Introduction
Thepioneerorganizerisarepresentativeofcognitivepsychology-aneducationproposedbytheAmericaneducationalpsychologistDavidAusubel(1918-)in1960Theimportantconceptofpsychologyisalsooneofhismaincontributionsinteachingtheory.AccordingtoAusubel’sexplanation,whenstudentsfaceanewlearningtask,iftheoriginalcognitivestructurelacksappropriateupperconceptstoassimilatenewknowledge,ortheoriginalconceptsarenotclearorconsolidated,itisnecessarytodesignapre-learningtask.Aguidingmaterialpresentedbeforethepresentationofthematerialmaybeaconcept,alaw,oraparagraphofexplanatorytext.Itcanbeineasy-to-understandlanguageoraconcretemodelofintuitiveimages,butthelevelofgeneralizationandtoleranceishigherthanthematerialtobelearned(Soitbelongstothelowerlearning),tobuildabridgethatconnectsthenewandtheoldknowledge.Thiskindofleadingmaterialiscalledanadvanceorganizer.
Role
Advanceorganizerscanplayasignificantroleinpromotingstudents'learningwhenstudentslearnnewandunfamiliarknowledgeandlackthenecessarybackgroundknowledgepreparation,andhelpstudentsUnderstandthecontentofunfamiliartextbooks.
Theuseofadvancedorganizerscanhelppromotethetransferoflearning,andithasasignificantroleinpromotingthetransfertestitemsthatneedtosolvetheproblem.Ifthelearningmaterialonlyrequiresmechanicalmemory,theeffectisnotobvious.
Advanceorganizerreferstoalargeamountofintermittentinformation-oral,writtenorgraphical-presentedbeforecontactwithnewmaterialstofacilitatelearningandunderstanding.Thispresentationisdifferentfromoverviewandsummary,becausecomparedwithotherinformation,itispresentedonamoreabstractlevel-the"bigpicture"isplacedbeforethespecificcontent.Becausethistechniquerequiresaclearentrypoint,itisgenerallyusedforlinearpresentation(suchastraditionalclassroomeducation),anditisnotequallyeffectiveinnon-linearinquirylearningsituations(suchasfreeplaymode).
Theroleofadvanceorganizers
Osubelbelievesthatadvanceorganizerscannotonlyhelplearnerslearnnewknowledge,butalsohelpthemmaintainknowledge.Itisspecificallymanifestedinthefollowingaspects:First,itcanfocusstudents’attentiononthekeypartsofthenewknowledgetobelearned;second,ithighlightstherelationshipbetweennewknowledgeandexistingknowledge,andprovidesaframeworkfornewknowledge;Third,itcanhelpstudentsrecallexistingknowledgerelatedtonewknowledgeinordertobetterestablishconnections.
Classification
Inrecentyears,researchershavedevelopedtheconceptof"organizer"basedonOsubel'soriginaldefinition.The"organizer"isusuallypresentedbeforethematerialstobelearned(thefirstorganizer),butitcanalsobepresentedafterthelearningmaterials.Itcanbeamaterialthatishigherthanthelearningmaterialintermsofabstractionandgeneralization;itcanalsobeaconcreteconcept,whichislowerthantheoriginallearningmaterialintermsofabstractionandgeneralization.
"Organizers"canbedividedintotwocategories:oneisthedeclarative(expository)"organizers",thatis,insituationswherestudentsarerelativelyunfamiliarwithmaterials,whenstudentsfacelearningtasks,iftheyrecognizeThelackofappropriateupperconceptsintheknowledgestructurecanbeusedtoassimilatenewknowledge,andanorganizerwhosegeneralizationandtolerancelevelishigherthanthenewmaterialtobelearnedcanbedesigned.Forexample,ifstudentslearntheconceptof"whale",theycanfirstlearntheconceptofmammals(superiorconcept)thattheyhavelearnedbefore,thatis,whatarethecharacteristicsofmammals,andthenlearn(getacognitiveframework),andthenexplainwhalesItisalsoamammal.Underthiscondition,althoughstudentsmaynothaveseenwhaleswiththeirowneyes,itiseasyforstudentstounderstandandgrasptheconceptofwhales,thatis,whalesalsohavethecharacteristicsofviviparousandbreastfeeding.Asaresultoflearningtheconceptofmammalslivingintheocean-whales,thusexpandingtheunderstandingoftheconceptofmammals.Theteacherconsciouslyconnectsthenewlylearnedconceptswiththeoriginalhigher-levelconcepts,sothatstudentscanincorporatealow-levelexperienceintothehigh-levelstructurethroughgeneralization,therebyenrichingthehigh-levelstructureandatthesametimeformingahierarchicalnetworkofconceptsSystem,whichcontinuouslypromoteschangesorinnovationsintheexistingpsychologicalstructureofstudents.Provideafixedpointofconceptwithtermsthatlearnersarealreadyfamiliarwith,andletstudentslearnthisorganizerfirstinordertoobtainacognitiveframeworkthatcanassimilatenewknowledge.Thepurposeofusingitistoprovidethemostappropriatecategoryfornewlearning,andithasasuperiorrelationshipwithnewlearning.
Theothertypeiscomparative(comparative)"organizers",whichareusedinmorefamiliarlearningmaterials,thatis,whenstudentsfacenewlearningtasks,iftheircognitivestructurealreadyhasAppropriateconceptsthatcanbeusedtoassimilatenewknowledge,buttheoriginalconceptsareunclearorunconsolidated,unstable,difficultforstudentstoapply,ortheyareunclearabouttherelationshipbetweenthenewandoldknowledge,youcandesignacomparisonthatrevealsthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthenewandtheoldknowledgeSexorganizer.Forexample,intheprocessoflearningabout"angles",studentshavealreadylearnedtheconceptof"acuteangles",theyshouldlearntheconceptof"obtuseangles".Teacherscanfirstexplaintherelatedknowledgeandcharacteristicsof"acuteangle"clearly,andthenlearntheconceptof"obtuseangle".Thisway,youcannotonlymastertheconceptof"obtuseangle",butalsounderstandthepreviouslylearnedconceptof"acuteangle"andthenewlylearnedconcept.Thesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheconceptsof"obtuseangle".Becausethecomparativeorganizerspointedoutthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthenewandtheoldknowledge,itcanenhancethestabilityandclarityoftheoriginalfixedconcepts.Itspurposeistocomparenewmaterialswithsimilarmaterialsinthecognitivestructure,therebyenhancingthediscernibilitybetweentheplausiblenewandoldknowledge,andprovidingastablefixedpointforthesenewideas.Inordertogetgoodresults,theorganizersthemselvesmustobviouslybeeasytolearn,andtheymustbedescribedinfamiliarterms.
Intheuseofthesetwotypesoforganizers,studentsarerequiredtoactivelyinteractwiththeiroriginalknowledgeandnewlylearnedmaterialsintheirminds,andtransformtheexternallyprovidedmaterialsintotheirownCognitivecontent,sothelearninginthiscaseispositiveandmeaningfullearning.
Teachingstrategy
"Advanceorganizer"isakindofguidingmaterialpresentedbeforethelearningtaskitself.Itusuallyintroducesthelearningmaterialitselfinalanguagethatstudentscanunderstand.Itwaspresentedinthepastinordertoestablishthemindsetofmeaningfullearning,soitiscalledthepioneerorganizer.Itslevelofabstraction,generalizationandsynthesisishigherthanthelearningtask,anditisrelatedtotheoriginalideasinthecognitivestructureandnewlearningtasks.Itspurposeistohelpstudentsestablishthemindsetofmeaningfullearning,builda"cognitivebridge"betweenthe"alreadyknown"and"needtoknow"knowledge,andprovideaconceptualfixationpointfornewlearningcontent.Theroleofguidanceandorganization.Forexample,whentalkingaboutthepropertiesofsteel,firstlearnthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenmetalsandalloys,theiradvantagesanddisadvantages,etc.,toprovidestudentswithaconceptualframeworkforunderstandingthepropertiesofsteel.Designingappropriate"advancedorganizers"asavariablethataffectscognitivestructureisnotonlyastrategyforstudyinglearningandtransfer,butalsoanimportantteachingstrategy.
Oneofthefunctionsoftheorganizeristoprovideaconceptualframeworkforthelearningmaterialspresentedbehindit,sothatthemoredetailedanddifferentiatedmaterialscanbefirmlycombinedandmaintained.Anotherfunctionistoincreasethediscernibilitybetweenthelearningmaterialsandthesimilarorseeminglycontradictoryconceptsinthecognitivestructure.Becauseiteffectivelymastersandcontrolsthevariablesofcognitivestructureandimprovestheorganizationandpresentationofteachingmaterials,itplaysanimportantroleinpromotingmeaningfullearning.
Theteachingprocessoftheadvancedorganizer'steachingstrategymainlyconsistsofthreestages,asshowninthefollowingfigure:
Theuseofadvancedorganizer'steachingstrategyrequirescertainteachingconditions.Theyare:
1.Theteacherplaystheroleofpresenter,professorandinterpreter;
2.Themainpurposeofteachingistohelpstudentsmasterteachingmaterials,andteachersdirectlyprovidestudentswithlearningconceptsandPrinciple;
3.TeachersneedtodeeplyunderstandAusubel’smeaningfullearningtheoryandadvancedorganizerstrategy;
4.Themaintaskofstudentsistograspideasandinformation;
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5.Theoriginalcognitivestructureoftheindividualisthemostimportantfactorindeterminingwhetherthenewlearningmaterialsaremeaningful,whethertheycanbewellobtainedandmaintained;
6.ThelearningmaterialsmustbeorganizedInordertofacilitateassimilation;
7.Theadvanceorganizerneedstobepreparedinadvance.
Development
Thedevelopmentofadvancedorganizationteachingtheorycanberoughlydividedintotwoperiods:thefirstperiod(1960~1963),fromAusubel’sadvancedorganizerexperimenttoThepublicationof"PsychologyofMeaningfulSpeechLearning"markedtheestablishmentoftheadvancedorganizer'steachingtheory.Duringthisperiod,Ausubelandhiscolleaguesconductedresearchwithcollegestudentsasthemaintestsubjects.Althoughtheywerepositivelyevaluated,theywerenotwidelypromoted,andtheydidnotgivetheoperationaldefinitionanddesignmethodsoftheleadingorganizers,sotheresearchresultshavecertainlimitations.Inthesecondperiod(after1964),theadvancedorganizertheorywasextensivelyverified,expandingthescopeofresearchandovercomingthemethodlimitationsofthefirstperiod.