P1 – Practice intentional inquiry and planning for instruction.
In current discussions regarding the benefits of discovery models of teaching versus traditional presentational models, the question that is usually asked is which model better enhances the student’s retention of knowledge? History teachers are often accused of relying too heavily on presentational lesson plans and it is almost inevitable that they are judged by their lectures. But what if we can improve our lectures and engage students in the learning process while choosing the presentational model? Ausubel (1968) argues that the use of advance organizers stimulates students’ background knowledge and increases interest in the new material being presented. Advance organizers also create a framework to which students can connect new facts learned during lectures. When connections are made to previous knowledge, deeper learning occurs; students retain the new information and can use it in novel situations.
David Ausubel (retrieved from: http://www.theoryfundamentals.com/ausubel.htm)
Advance organizers act like movie trailers for the presentational style lesson. A movie trailer presents in a concise way the general theme of the movie: drama, western, or romantic comedy. You will know if the upcoming film has actors that you have seen before, which allows you to connect it to other films you remember. The trailer also presents a general flow of events that you will expect to see, but leaves out just enough information to make sure you investigate further and watch the film. When used properly, advance organizers perform the same function in the classroom. They are presented first, they include the general concepts that will be covered in the lesson, they are presented using vocabulary the students are familiar with, and they stimulate interest in the new material. When was the last time you watched a movie without seeing a trailer that first piqued your interest? Similarly, why should we expect our students to be excited for a lesson when they have no expectations regarding what they will be learning and have no frame of reference to connect facts to previously learned material?
Click for a mental break and watch some movie trailers!
There are several categories of advance organizers for teachers to choose from. Dean, Hubbell, Pitler and Stone (2012) present four categories – expository, narrative, skimming, and graphic – while Joyce, Weil, and Calhoun (2014), using Ausubel as their guide, only distinguish between expository and comparative. Ausubel (2012) argues that the advance organizer, to be effective, needs to be at a higher level of abstraction than the material that will be learned. For example, for a lesson on the presidential election of 1860, the advance organizer could be a conceptual comparison of current national issues to national issues of the mid-1800s. Students can connect facts learned during the lesson on the presidential election of 1860 to the conceptual framework of national issues. Names and institutions such as Lincoln, Douglas, and the Northern and Southern Democratic Parties are linked in the students’ minds during the lesson to the broader national issues of states’ rights and slavery that were presented during the advance organizer.
I intuitively understand the need for advance organizers because I use them all the time: I skimmed the chapters for this week’s readings before I read them, and I watch movie trailers before I go to the theater. I want to know what I will be learning about in advance of the actual learning. As a teacher, I can dramatically increase the amount of information students are able to retain, as well as their interest level, by simply making advance organizers a part of the lesson plans I prepare for introducing new material.
References
Ausubel, D. P. (1968) Instructional Materials. In Educational psychology: A cognitive view. Retrieved From: https://mountainlightschool.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/sis-session-4-reading-ausubel1.pdf
Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement (2nd Ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Joyce, B., Weil, M., and Calhoun, E. (2014). Models of teaching (9th ed.) [Yuzu Reader version]. Retrieved from: http://webreader.yuzu.com
Molly Petersen 