Grade 10 students were taught a hierarchy of intellectual skills in three different contexts: skills taught in isolation; additional verbal instructions provided; and skills taught in relation to a relevant anchoring idea. Results showed that use of the anchoring idea context enhances meaningful learning of complex skills. (Author/GK)

After expanding on the definition of advance organizers as proposed by David Ausubel, this paper offers possible reasons for the lack of strong empirical support for the use of the strategy. It then cites examples of the successful use of advance organizers with learners from nursery school through college and in a variety of disciplines. The…

Barnes and Clawson's presentation of Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning (Review of Educational Research, 45, 1975, pp. 637-59) is misleading, according to the author. He states that Ausubel's crucial point is not that organizers relate new knowledge to an existing cognitive structure, but that new learning materials can only be considered…

In five experiments, novices read a computer programing text and engaged in one of these learning strategies: advance organizer, model elaboration, comparative elaboration, normal reading. Results of transfer and recall tests suggested that elaboration techniques can be applied to "real-world" materials, resulting in more integrated…

Investigates the differential effect of an advanced organizer on the meaningful learning and retention of information presented to the learner in a sequential, structured program of individualized instruction. (Author/GS)

This study was performed in order to test the author's notion that advance organizers operate because (1) they provide stable anchorage for concepts to be learned and (2) in order to operate they must be relatable by the student to the new material. To test this hypothesis the author constructed materials for each of ten treatments as defined by…

Research from four subareas of prose learning (advance organizers, response modes, objectives, and inserted questions) is considered and weaknesses in the studies conducted are noted. Suggestions are advanced as to how researchers might profitably spend their energies in the future. (RC)

Research related to the use of advanced organizers is reviewed. Four hypotheses are generated including the notion that advanced organizers may be most effective when structural integration is a problem. (SD)

A cause-and-effect relationship exists between the event called teaching and the event called learning. Teachers should create antecedent conditions for learning by motivating students and by using strategies such as explaining, comparing, and reinforcing. (PP)

The information processing model, a theoretical framework of how humans think, reason, and learn, views human cognitive functioning as analogous to the operation of a computer. This paper uses the increased understanding of the information processing model to provide teachers with suggestions for improving the teaching-learning process. Major…

The comprehension and recall of instructional text is heavily dependent upon the contexts in which information input and retrieval occur. College students (N=44) recalled the contents of a hierarchically structured text immediately after study and again six weeks later. Total meaningful recall was better when the superordinate concepts, or cues,…

This report describes an attempt to apply a critical empirical test to some predictions from Ausubel's theory concerning the subsuming role of advance organizers. Alternative explanations are proposed and subsequent predictions tested. (BT)

Theory and research suggest three ways grammar instruction might assist second-language acquisition. These include the following: as an advance organizer; as a meaning-form focus in communication activities where there are many examples of a single meaning-form relationship; and through monitoring, if learners can acquire their own input. (41…

This thesis reports a study of the effects of two types of advance organizer instruction, expository (EO) and guided self-discovery (GSDO), in teaching hierarchical classification or relations to preschool children. In the study, four experimental and one control group received three 25 minute instructional sessions. Using the same materials,…

Reports findings of a study investigating the effects of three prereading activities--advance organizers, structured overviews/graphic organizers, and multivocabulary experiences--done both orally and in writing before a text reading assignment was given. (FL)