In experiment 1, 40 younger and 40 older adults used advance organizers with a 1500-word passage. Experiment 2 replicated the test with adults of limited verbal ability. Advance organizers were helpful only in restricted circumstances. They appeared to help those with limited ability to comprehend detail. (SK)

Thirty adults ages 53-85 and 28 adults ages 19-38 were randomly assigned to three groups to read six passages. One group received advance organizers prior to reading, the second got orienting instructions plus advance organizers, and the controls received neither . Orienting instructions significantly helped both age groups and greatly reduced…

Using an advance organizer, an instructional aid designed to precede a main passage and to provide an effective organizational framework for older adults who may not have spontaneously employed their own strategy for understanding written material, a study investigated whether (1) reading comprehension could be instructionally influenced and (2)…

A study was conducted to investigate ways in which reading comprehension could be instructionally influenced and whether that influence differentially affected young and elderly adult learners. The study attempted, too, to determine whether advance organizers--instructional aids designed to precede a main passage and to provide an organizational…