THEORETICAL OVERVIEW
lLWRMNG THEORIES AND THEIR IMPUCARONS FUR
INSrRUCTlOhr
u MODEM OF TEACHING-DEFINITION
J CONCEPT ATTAINMENT MODEL
u THEORY UNDEI-ILYING ADVANCE ORGANlZER
MODEL
J INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL
CHAPTER 11
MODELS OF TEACHING- A THEORETICAL OVERVIEW
This chapter is devoted to the presentation of the theoretical
background of Models of Teaching with special reference to the lnformatiori
Processiny Models. The three models of teaching coming under Inforrnati3n
Processing Familt are Concept Attainment Model (CAM). Advance Organizer hlodel
(AOM) and l n q u ~ r y Training Model (ITM) These three models are treated speciatly
in this chapter.
2.1 LEARNING THEORLES AND THEW IMPUCATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION
Learning theories come to focus as one begins to forlrlulate objectives
for a teaching-learning stimulation and ro develop instructional strategies in order to
realise the objectives formulated Though learning theories encompass affective and
psychomotor development to a certain extent, they are basically set f i ~ r the reahsation
of the objectives coming under cognitive domain
Learl-lit~g theories have evolved into two main bl-anches 1 )
Behaviourisric. the focus of which is on behaviour as evidence uf' cognitive growth
and 2) Cognitive, the focus of which is percept~on as evidence of cogn~tive growth
2.1.1. Behaviourist or Connectionist Theories
In stimulus-response approach. learning is assumed ro be a function of
stimulus-response connections, particularly as reflected i n corldition~ng and
psychologists who restrict themselves to studying overt behaviour are known as
behaviourists (Mum et a1 , 1972).
2.1.2 Gagne's Theory of Learning and lr~struction
fragne like Skinner, Iays emphasis on the I-ole of instrumental
ct>nditioninr: in Icarning. In Gagne's opinion, the factors that intluence yrowth are t o
a large extent generically determined, whereas the factors that influence learning are
determined chietlv by environmental events {Gagne. 1 985) From the enviro~lment.
the learner receiies stimulation that activates receptors and is transformed to rleural
intbrmation. During the course of an act of tearniny, a [lumber clf ditkrent processes
are ar work TIicse processes mav occur in a sequence Thc processes of learning
form the basic stl-ucture of information process in^ theories of iearning In Ciagne's
theory of learning, the instrumental conditionins i s largely a matter- of intbrnlarion
processing
EtYective instruction accordirlg tto Cjagi~e ( 1 085 ). rcqulr-es a caretill
ordering of learnmy tasks. According to Ciayne. for each task learners are to be
carefully prompted or guided in their attempt to respond correctlv Gagne gives
niuch importance to the external stimuli to activate the leal-ners' mindset and this
implies that the need for independent discover\' is mini~nised
Cia3ne identified six varieties of perforlnar~ces that can be the result US
learning They arc.
I sptutic respondins
2 . chalrling
, .+I multiple discrinlinatian
3. class~fying
5 rule learning and
b problem solving.
Gagne believes that these six classes of learning for111 an ascending
hierarchy; thus, learning occurs in the order of increasing complexitv. Gityne's
hierarchy is usefill in selecting models appropriate for varieties of educational goals
(Jovce and Weil. 1997).
2.1.3 Cognitive Theories of Learning
They belong to the Gestalt school of learning and cognitive school uf
psychology. Much of the work using coynitive approaches to learning finds its origin
in the work of Jean Piaget ( 197 1 ) and his colleagues. often referred to as the Genevan
school Their model of learning generally characterised as a stage theop,, in that the
thougWprocess ot' the child developed through four distinct stages- sensoq-motor.
pre-operational. concrete operational and formal operational- which unfold in a fixed
sequence. At each stage, the 'structures' of the previous stage are reconstructed in a
process called equilibration. This process sirllultaneously involves assimilation and
accommodation
Coynitive revolution brings forth the appearance of such important
works as Miller's paper on Processing Information (Milter. 1956). Bruner's volume
crrl *Thinking' (Bruner, 1961 ), Chomsky's Syntactic structures (C'homskv. I96S)
S tudy of cognition is the study of processes. The second aspect in
cognition is the faculty of knowing which includes such activities such as memop-.
imagination, judgement and reason. Meta cognition is the name for the knowledge
that people have about the way that cognitive processes work
7-he processes of learning forrn the basic slructure of inforri~atiun
processins theurrcs of learning
I.rarning theorists have been advocatiny the ~rnptovernetit of classrooln
instruction by the application of the insight gained from a related field of inqui ry
Skinner's progt-ammed instruction, Gagne's hierarchical learning. I'iaget's se1t'-
disci~verv learn~ny. Bruner's discovery learning .4usubel+s meat~ingfi~l reception
learning, Such~xan' s inquiry oriented process approach are the sigtii tican t
contributions to the improvement of classroom instruction
One of the important debates in the field of instrriction today revol\,es
around the rc la t i~e et'ficiency of varyins methods uf preser~tation of subject matter
2.1.4 Methods, Techniques and Strategies
There is tremendous semantic confusion in the use of such words as
methods. rechn~clues and strategies because they are used interchangeably in
educational I~terature Basically there are three method of teaching t ranslrliss~on
method. inqulq rnethod and eclectic method A method is an overall ~)rocedure 01-
process to achirie certain goals. A technique ut'teaching refers tu the spec~fic ways
of presenting ir~structional inaterial for a particular lesson On the other tiand a
strategy deals n ~ t h the organisation and co-ordination of ilarlous techniques ro
practlse the method which would involve rhe achievement of desired goals
hlodels of teaching are corlsidered as prescriptive teaching strategies
designed to acco~nplish particular instructional yoals There is a contir~uum in rht:
application of tcactiiny stt-ategies
Fig. 2.1 A Contirluum of Teaching Strategies
Expository strategies + Interactive strategies
+ Self-directed strate~ies
I'litcement on this continuum is deternlitled by the degree to which
teachers share w . ~ t h pupIJs control over the teaching situation arid the degree to which
certain a[-eas of decision making are left open to negotiation.
Models of teaching are a via-media between the two extremes of the
continuum that i s transmission or exp~s i to ry strategies and self-directed strategies
111 expository strategies pupils are exposed or presented with all facts.
concepts, and principles they are to learn. In ir~teractive strategies the teacher
integl-ates different strategies in accordance with curricuium requ~rements and pup~ l ' s
individual requirements. Reactive teaching strategy i s characterised by the teachers'
wiilingness to ad rust instructional objectives in accordance with the pup~ls ' colxerns
or reactions 111 discovery teaching, the teacher iv~thholds from the pup~ls the
concepts and pri~~ciples they are to learn but gives them the instances. example.;. and
problems frutli which they can induce these coriceprs and pr~nciplea
.4usubel (1963) devised the concept of verbal reception learnins
(expository strategy) which is characterised by instruction that presents to students the
entire content of the subject matter to be learned in final form. Students' role in the
expository strategy is to understand and internalise the information presented before
them in a receptive manner
Rmner and Suchman established the framework of process oriented
inquiry strategy The process oriented curricula emphasises discovery or inquin
learning.
The term discovery learning has two different conr~otations: learning to
discovery and discovery learning. Bmner (1961) asserts that in discovery learning the
learner becomes the organiser of his own knowledge. Discovery is a process: it is a
way of approaching problems rather than a product or a particular item of knowledge
lnquirv training was developed bv Richard Suchrrlan (1962) to teach
students the process for investigating and explaining unusual phenomena. I t is
designed to bring students directly into the scientific process Inquiry training
originated in a belief in the development of independent and self-directed learners.
2.1.5 Processes, Observation and Inferelices
Items of information gathered through senses are called observations
The observed ~nforniation is processed into more abstract and usehl forms by
constructing patterns, predicting future observations and through explaining events.
These extensions and interpretations are called inferences (Egyen. Kauchak and
Harder, 1979) The information gathered in one's brain from the world around him is
called knowledge Facts. concepts and generalisations are called the buildins blocks
of knowledge These forms of content often can isotate and taught individually using
specific instructional strategies Often, however, facts, concepts and seneralisations
are all embodied in larger contexts where the focus is on the interrelationship among
them We call these relationships as organised bodies of knowledse
2.1.6 Concepts, Facts and Generalisat ions
Concepts represent a major portion of our schooi curriculum How do
youns children learn concepts'? The process begins with exarnples and non-examples
In both cases t h u concept is learned by identi5ing its essent~al characteristics and
discriminating them from closely related concepts. Providing adequate examples is
the crucial element in coricept learning.
Faits are units of information that are used to timn concepts and
.. generalisations. Facts are isolated pieces of information I hey are the budding
blocks of more advanced form of knowledge Meaningfulness is a term used to
describe the number of associations or connections between one idea and other ideas
in our mcmory The most powerful and widely applicable way of teaching facts
stresses their meaningful integration into large cotlceptual framework.
2.1.7 Forms of Discovery-Reception Strategies
a) lnductive-deductive approach.
Discovery and reception, as methods of instruction. have most ofierl
been equated with indlictive and deductive learning. Inductive learning [nay bc
defined as being .based on the presentation, to the learner. of a sufficient number of
specific examples to enable him to arrive at a definite rule or principle o r fact". On
the other hand. deductive learning is a method '-that proceeds from rules or
yeneralisatiot~s to the examples and subsequently to conclusions ur applicat~ons O K thc
reneralisations'* ( (hod, 1973 ) L
'I'hc first systematic approach to reasoning> attributed to :Instotie anti
the GI-eeks. was the deductive method. Inductive learning is chal-acterised b y i t s
emphasis on the verbalisation of what has been discovered by the learner The
deduc~ivu method of Aristutle and the inductive method of' Racur~ here full\
integr-ated in the uurk of Charles Darvin in the nineteenth centuq. I-hls induct1i.e and
deductive method is now recoynised as at1 example u f scientific approach
Eleduction and induction are clearly distinguishable and at rht. same
ti~tte are a par-! of the continuous process of csplanation Jotltl Ilewey ( 1938)
suggested a paltern that is helpfbl in identifying rhe elernerlts of ~nducti\,c and
deduct i\.e prucekis
i ~dentitlcation and definition of the problenl
i i ) tiwnmulation of a hypothesis
i t i ) collect~on, oryanisation and analysis of data
ic) lorn~ulation of conclusio~ls and
v) \,erification. rejection or modificatioli of the hypothesis bv rhe test of
i t s consequence in a specific situation
Ll any modern curriculum destgners at tempted to translate O e w e ~ ' s
ideas into educational practice, by giving much stress on problem solving as l)e\ve!
wanted to develop children's thinking ability.
b) Egrule and Ruleg Presentation
:inother variation of inductive and deductive learning or discover?.-
expository dichotomy is egmte and ruleg presentation Egrule secluerlce i s erluated
with inductive or- discovery learning and nlleg with expository or deductive learnins
The essential features of egmle presentation i s that "certain numbel- of examples are
siven with instnrctions to derive a concept. principle or generaiisation" The essential
features of ru1t.g presentation is that "the concept. prirlciple o r generalisation i s
presented tirst fi~llowed by examples (Turney, et al . 1977)
C ) Problem Solving and Discoveq
1'1 c~blem solving as a method of learnins requires that r l~c learners
discover the higller order rule without specitic help .4 s tudy b!. Wc)rthen ( 1968)
strongly suggests that achieving a higher order rule by means of n problem solving
PI-oduces a hiuhlv k ef'fectivt. capability that is well retained and tr.ansferred o\.er
considerable per~ods of lime A studv . bv . Gutliri (1'167) ot' probleln solv~ng irl
cryptugranls showed a marked advantage of the discover). method uf instruction for
retention and transfer of the newly acquired information.
Prc~blem solving is not the automatic applicatiorl of established habits
ul- behaviour pat len is to stereotyped situatiuns. nor i s it the appllcatloti ut' definite
principle (U'ertheimer. 1945). In his opinion. problem solviny is [lot lusr the sum of
several steps not an aygregate of several opera~inns. but thc yrowth of' one line o f
thinking ou t of the gaps in the situation Suchman's inquiry training model is based
# o n Wenheirner'r insight on problem solving,
Problem solving occupies highest position in the hierarchy of learning
proposed by Gagne (198.5) Thinking. learning and problem solviny are closel?
related Psvch~~loyis t s study thinking by examining the behaviour of people
attempting to sake problems and by manipulating the characteristics of the prohlem.
the problem solcer. and the nature of the information given to rhe subject (Solso.
1995). In Gapnc's opinion, problem solving is a natural extension of rule learnitig
(Gagne, 1985). l'he sequence of events involved in problem solving is often referred
to in the writings of john Dewey (Dewey. 19 16)
d Piaget's and Neo-Piagetian View on Cognitive Development
In Piaget's opinion cognitive development occurs as an orderly process
in a bio-soc~al context and it i s a long term, cor~tinuous and dynamic interactior~
between the orga~lisnl and the physical environment. The ~itlpurtaut factors which
account far the sey uence of development being maturation (bioloyical). experierlce of
the physlcal environment and the equilibration by the organism.
Neo-Piagetians. such as Sinclair (1973) and John (1990) have
attempted to combine the Piagetian and the irlformation processiu~ approaches They
proposed staye theories but have incorporared the development of work~ng memo?.
from the inf i~rmat~on processiny approacii
e) Rote Mode (Learning by rote) Learning and Meaningful Learning
Rore learning involves injecting isolated bits of' information into
existing cogniti\~c. structures, whereas. meaninskt learning involves relating and
connecting newly ~ntraduced knowledge and information to more general and prior-
learned material [.earning becomes rote whene\,er and to the eutcnt that the material
to be learned lacked logical meaninghlness, the learner lacks relevant ideas in his
cognitive structure and the learner lacks a rneaninghl mindset (Miller et a1 . 1982).
The nleaninghlly learned material would have more retention puwer- and transfer
ability They ;ire rnore relatable and anchorable to relevant and rnclre irlclusive
concepts in the cxisting cognitive structure
f) Concept n~apping: A Metacognitive Strategy
Based on Ausubel's ideas and theories on concept learning and
cognitive structi~re, and meaningful learning has been evolved siving rise to difyerent
strategies for Ivarning the concepts namely, Govin's Vee Heuristic and C'oncep~
mapping. Conc*ept mappins is a learning strategy that was developed first as a
research tools t c l represent learner's prior knowledge, and later as a tool to enhance
n~eaningful learr~~ng Concept maps attempt to render a corlcrete representation of the
structural knowledge of an individual and the ways in which these concepts are
perce~ved to he connected to one another and to the existing structures Concept
mapping is a mela learning strategy based on the Novak and G o w n ( 1984) theory of
rneaninghl learn~ng. I t relates directly to such theoretical principles as prior
knowledge, subsumption, progressive diRerentiation, integrative reconciliation and
cognitive b r idg in~ . Concept map provides a schematic summa- of what has been
learned Concept maps are designed to parallel human cognitive structure in that they
show concepts uryanised hierarchically because concepts are subsumed under
broader. and more inclusive concepts In its simplest form. a concept map woi~ld be
just two concepts connected by a linking word to form a pruposition Concepts al-e
generally isolated by circles and connected by lines, Lines are labelled with linking
wnrds which describe how the connected concepts are related tn each other In short
cur~cept rnapplllg is a technique for externatising cuncepts and prr,pr,sitir)ns
2.1.8 Evolutiori of lnfornlation Processing Heseiarch
I t the tinic u f World War 11, many psychologists were asked t o desigrl
equipment and devise training progranltnes for mil i tan personnel +\her the war
s w e ut' thest. psychologists were asked t o perfi~rrn sllriilar task5 for iridustr-ral
concerns I)unng these posr-war applications of' psycholog?,. c r ~ t i c ~ s t ~ i s 01.
behavioural leatniny theory began to accumulate. The major crit~cisln raised against
bella~ioural learning tbeuv was that the nlajor conclus~otis shoulci he b;~scd o ~ i
obsenat~ons of o\.eI-t hehaviour
1!i the late 1960s and 1970s techniclues iji' education f:dvoured bj,
cogrittive psychr~logists such as Piayet. Bruner and hunlanistic psychi~l~~gis ts iucll ;is
Abraham Mas lou. and Carl Rogers became popular (Bichler. I OBh) Many
psychologists ot that time were interested In speculat~ng about what p?es or) in thc
learner's mind \\,hen he corlfronted with a problem But they were dissatisfied wit11
the vague descl-~ptlons of cognitive process proposed b?. P ~ a y r t and 13runer The!
M,ere kindled w ~ t h the sudden outburst of computers o n the scenc :Is a cor~sequsnuc.
researchers beyan to study how humans transfnrrn input into outpirt arld hot$ they
encode. store. pr i)cess and retrieve information
Iiilbrtnatiun Processing psychologj, asserts that learnung IS an
interactive ptoccis between the learner and the environment (Narrang and .-Irora.
19%) inform at^^)^^ Processing Psychotogists suggested several tnodels of the relation
between ditlkrent coynit~ve processes. The metaphor ot'hunian n ~ m d as a campurer is
subject to several criticisms and also leads to extensive debate on the potential
advantage of the computer. A series of provocative studies on how hurnan nlemac
functions triggered a veritable landslide of research. Eventually several tliuorists
developed flab charts similar to those used in the computers to describe how the
human mind works. The best general purpose model of human memory was
developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). In this model the human mernury \%as
categorised into three inter related systems. t i ) the sensory register b e ~ n g the tnosr
tern1 transient (ii) short term or primary memory being more enduring and (iii) lon,
memory or secondarly store as the most permanent
Intormation Processing Model has a distinct point of view about how
people think and how to afTect the ways they operate on information (Weil and Joyce.
1985) The word information is used to refer to the signals that underyo various kinds
of processins a h a Television receives signals that undergo various kinds of
processing until a picture is produced. 'The second meanins of inforrnat~on is
something that is simply available in the world.
2.2 MODELS OF TEACHING-DEFINITION
Jovce and Weil (1985) define models of teaching as a plan or pattern
that can be used to shape curriculum, to design instructional materials, and to guide
instruction in the classroom and other settings Most of the ideas incorporated in this
chapter from the \cork of Joyce and Weil( 1997).
Egsen, Paul e t al. (1979) describe Models as prescriptive teaching
strategies designed to accomplish particular instructional goals.
I r is a step by step procedure that leads to specific learrling csuicomes
(Gunter. Estes atid Schwab. 1990).
A model of teaching is a description of a learning environment (Joyce
and Weil, 1997)
Dunn and Ounn ( 1979), Fischer and Fischer ( 197')) Ellis ( 1970). Joyce
and Weil (1980) Ausubel, Hruner and Skinner (learning Theorists). Hunt. Knhlberg
and Piayrt (Devc.lopmsnta1 Psychologists); Broivdy. Dewey and James ( Phi1ost)phers)
contributed much to the develaprnent of ditierent strategies and teaching models
Models of teaching are the forerunner of probable t h e m e s Since the
early 1960s, t h e ~ e has been an increased use of models and rnodel building In
educational reseal ch.
Toisten Husen (1994) investigated and give a brief surnmary of the
madeis developed by Kaplan ( 1964) and Tatsauoka ( 1968): They are ( i ) Analogue
Model.; 'They arc widelv used in physical sciences. but rarely used 111 the field of
education. ( i i ) Sernantic Models. They are in common use in the field of educarronal
research. They are expressed in verbal form and they empioy figures of speech 01-
metaphors ( i i i ) Schematic Models: They serve as a link between theory arid the real
world It is like a map and generally serves to group and cluster constructs into an
ordered relationship (iv) Mathematical hlodels These models lay the foundat~c~ns
for a more forrnal theory. built around the causal relatiunships that art: ~r~iplicitlv or
explicitly contained within the model.
i,) Casual Modcls Since the early 1970s there has been wide L I S ~ of these ~nodels
irl the field of educat~onal research.
vi) ront luet~ce model- This is an applicatiori of mathrrnaticiil mudel to i tn
educ.ationa1 prol>lern
- 1 he International Encvclopaedia of I<ducaticl~l (1W4) gives r i h , . j~ f '
description of r i b o rnore reaching models The! ar-r t h e models ciei.eloped bi.
Mosstons t 1972) and Stallings I t 977), hli~sstons in his enliyllteniny ivur l i .-l-r-om
f'ornmand to Discovery" discussed seven teachin2 models
1 ) C'o~nn~and style
11) 'Fasli htyle
i i i ) Reciprocal stvle
i ) Indi1.1 dual programme (Teacher's Desigli)
I ) Guided discovery model
I P T O ~ I ~ I T I ~ I v ~ I I ~ modet
i . 1 I ) l n d i ~ ~ ~ r i i ~ a l P r u ~ r a t n m e (Pupil's desiyn)
Stallitlgs ( 1977) developed five teaching nlodels
1 ) The expository models
. .
11) The group process modets
~ l i ) The dc\~eloyrnental cognitive models
i v ) The prc)yramrned models
V ) The hndarnental model skills.
2 Kaptan's Irlformation Processing Modcl
.Among the various rnodels developed by Kaplan and Talsuoka. the
Information Processing Model developed by Kaplan. a sentantic model i s elf' foruniost
Ilnportalice Kapliirl used the nletaphor ut' Ia~~dscapu preference t i ) r this I t 1 5 hiiscd
011 the concept [hat landscape preference must have evolved as an adapt~ve prllcess as
hutl~ans evolved the mental and perceptual capabilities f o r processing information
which is importiint for survival. In his opinion hunians are constantly building rriodels
of the environment they experience. The rnental models which one develops froni
environmental crlcounters are in turn. instrumentill in ~ c ) \ L urle interprets fut i~rc
envirol~mental t~ncounters This mental model or cuyniri\.c ]nap proi ides lirlh
betiveen human r hought process and the phvsical etivirr>nment
1 1 1 order to function and thrive in an environment hul-nan he~ngs must
be able to makc sense of that environtnent and then hecnmu involi~ed 111 i t I'his 1s
acconiplished b\ relating the perceived structure of' a landscape to a cognitiic rnap
which is built ~n mtnd. This mapping enables at1 indi\,idual t i 3 PI-ed~cr ilnd anrlcipatr
the illformarion l3einy presented
Iiaplan's Four Fiictors from the Framework
1 1 1 order to make sense of an environment Kaplan suggested tbur
factors from the ir,arnework of his theory l'hey are-
Coherence - thc extent to which the scene -hang together- through repetlt~on of'
elements. textureh. and structural factors which facititate comprehension
CumpIexlty -- the ar~iount o f variety and diversity in a scene
Legibility -- the recognition of an envirorilnerit that looks as ~f une could explore i t
extunsively 141t110ut yettiny lost.
Mystec - the deyree to which more information may be gained by proceeding further
in to the scene
1 1 1 addttion to the four factors t u make an envlr.onmellt sensjbJt., ccrtaln
additional factors such as prior experience. context and fanliliaritv are also i1nportant
Int .ol~e~nent also requires additional mapping to process lie& infbrmatiorl beirtg
present
2.2.2 Goals arid Assumption of Information Processing klodels
l-rorn amon3 the seven models belonging t o the tnhrrnation
Prncessiny Modcis three models were selected for tlie st i~dy 'i'hey al-v (1) {'l~ncepr
.4ttainment Moctel developed by Jerome Bnrncr ( i i ) Advance Or~an ize r \lode\
(David Ausubel) share a common view about the nature ijf concepts and about
conceptual learn~lig Ausubel's ideas on hob knoxvledge i s organlsed 111 the rnirid
constitute a ven usehl tia~nework fbr teaching concepts .4usubel'.s model i s
concerned exclus~vely with acquisition and retention of infc)rrna~ion 7'he general goal
r,f Inclui* T ~ ~ I I I I I I ~ hlodel is to help students develop the intellectual discipline and
skills necessag t t l raise cluestions and search uur answers stel-t~mtng ti-or11 ci~rli)sit?.
Inquiry Training i.)riyinated in a belief in the de\:elopment of' independent leiil-riel-t;
(Sugandhi and D' I.irna. 1986)
Major Goals o f 1 I'M
Helpins children learn concept?; and teaclung then1 h o ~ , to team
conceprs is the t 'unda~~~ental purpose of schimling f Weil and Jovcc.. 197X)
According to Eggen et a1 ( 1079) the ~ l ~ a j o r yoals of Intbrmat~im
Processing Models rn the classroom are the folloivi~~g.
I Developmrnt of intellectual capabilities such as the ability t o reason and think
morc l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ l l \ '
7 the acqu~s~tiori of conrent
; The mas ivy of tnethods of inquiry
2.2.3 Hurnau I tlforrnation Processi~lg (H 1 P)
The Human Information Processing brands of co~n i t ive psvcholoyy
a]-e Inure doma~n specific compared to Piagetian domain general In approach
lnformatian processing beyins when an individual encounters with his environment
and begins to oryanise the information he sathers fro111 i ~ .
'flhc raw r~iaterials gathered fiori~ the er~i,irontnt.~~t are processed OI
oryar~ised into rnort: uriderstandable forrn. The ir~tellecti~al skill o r capabilitiex
required to a n a l ~ x information are called process arid include tht. ability tn make
ahser-vations and ~r~fererlce Of these. observation 1s the h a s ~ c The kn{ji4:lcdgt. that
results from prtlzessing of information depends upon the tvpe of pruct.ssing which
was used to fort11 i t ( Eggen. 1 979).
U eil and Joyce ( 1978) developed Inore than 20 mocicls uf tei~cl~i~is
which are gl-ouped on the basis of their chief' emphasis-the ivays the! approached
educatiorlal yoalx and means They have or~arlised these niodels Into four fatnilies
They are
I Information Processing nlodels
? -. Social irlteraction models
.? Personal models and
4 Behaviour Modification models and
1. Information Processing Models
Inhrmation Processing Models are oriented towa~-d the infcis~natir,n
capacity of the students Information Processing refers to the \cay people handle
stlrnuli from thc environment. organise data. sense problems. yeneratc concepts, and
sulutinns to problems and employ verbal and 11011-verbal sy~nbc~ls (Weil and .lavct..
10781 Silnle ~r~forrnation processing models are t o corlcern with the ability of the
learner to soltr: problems and thus en~phasise productive rh~rlk~~lg, others are
concerned with yenerat intellectual ability.
2. Social Interaction Models
The models in this farnilv emphasise relationships of t h u ~nd~vidual to
society or to other persons. With respect to goals. models this cmentatlon gi\.es
pr~ority to the i t~~provrment of the individual's ability to relate to others, to engage In
democratic proccsses, arld work productively it1 society While social relatio~~s may
be etnphasised Inure than other domains, social theorists are also concerned \ + ~ t h the,
development of the mind and the self and the learning of acader~iic subjects
3. Personal Models
- f i le persorlal models of teaching pay great attention to the individual
perspective and wek to encourage productive independence so that people bcctxne
~ncreasinglv self-aware and responsible for their own destinies
4. Behaviour Modification Models
Tlic theoretical base of this family is commonly called social learning
theol-y. behaviou! therapv and cvbernetics. These models take the stance thar humati
beings are self-correcting cornmun~cation svste~ns that moditj, behaviour in response
to ~nforrr iat~on about l l o u successhlly tasks ale navlyated
Tahle 2 I descr~bes models that come under the i~ i fo~r r ia t ion Processing
family. the name o f thc major theorists. goals or iniission ol'each model (M'eil and
Joyce. 1985) Table 2.2 displays the ne\+ version o f l n fo r~na t io~ i Processing Model
\rirh nalnes o f the developers and redevelopers (Weil and Joyce. 1997)
Table 2.1
l~~iorrnation Proressil~g Model -- .--"-A,..
Rlodel Major Theorists ~ o a l s which illtended
. . ~ ..... ~~ ~... . . . ~ ....... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ~~
~es iyneb. primary for de"elopm&t o f Inductive thinking Hi lda Taba inductive mental process and Classif icat~ol~ oriented academic reasoning o f theory
huildiiig, hut these capacities are Inquiry Training Richard Suchmari useful for perso~ial and social goals as
\+ell
Scientific l t ic lu iy Jusepli J Schwah Designed to teach the research svsteln o f disciplirte, but also expected to have e lkc ts in other domains
Designed primarily to develop Concept Attainment Jeronie S Bnlner inductive reasoning but also for
concept development analvsis
Designed to increase general Cognitive Growth Jcan P i a ~ e t iritellectual developnient especially
Imin!: Sigel logical reasoning Edmund Sullivan
Designed to increase eficieticy o f Advance Organizer Uavld P A:lsubel infornmation processing capacities
meaningfully, absorbing and relate bodies o f knowledge
Deslglied to increase capaclty to h le rnoq J e r y Lucas ~ ~ i e r n u r ~ s e
Table 2.2
Iaformation Processing Models (Modified Versiou) ,.... ............................................. .. ..................................................................................................... h.1 ode1 Developers and Redevelopers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , ,
Inductive Thinking Hilda Taba
Crlt\cept .Attainment Jerome Rr-urler (Fred l..lyhthall)
Tennvson (Cocchiarella)
Mnenlonics Bruce Joyce (Michael Pressley)
( ~nt~rnon; assists) John Levin
Advance Organizers R~cha rd .Anderson
David Ausubel
(Lawton ar~d Wanska)
Sc~cnt ific I~~quiry Joseph Scliivab
Inc(uir.y Training Richard Suchtnan
Sy~lectics Bill Gorden .......................... ..................................... ........ ...................................... - ..". ...................................
2.2.4 Sources of Information f rocessirig Model
hlodels focussing on Information Processing come from several
I Metrrcr)gnition: It is the name fur the knowledge that people have about the wav
that cognitive pr-ocess works. Philosophers have thought about thuught. and about
how inductive and deductive thinking function etc and these come under
2. I,eirrninl; Theorists: The belief that we use previousiy learncd concepts to
process incoming information is the heart of these theories Davrd Ausubel and
Jerotne Bruner and his associates evolved certain strategies which provide ;I set u f
concepts that alter an individual's thinking processes.
3. TItr acudvmic discipline.$, Many models have been developed to teach either
the major concepts or the systems of inquiry used bv the disciplrnes
4. f)uveiupnr~*nttit sfu(1ic.s of humun intellect Investigatuts have also studied the
develnpment at- iatellectuat processes. In the place of purely mechanical ur
instrumental approach the developmental theories of human ~ntellect enlphasise the
role of purpose. might , understanding, reasoning, memory and other ct~gnitive factors
in the process of ,learning This school of thought mainly belongs to Gestalt
psychalog~sts. a ~ ~ c i cognitive psychologists f'iayet's and Erickson's work senCe as a
foundation for these models.
iletinitirnn of l n fi~rnration Processing iWude1.v
Cienerally the Information Processing Models refer to the information-
processing capatl~lity of the students and the ways by which the): can improw t h e ~ r
ability to master ~nforrnation. I t deals with the ways people handle st~muli from the
environment. organise data, sense problems, geuerate concepts. and solutic~ns to
problems, and eniploy verbal and non-verbal symbols (Weil and Joyce. 1985). Some
Information Processing Models are concerned with the ability of the learner to soive
problems and others are concerned with general intellectual ability
1 1 1 Information Processing Theory. the individual is i i eued as a
prvcessor of intormation (Broadbent. 1958. 107 1 . Lach~nan t.1 a1 . 1 ll7'). M a ~ s a l - ~ .
1975 Wetsser. 1 Ob7)
7-he processing of information depends un the nature of' henson
svstem. prior ekperience. context, and the goals of the participanr The central
assu~nptiun in intbrmation processing model is that teaching 1s a process by which
teacher and students create a shared environment in the classroo~n
Intbrmation Processing psychotogists assert that learninp 1s an
interactive prucrss between the learner and rhe environment .3iccor-ding to the
schema theory. [he learr~er is nut just a passive receiver of stimuli. he organiseh wlli~t
he learns accord~r\g to the patterns ur schema, ivhicll help him to ~nakc sense uf the
multiple stimuli he constaritly receives ti-om the eni,irotlment So learn~ng becunies ;I
co~rrinuous process by which the student either relates neu data to es~s t~ng pattern ot-
must create new schema in order to understand.
2.2.5 Cumputel. Analogy in lnformatiun Processing Model
C'oy~itive psychology has replaced behaviourisni as tlie dominant
school of thouyht In American Psychology regarding learntns and development The
~netaphor of' the human mind as a computer coupled with the central role of the
computer today f:d~,ours the use oflnformativn I'rocessins Model
2.2.6 Major Corlcepts Underlying the lPM
Each model can be analysed in terms of fbur tnqior concepls i ) svntax
l i ) social svsteln i i ~ ) principles of reaction v i ) support svstem I'liese descriptic~ns are
all ope~-ational lieart of each model I t stands as a wav of communtcating the basic
procedure in implementing any instructional model.
I Syotax
Suntas or phasing of the model describes the [nodel in action I t I S
described tn ternis of sequences of events which are called phases Eacll rnodel has a
distinct f ow of ~jhase
3. The Sucivl Systeru
The social svstem describes the student and teacher role^ and
relationships and the kinds of norms that are encouraged 111 srmie models the t ract~cr-
I S the centre of ac-tlvity In some other tnodels teacher takes the rule of'a f i~ci l~tator . in
uthers a counsellor or a task niaster. The teacher can tighten ur 1ooser1 the str~lcture
considerably
j Pri~~ciples of Reaction
Prrr~ciples of reaction tell the teacher hob to regard the learner and to
respond to what the learner does.
4 Support Systet~i
- 1 ' 1 ~ - support svsteln refers rn additional recluirerllents beyc.~nd the iisual
human skills, ci~piicit~es and technical facilitie:. necessary to ~nlplelrlcnt tlie n~cdel
Without the use ut support system the n~odel will be empty
2.2.7 Oescriptiorl of the Effects o f the Model
ThC effects of the model car1 be caceyorised as t l lr direcr c ~ r .
instructiorral eft'cct. and the indirect or nunurant effects
Ilirect or Iristru r .tiontrl Effect
7 he lnstruct~onal ett'ecrs are those directly achieved h~ leading the
learner in certain directions It is designed to come Urom the content and sLills o n
which the acti\;itles are based I t is more explicit in the learnins etiviroi~~i~cnt
lntliruar or I2iurlr4r(ttti Efic t
1 h c indirect or nurturaut ef'f'ect coriles from experienclrig t he
environrl~ent cl-cntcd by the model. I t is possible to defend the selectiotl of' t hc model
chiefly on the b i i s~s ut' its rlurturant eftects. cwll tl louyl~ ~t r n i y l l ~ not have high direct
The direct and indirect effects are u s u a l l ~ ~rldicateti with the
help ot'a diagrar~i as follows.
7
MODEL r EFFECT C' A=i -
Direct or lnstructional
Indirect or Nurturant
big. 2.2 l~istructional and Nortur:~nt Effect o f a Model
2.3 <:(INCEPT ATTAINMENT MODEL
'T'lrr~.c~ I)omirins r ! f - Erlucrrtiuntrl (;ocrls
Lducational goals are typically di i ided Into three t'dmilies o r domains
vlz l-c~grl~tlvt. dc)inaitl, atkctive domain and pst.choniot or do~nairi Cognitive goals
addl-esh tlw development of students' intellect Uilr hit1 t h e coyt~i t~ve fanlily an
I I I I ~ X ' I I ~ I I ~ set r ) f goals is called infbrmarion processing lnforinatiorl processing call
he thought uf' as the way people gather atld organise irltbrrnation frotn thc
environment. in order to form useful patterns wllich can be used to explain and predic~
ckerlt s 111 their ow11 experience Since the establishnlerlr of the co~rlitive paradig111 111
psychology. nlodels are increasingly used in educatio~litl research which i.ely un the
ilssumpt Ion that Inan IS ail i~iforrnatior~ processing systthln (Karlingel-. 1 08 1 } Modcls
ar-L. heur~s t~cs fi>i- theorisrs and researchers They g u ~ ~ i c thinking by sin~plifying and
representmg c o ~ t ~ p l e x phenoinena as a set of relatioi~ships among a feh- Iitlportant
i ariables
Teachers who focus on itlformatiun prtl~essing goals have dual set uf
oiyectii es, the first one i s to help students acquire bodies of i~seful inforrnation and
~ t le second otle is to help them develop the thinking sh~lls The long-term goal of all
infurit~atiun processing models is to teach students hou to think etfectively Complex
I nrellecr ual strategies allow students to absorb mol-l: concepts and ir~for~r~arior~
Iiitbl-mation processinrr, rnodels are basically apprt~~iches to ttrctrrc'o~nititlrl- i e .
learnir~g to learn 11 increases the capability to learn more easily and eRectivell; in the
future The range of information processing ~nodels 1. considerable They otfer the
~eacher several views as to h o ~ studer~ts think and a ?nod variety of techniques l i j r
trylny to imprtlve thit~king skill^. Frorn the days of earliest Greeks. philost,phcr-s
t heorised about how the mind works and hoic ind~dcrive us rrlrll (1s rl~rluctive iiritlkinx
functions. In 111odern times computer sirnulatio~~s are widely used to represetlt huu
mental processchs art: suing on. C'r~~nitir~n irrltl cognifilv pram>.u I 5 st~-esse~l i 11 I ht'
information prtlcessing inodels of teaching B!, adopting ~nfbl-marion processing
r~lodel students learn the processes and ideas of the disciptine. they irlcr~ryoratt. thcln
into their own >\:;tern and behave different!?
-1 he models selected from the inf i ) r~~~at ion fam~ly art. desiyrled ti) teach
both contenr a l ~ d tilinking skills. The core of infornlat~orl processing in the
ar,rangemer>t of he environmet~t within which the student can Interact and study h o ~ $
to learn effectivelv and efficiently.
2.3.1 Discoven Learning in CAM
H i selecting concept attainment model. it is desiyrled that the learnel-
takes up thc pus~rton of a discoverer. whereby he controls his o\+n attellding. Iearrling
a d th~nkins ~ L ~ V C I - llere the major stress is an the process tnvolved i t ] and the
strategies tb1lowt.d ~n attaining the concepts. C'oncept .4trainmunt blodel also helps
students to learri concepts for oryanising information and helps students to buconle
efikct~vt. at learri~rl~ ctlncepts I t includes an etticient methoci t i j r prcset~tiny
organ~sed information fionl the wide range of areas of studv to sti~derlts rlf eve? staye
of'de\!elopme~it
2.3.2 Bruner's Theorq. of Learning and of l~lstruction
Jel i lrrle S Bruner ( 1960) developed a cognitive developmental t heon
01' learnins and in+truction as an alternari\,e t o that of I'iaget i r ~ his tlook the I'rr~cess
of Education and subsequent publications -1'he themes around wliicii hrs theot-v ol'
learnrng r e v o l ~ t . ~ arc ma~nly four They ;ire the thernes c ~ t ' stnictur-e. I-c;tdirit.s~
irlruition and interest
,-lccordiny to Bruner (1966). a theon of insrructrun has four- main
features They <\re as follows
1 ) 1'1-edisposition to learning
3) Structure of knowledge
-3 ) Sequence
-4 1 f<eiriforcetner~t
I+r.uner recognises three important sequential stages in the intellectual
development 111 rtle child. They are enactive. icoliic at~d symhol~c There i s a closer
cutllparison bet i ~ e c n thy stages of developinent prupused bv Piaget and Bruner
Bruller's enactl\,e stase corresponds to Piaget ' s sensori-mutor and preoperar~onal
stages. i co~~ic stage corresponds to Piaget's concrete operat~c.rnal and symbolic stage
corresponds ro 101-ma! operations
Iristr-uction according to Bntner. should make learners self-sutticient
prohleni solvers o r discoverers But it should be noted that Hrutict- does nor restrlcr
discovery to arl act of finding out something that before h a s unkrioivn to illar~kind
Discoven ~nclutles all fbrnms of obtainable knouledse tbr. oneself h!. the use of one.\
nwn mirid (Brur~er and htlglin, 1973).
2.3.3 Theory Iinderlying Concept Attainment Model
'I he Concept Attainment Model #:as developed from the works nt
lerome Hruner I;icrluelinc Gnodnow, arid George :\ustine ( I ' I trb. I 06 I . lob(,. 1 07 1: )
Therr work 'The Studv of Thinking' leads tn tnl-llijl of' vears of research on the
processes by wtl~ch people acquire concepts. nature of concepts. collcept learnmy.
elements of' concupts and the teach~ng strategy used for altatntny cunceplh
I n Webster's Dictionary a cuncepr is defined as a '-a mental miage o f
things formed b~ yeneration from particles. also all idea of M hat a t h ~ n p in getlrt.al 15
to bc"
concept may be viewed initially as a sumnlary uf' an essential
characteristic ot' (1 group - ideas or facts that clptiln~st. important common f e a t ~ ~ r e s of
factors from a la1 se number of ideas (Ausubel. I 978)
'. 1-he process of primitive categurisation is called conccpl tbr-rnation
(Bruner. 1960) :lccording to Bruner. categorising activity has two coi-nponents \he
act of' concept fol-mation and the act of concept atta~nment C'oncept t i~rmation is thu
firs1 step toward concept attainment. Bruner and his associares are mainly co t l~ernud
with the process ~ d c o n c e p t attainment
2.3.4 ELenients of the Conce1)ts
HI ilner sees any concept as haciny three element 5
I E kamples (also exemplars or instances)
2 Artributes
1 .A! tribute values
1 1 1 concept attainment model t l ~ c positive and nesatlvt. csar~lples art.
tested and searctied for their features Each esaiuple is described in terms of its basic
characteristics I'hest: basic characteristics are called attributes 7'hese attributes car1
be class~fied as zshe~ltial attributes and riorl-csserlt~al attributes -1 ' 11~ distingu~sh~rly
attributes and their value ranges are called criteria1 attributes The non-essential
attribute uf a cuncept i s also called noisy attribute
2.3.5 Strategies Used for Attaining Concepts
?-he term 'strategy' is used to refer to the sequence of dcc~sions people
make as they encounter each instances of a concept (Bruner and his associates. 1967)
In their opinion. an ideal strategy i s one that is most etficient in attaining the co~~cept
but has the least <imount of cognitive strain due to memory o\;erload and a n ~ b i g u ~ ~ y
2.3.6 Types of 'Thi~lkiag Strategies
Bruner and his associates have identified six strategies for attaining
concepts Out o f these. four of them are selection strategies and twu are reception
strategies In selcction conditions the exarnples of the concept art. riot niarked as .yes'
fur the positive and 'no' for the negative examples. In reception strategies the
examples are marked as 'yes' or 'no'
2.3.7 Selection Strategy
1 Simultaneous scanniny
2 Succl-ssive scarlniny
3 Conservative focusing
4 Focu-, gambling
2.3.8 Reception Strategy
1 Whol~st
2 Parts>!
'I he two scanning strategies followed in selection cnnditions used
concept hypothesis as a basis of searchit~g, in the sirnultancous scanntng rnany
Ilyputheses are used at a time, i n successive scanniny only one hypothesis is taken at a
tinlc In cotlser vative focusing attributes art. used as a basis of' searchit19 i ~ n d in
ctlnservalive fnc11sir13 manv attributes are taken at 3 tirrle and in fi)cus ganibliri~ - ~ o t ~ l \ 1
one altribute is taken at a tirne for searching tile concept I ' i ~ r ~ ~ o s e ul' thinking
str-ateyies
1 to unders~and the nature of concepts
2 to teach hpecitic concepts
. to be con^^. t1ior.e aware uf conceptualistr~g activity
B<lsed on the six strategies of' thinking process f3111nel- artd h15
associates formulated three versions of concept attair~rnent model namely
I R e c e p t ~ n ~ Oriented Concept attaintnerlt hlc;del
2 selectiorl ( kiented Concept attaintnent Mudel and
3 Llrlorganized Material Model
I n the reception strategy, the Inosr sti-uctured. students must hc guided
carefull\ 111 earl! classes. Students analyse the positive exemplars tilr cominun
attributes. contrasting then1 with absence of those attributes I n negat1t.e exemplars
I'hetl students must identify unlabelled senter~ces or examples as positive or negative
exemplars
'I'hl* tnajor diflerence between reception and selecti{,t~ o r ~ e n ~ e d tnodels
o r concept ilttain~nt'nl is in the labelling a t ~ d sequencitig of the t.xarnples The third
verliion is much t ~ ~ o r e a yroup discussion than an ir~stmctional game In this 1-ersicon
the teacher's rob, is to facilitate discussion and insure that 11 focuses on the
develuptnent of a c oncept in tht: material.
The selectiotl strategy begins i ~ i r h i~r~labelled exe~nplars. the st i~dcnt s
trlust group them and develop hypotheses about their attributes
I'l~t. utiorganised materials strntesy requires students t o identifi-
attributes of concepts asserted verballv in the text
.A11 three strategies use analytical and evaluative thinking skills during
tht: concept atta~nlrlent lesson, focusing on teacher ob,jectives, yeneral content. and the
process being useti i t helps them think and panicipate rnore activelv
2.3.9 Definition of CAM
C'oncept Attainment Model ( C A M ) is a teachiny strategy based on
analysis of the naiure uf concepts and how they are acquired I t also llelps studunts to
de\;elop skills t i31 inductive and deductive thinking while leat-nin~ subject matter 111
atiy field it1 a constructive and meaningful way
tJl;~tlning for teaching with the concept attainment model involi es (I)
~ d e n t i ~ t n y concept (ii) analysing its essential and defining features and {ill) dcsig111i13
exemplars from ii hich the concept can be derived.
2.3.10 Allalysis of C:o~lrept Attainnlerit hlodel
1 . Syntax
Phase one: Presiantation of data and Identification o f concept
'Teacher 111-esents labelled examples
Students compare attributes in positive and nesati\;e exa~noies
Students getierate and test hypotheses
Studer~ts state a definition according to essent~al attributes
Phase two: Testing attainment o f the corlcept
Students identifv additional unlabelled examples as 'ves' o r ' r ~ o '
Teacher confrrms hypotheses, names concept. and restates detinitlons, according
to essential attributes
Students generate examples
Phase three: Aealysis of Thinking Strategies
Students describe thoughts
Studerlrs dihcuss the role of hypotheses and attributes
Students discuss type and number of hypotheses
2. 'fhe Social System
I three major function of the teacher during cutlcept attalnlnel11
act~vjtv are 1 0 record, prompt. and present additional data In the initial stage ot'
concept att,linrr~ent. it i s helpful for the students if the teacher selects and
organizes the material into positive. negative and also decides the sequence of
the examples as reception or selection.
3. Principles of Ke;iction
During th:: flow of the lesson, the teacher needs to be suppor-ti\-e and
should encourage arlaiysis of the merits of \i.arious strategies rathet- than
attempting t o seek the one best strateyy for all people in all situatic>ns
4. Support Systrnl
7'hc concept attainment lessorls require material that has been designed
so that concepts dre embedded in the material. The data source need to be known
hcfi)re hand and the aspects of the concept attainment acriv~tv made visible 7'he
students need w r k shaels to record the attr~butes of the concept when the students are
presented with pos~tive and negative examples
Nurturant ' !
Fig. 2.3 Effects of Concept Attainment Model
2.4 THEORY 1jNDERLYING ADVANCE ORGANIZER MODEL
The. Advance Organizer Model of Teaching i s based on the Theory r ~ t '
hleaniriyful Verbal Learning propounded by David P. Ausubel Meanir-rgfht Lear.njng
Presupposes two things- first, the learner manifests a meaningful learning set, i e . a
disposition tu relate new material non-arbitrarily and substantivell; to his cognitlce
structure and tha[ material he learns be pot en ti all^ meaninghl tu him. name!\:.
relatable tu his st~ucture of knowledge on a 11on-arbitrary and non-verbatim basis
(Ausbel. 1961) 1 h e central idea in Ausbel's theory i s that ot' meaningful learning,
which he defines as non-arbitrary, substantive. i.erbatin1 incorporation of neu
knowledge into coynitive structure. Based on Ausbel's ideas and theories concept
learning has been evolved which gives rises to different tvpes of strategies tor
teaching and learning namely. advance organizer rnodel of teaching and a concepr
learnins strateyy called Gowin's Vee Heuristic and Cor~cept Mapping
2.4.1. Rote-Meaningful Dimension of Learning
Rote learning involves ingestiny isolated bits of information lllto the
existing cogni t~~t . structures whereas meaningful learning involves I-elating new
r~laterials to the existing structure (Ausubel, 1963)
Ausubel has contributed much to the field of meaningful learning of
concepts through his two theories namely.
1 ) Psychology of meaningful verbal learning
i i ) Assimilation theory of cognitive learning
2.4.2 Psychology of Meaningful Verbal Lear~~irlg
kleaningful verbal learning cor~sists of two process concerned with
perception and cognition The distinction between perceptual arid cogtiitive process is
dificulr to definc because both kinds of processes involve interaction between verbal
stimulus input arid cognitive structure Perception involves an immediate content
awareness before the intervention of complex cognit~ve processes On the other hand,
cognition involves such processes as relating the new material to relevant aspects uf
existins coyniti~e structure and recording i t in Itlore hmiliar and idiosyncratic
language.
2.4,3 .4ssimitation Theory o f Cognitive Lerlrning
~ ~ t i s u b e t ' s (1963) Assirnilation Theon; of Cuynitlvc. Leariling has been
a suide to research in concept teaching. Ausilbel enlphasis that each o f the academic
disciplines has ii structure of concepts that are oryanised hierarchically Ausubel
conceptualises a discipline as levels of these hierarchically oryanised concepts tha t
begin with perceptual data at bottom and proceed through increasing lei,els of
abstraction to the most abstract concepts at the top. 'I-hus we may itnaglrle a discipltne
as having composed of a pyramid of concepts all linked together 1.v1th ~ h u most
concrete concept5 at the bottom and more abstracr concepts at the top
Tt~e Advance Organizer Model is designed to strengthen stud en^'^
cognit ivc: structut zs, which i s the forelnost factor governing whet her thy new nlaterial
i111I hc n~eaningful haw well it can be acquired and retamed
2.4.4 Defixlitiorl of Advance Organizer Model
.4d\.ance Organizer Model is a deductive information processing
model designed ru teach interrelated bodies of content. Ausubel believed that
acquisition of information is a valid goal of school in^. The learner's primary role is
to master ideas and information.
I n order to explain his ideas Ausubel introduces certain concepts that
can be applied to the d e s i ~ n of instruction and research in educat~ori
Influenced by the German Gestalt psychologists and Wuzberg school
In Europe, cognitive psychnlr~gists began to vieu- the learner as an actlvt. ~nforrnation
processor. 'I'he bcstalt school of psychologists believed that esperience could not be
understood by bre;~king it dawn into simpler unirs When people perceive things the!
tend to do so holistically People organize their experience so as ro make it as simple
and coherenr as possible (Flavel, 1978) The Genevan school proposed that tliou$~t
processes depended upon the ability to create. hold and modify internal
representations r j f things which are experienced in the environtnent In their opinion
the meaningful learning o f complex material I S an active. constructive. curnulatn.e.
self-regulated antl goal oriented process (Weiner and Lerman, 1970) In order to be
meaninyful and capable of being understood the body uf knowledge must be
structured and organized
2.4.5 Hierarchical Arrangement of Content
In Advrrnce Orjiunizer Alollcl. David Ausubel is of the vie& that each
of the disciplines has a structure of concepts that are arranged hierarchically The
methods used to torm the structure of the content are
i ) Organ~ting the content through the use of inter-related and inter connected
conceptual systems and
- . 1 1 ) .4nalys1~ of concepts into subordinate, co-ordinate and super ordinate
relationships
The. advance organizer model is desi~ned to strenythen the student's
ct~gnitive structures Ausubel maintains that a person's existins cuynitivc structure 1s
he foremost factor governing whether the new material will be rnranrngful and hoic
well i t can be acquired and retained By cognitive structut-e Ausubel means "a
person's knowledye of a particular subject matter at any _riven t ~ m e and h o ~ well
or~anized. clear and stable it is" (Ausubel, 1963) Ausubel holds the viei i that like
academic discipl~nes mind is a hierarchically organized set uf ideas that provide
anchors for information and ideas and that s e n e as a storehouse fur them Ausubel
used certain inlportant terms to explain his theor?; of rneaninyful verbal learnins.
namely.
I , .-ldvance Organizer
1 he .Advance Oryanrzer Model of teaching i s a der~cativt. of the theon
of rnean~nyful :,erbal learning developed by David P. Ausubel -kcording to
.4usubel's theon of meaninghl verbal learnins, advance organizers are introduced in
advance of neiv learning tasks. Ausubel describes 'advance organizer' as
"lntroductorl; rnaterial that is presented ahead of the learnrug task and at a higher lebel
of abstraction and inclusiveness than the learning rask itself ' (.4usubel. 1 068)
111 the actual teaching situation the use of advance orsantzers is the
( ~ r ~ r ~ ~ u r ! niearlh rj i ' strerlythening the cosnitivt. structures and enhancing retention of'
new mformation
Purpose of Adv:wce Organizer
The purpose of introducing Advance Organizers 1s to expla~n. integrate
and interrelate the rnaterial in the learning task with the previously learried rnaterial
An A d ~ a n c e Oryanizer 1s a bridging strategy that provtdes a conrlectlvn h e t w c n the
known and the unknown tt IS a means of capltallziny on student-5 prior knouledse
about the material and i t acts as a tech~iique for aiding learning and retrieval uf
lnfbrmation and i~lt~marely it leads to transfer of knowledge .An ..id\*ance Organ~zer
acts as a b r ~ d y ~ n g strategy by allowtng the learner ro bridge the yap berweerl what
they have ahead\ known and what they must learn This connecriv~tv IS ach~eved
through the use of advance organizer whlcli organizes the neli nlaterlal to ht.
presented by outlining, arranging, logically sequencing the main ideas or procedures
in the new mater~al based on the learner's prior knowledge
Form of Advance Organizer
.An Advance Organizer can take any of the forms. viz
l i ) a concept definition (ii) an analogy (iii) a generalization
(i) Concept definition
Advance Organizers are general ty based upon the major curlcepts,
propositions,prir~ciples and laws of a discipline When the new material to be taught
is new or unfam~liar to the student, definitions are valuable organizers of the content
The defining statement should possess the characteristic of a concept definition i e . it
states rhe concepts, super ordinate concepts and characteristics of the concepts
(i i) Analogy
The most effective type of Advance Organizer is analog Analogies
are effective as oryanizers because they can be custornised to fit the back g o u n d of a
particular subject population.
( i i i ) Generalizations
Generalizations can also be used as Advance Organizer O r ~ e niilst be
certairl that each of the concepts in the generalization is familiar to the students
Types of Advance Organizers
l ' t ~ t r above three forms of Advance Organizers were classified into
expository and comparative organizers (Ausubet, 1 978) .
E~pusitory organizer.^ They are used when the learnmy mater ia l i s
relatively new I'hey provide ideational scaffolding for unfamiliar mater-ial hl;. sii,irug
a general model ot ' class relationship or ~erleral subsumer for a ne\4 class before more
* I I ~ , ~ I A I I ~ C I I, arc pr i I JcJ (or a particular class
C;tttrp(rr(~tivc Orgt~niters: Comparative organizers are designed t o
integrate new concepts with basically similar concepts exist i r lg 111 the coglut~\,t.
structure, vet they are destyned to discrimiriate beween the old and t h e l ieu concept3
to prevent the cunfusion caused by similarity
C'clticepts form the major portion of o u r school curr-~culum ro teach
concepts meaningfullv. we link the concepts with other concept3 ('uncepts are
chided into super ordinate co-ordinate and suburdlnate concepts Thc expositon
orgaiuzers prov~rle a basic concept at the highest l e ~ e l of absrt-actiurl. viz rhe super
ordinate concepts the co-ordinate and subordirlilte concepts
2. Cognitivr Structure
R! cognitive structure .4usubel means -'a pel-son's Lnuwledge nf a
particular sut!ject lnater at any given time and hot\ iveil organized. clear. and stable 11
IS" (Ausubel. I Oh - )
3. Progressive Differentiation
I t Ineans that the most general ideas u f the disc~plines are presented
first. tbllowed by < I gradual increase in detail and specificity" (Jovct. and U'cil. 1997)
4 Integrative Reconciliation
i r means that new ideas should be consciousl\ reconciled and
~ntegrated with pr ~ ~ L . ~ o u s I ~ learned content
5. Subsun~ptit~n
FC)I tearning to be meaningfill the infor~nation should he frecluen~lv
linked or anchorcbd ro relevant aspects ot' an ~ndividual's exist ~ n g structure 7'111s
111 I K ~ S ~ o!' linkinF rwt ir~tilrnmtion to pre-es~sting segments u t' cuynttii t. stluct~ire is
I c1'crrt.d to as s u b b u ~ ~ ~ p r ~ o n (Ausubel. 1968)
6. Intellectual Scaffolditig
Thr. Advance Organizer contains Inany subordinate ideas that can be
linked to a paniL:ular characteristic of the subiect rnatter PI-esented earher The
hierarchical organrzation of the cognitive structure is ana la~oua tu the conci~ptual
structure of an academic discipline. These hierarchically organized &as l ~ l - o v ~ d e
anchors t'or nelb ~~nformatiotl and ideas as they are received mid i t also I-cursanizcs
. . itsclf to receive 1 1 ~ 1 % ideas I hus this systeni i a 111 ii constant slate of cha~igc '1.0
provide ideational anchors to the new informatiotl. the new information shoi~ld be
related to the already available concepts or propositions The teacher nu st organize it
seclumct. of knoivledge and present i t in such a way that the ~deariclnal anchors art.
provided and Auhrlbel called it *'intellectual scatYaldlng" for- unfan~iliar ~naterial 011
which studetlts will hand the new infont~at~on as t l ~cy encountel- i t
2.4.6 Analysis of Advance Organizer Model
Symtax
Phase one: Prese~atatioi~ o f Advance Organizer Model
C l a ~ ~ f y the aims of the lesson
Prehent Organizer
lderltify defining attributes
( 11ve examples or illustrations
I'rrwide context
Repeat
PI ompt awareness of learner's relevant knowledge and experlencc
Phase Two: Presentatio~~ of Advance Organizer Model
Pr-esent material
hlake logical order of learning material explicit
1. I 11 k material to organizer
Phase three: Strengthening cognitive organization
I i e princ~ples of integrative reconciliat~on
F l ~ c i t critical approach to sub,iect matter
('lal-ie ideas
:ZppIy ideas actively
Social System
Tile tirst two phases are highly str-uctured However. it recluires act i i -c
collaboration beriveen the teacher and the students tn the third phase the teacher acts
as a facilitator. and suidu The learning situation is much tnore interactive
Prirlciples uf Reaction
I l t t . teacher's reaction to the 1earner.s reactrons will t)e guided ty the
purpose of' clarifi~ng the meaning of the new mater~al l 'he teachel- helps the students
to connect the or-ganizer and the learniny material and the teacher prompts critical
appn'ach ot' knoii,ledye
Support System
Data-rich, well-organized material is the critical supput? recluirernent
of this modet. I'reparation and use of concept mapping technique and the collection
and use of paper cuttings. audio and visual aids serve as support systern
Fig. 2.4 Effects of Advance Organizer Mudel
- Conceptual structures , 1 , Advance
Meaningful assirnilat1011 of information and ideas
-- ,A
4[ intersst in inquiry
r--- v
J 1
p a b i t s o f Precise thinking
2.5 INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL (I'1'M)
T h ~ h model was first developed by Richard Suchman (lOh7) it was
dca~gued to teach .~ludents to engage in causal reasoning, and tr! become more fluent
in asking questions. building concepts and hypotheses and testing them ( Weil and
Joyce. 1997)
puzzling situation is the critical task. because it transforms curriculum content into
prohlcms to be explored Discrepant events can be developed throuph pri~it. film ol-
audio means. and task cards directing student to I-cspond according to the model call
be developed
Although its emphasis is on process. inquir). training results. too. in the
learning of content in any curriculunl area from which problems are selected (\Veil a n d
Joyce. 1997) While the individuals are faced with a puzzling s~tuation. they are
n~otivated to pursue meaning in it In order to understand the puzzling situations.
individuals must increase the complevitv of their thinking and understand better how
lo link data into concepts and hv\v to apply these concepts towards the identification
of principles of causation. While we prepare the puzzling situation. when objects 01
other learning materials are not available, or appropriate to the problem situation the
teachers can make up a problem statement for students and prepare discrepant event
and the fact sheet provides further intorrnatio~~ about the problem. Co-operative
inquiry enriches thinking and helps students to learn about tentative. emersent nature
of knowledge and to appreciate alternative exlila~~ations
2.5.1 Analysis of Inq l~ i ry Training klodel
Svutax
Phase One: Confrontation with the problen~
Evpla~n Irlquir). procedures
Present Discrepant Event
Phase Two: Data gathering-$r.erificatio~~
L'eriti. thc nature of objects and conditions
L'eril\- the occurrence of the probleln s i t i~a~ ion
Phase l't~ree: D;~ta Gathering-Experimentation
I.\olate relevant variables
Hvpotlleses and test casual relationships
Phase Four: Organizing, Fornlulati~lg wild Eapliinatitro
For111ulate rules or explanations
Phase Five: .4nalysis of the Inquiry process
4r-lalyse Inquiry Strategy and develop Inore effec~ive ones
Social System
I nclui? Training model can he highly structured. w ~ t h the cache^-
con1 I-olling the r~ireractioil and prescribing t llc ~rlc~uirv pt ocedu~-us Inrcllecrui~l
environnlent is 1 I o all r.clevant ideas I tlteract 10tl alrlorly s t ~ i d e n t s ~ l l o ~ ~ l d hc
encouraged.
f'rinciplcs o f He:~ttiot~
I ) ~ ~ r , ~ n g t t ~ c ~ ~ O C C S S o"L 11nclii11.y t llc \uachcr should ens111 c I hat r l u c s t ~ c j ~ l >
al-c phr;ised In such a way that thev can be ansirercd hy -vcs' or -tin-
I There shuilld be no double barrel cluest~uns
2 Ask stude~lts to rephrase in\,alid cluestiunh
; 1.'se the lancuage of the Inquiry Process
4 - I ' ? to pro\ ~ d t . a fiee intellectual environnlent h!, riot uvaluat ~ n g theor-ics
5 Ask tt-le students to make clear statement of the theorle5 and proieide for the11
generalisa t roil
Encounter with the Problem
Ui11-ing the phase one of the niodel. the teacher PI-esents tlie proble111
sltuat~on and explains the i nqu iy procedure to the students The teacher esplains rhe
rules of the game and the type of questions they should ask
Data Gathering :rnd Verification
During the phase two of thc rtlodel the teacher suides rile students 11)
ask fact finding cluestions. Data gathering and theorisins are the two 1naic11
i~ltellectual operations in the second phase. D u r ~ n g data gatherins, studenls verifv aiid
experiment with four types of information-~nforinatim about objects. properties.
conditions and e i ents Students' inquiries d u r q data gatherins arc usuall\- yuided b\
theones To enable the pupil to think in definite lines and thereby rnake the incluii-y
process an easy i ~ n d systematic one. the teacher should guide the students' ~nquiries
towards the aboi e mentioned four types of info]-mation- informatioil abwt objects.
properties, condit ~ons and events
Arl object type of question is one which verities and tests the naturt. ur
identity of object\ The question-what the ub-ject is-tells us the ~ d e n t ~ t y of the ol~ject
I'he cluestion-what the object is made of-tells us the nature of the oblect
,211 event question i s one which verifies and tests the occurrence and
nature of all ac t~on Condition questions are those which verit) ur test the state ot'
oblects or eventh a particular time. When a cpestions seeks to find r)ut-what rht.
generalissd behal~ouf- of'an object is under specified conditions. 11 is called a propert!
question.
2.5.2 Level of Theory Building
Suchman identified four levels of theory buildins
I Sinlple linear causation
7 - , I't~cories of properties
-1 .4rialoyses
3 Al)l>lication of a generalisation or principle
Llhe Brur~er and Ausubel, Suchrnan believes that students can beconit.
mure and Inore alvare of the process of inquiry and that this process can be taught to
then1 directlv I11 his opinion the conscions awareness of the pi-ocess arid the
strategies oi' incl111ry i s an essential aspect of autotlomous i l~qu in . I'hrough this
awareness of the process of irlquiry students become conscious of'thcrr o w n th ink i l l2
strategies and learn to analyse them.
Dur.~ng phase Three of the ]nodel. the teacher yuides the students ru ask
cluestions which will te l l them what would happen to the situation i f ' the elerncri~ I S
added or renloved or if elements are rearranged in it In this phase experitnentation is
the process whrr ebv students gather irlformation about an event the\: see nr-
experience
Experiments sene two ~UI IC~~OI IS
Esploraiion and d~rect testing, Expioratinn-charl~it~s things to see wlli~t will happen
1111-ec1 testing o c c ~ ~ ~ . s when students try out a t h e o n or hypothesis
I n pliase Four, the teacher calls on the students ro oryanlse t l x data arid
to i'ornlulate an explanation.
Finally, in phase Five. the students are asked to analvse their patterns
uf i ~ q u i r l ; This ~ ~ t ~ a s e is essential if we are t o make the i n q u i y pr-ocess a conscious
one and systemat~cally try to improve i t .
Support System
1 1 I-eiers to a!! the specific conditions recluil-ed for the stnooth lunning
of the phases of rhe nod el which include books. films, poster a l ~ d iippat-atus reiluired
for experiment
Flg. 2.5 Effects o f Inquiry Training Model
Strategies fix crcarlve i n q u i n
training
Tentative Nature of Knowledge