Making the Most of Prior Knowledge: A Collaborative and Differentiated Strategy for Teaching in Higher Education

In large cohort settings, educators often encounter significant challenges associated with diverse prior knowledge levels among students, which frequently result in knowledge gaps, reduced engagement, and uneven academic performance. Despite extensive literature exploring collaborative learning and differentiation techniques, few studies provide a comprehensive, practical, and effectively evaluated strategy tailored specifically for large higher education classrooms. This study addresses this research gap by proposing and effectively evaluating a multifaceted teaching approach, centred around weekly collaborative workshops tackling real-world scenarios. The workshops are supported by customised lecture materials and individually differentiated tasks designed explicitly to bridge knowledge gaps and enhance student preparedness for collaborative learning. The findings, gathered through case studies and student surveys, indicate this combined strategy fosters inclusive participation, substantially boosts engagement and satisfaction, and improves learning outcomes across students with diverse prior knowledge. The strategy was successfully implemented over two consecutive years, and its core principles are adaptable to different educational contexts, suggesting potential for broader application.