content because the goal is for students to know certain things.
Discussion. A more open form. The teacher poses a question or topic and the class talks through it. Discussion still serves declarative knowledge: students share facts and clarify concepts together. A skilled teacher can also push discussion toward metacognition, where students think about how they know what they know.
Both methods scale to large groups. A lecture can serve hundreds of students at once. A discussion can serve dozens. Neither requires individual attention to each student, which is why both are practical for typical classroom sizes.
Lecture and discussion
Lecture works because facts and concepts travel through speech without distortion.
Discussion works the same way and can also push toward metacognition.
Both scale to large groups, which makes them practical for typical classrooms.
What declarative methods cannot do
Lecture and discussion cannot teach procedural or metacognitive knowledge. A lecture about how to dissect a frog does not produce a student who can dissect a frog. A discussion about cooking does not produce a cook. A talk about problem solving does not produce a problem solver.
A teacher who relies only on lecture and discussion gets students who know facts and concepts but cannot do or apply. The choice of method must match the type of knowledge being taught.
If the content is declarative, lecture or discussion will do. If the content is procedural or metacognitive, different methods are needed. The next two articles cover those.
Most school assessment measures only declarative knowledge
Tests and exams ask students to recite facts and define concepts.
Teachers teach to the test, so they teach declaratively.
Students who can pass tests still cannot do or apply what they know.