Advance Organizers

After reading about Advance Organizers few days back, I added one more feature to my style of studies. Advance Organizers are the fillings; fills the gap between what is already learned and what is to be learning.

Before knowing about advance organizers and its science, I never thought of comparing my current knowledge to the knowledge I am trying to acquire. Some times the subject seems very difficult to me. I thought it is because of my lack of skills to understand the concept.

Now I know that, if I want to succeed in my studies in any subject, I need some introductory knowledge to bridge the gap between my prior knowledge and the knowledge I needs to earn.

Advance Organizers can connect the new knowledge to the old knowledge in the long-term memory. In addition, it helps to confirm the new knowledge in the memory and make us thinking that the new subject is not at all a new one!

Before starting to study a subject, I think for a while to find out what I know about that subject. Using the new subject’s manual, I compare my knowledge the new one. I note down the points in which I need more knowledge. At the end of my comparison studies, I get the gap in my present knowledge and the knowledge I am trying to acquire.

I look for Advance organizers to help myself to fill the knowledge gap. The very first one I like to use is the one created by my teacher. These structures may be visual, written, or oral. There may be another reliable one from the author of the book. Advance organizers are very effective teaching tools when used appropriately.

Usually I find the Advanced Organizers at the beginning of a new lesson. It may in the form of a document emphasizing, summarizing, and listing the major principles of that chapter. Using the examples in the text as a model is a good idea.

I expect my teacher to alert me about the schematic structures of text materials. Knowing the text material is an important factor in learning.

I need to find reference books with appropriate textual schemas. A tough subject can be made simple if the author uses simple structures, words, and good explanation.

If there is no appropriate schema present, an inappropriate schema will be used in the learning process and is not a good idea. The use of wrong schema will take learner to a wrong destination. This suggests that learner need a definite guidance from the teacher to find out the right schema for the learning process.

In addition, learners will be better able to construct and automate an appropriate schema or mental model for a particular class of problems when the instruction minimizes extraneous cognitive load but increases germane cognitive load.
There is another side for the use of Advanced Organizers too. I remember I joined for a Flash training program few years back. I thought I am having knowledge in similar programs. This will be easy.” However, the course was in an advanced level, which I cannot cope with. I tried to learn the basics, but I was feeling frustration and inadequacy. I told my teacher about the situation. He asked me to retake the course after completing a basic level course. I accepted his advice. I think there is no harm in that situation to give up the learning program. My teacher took a very good decision to help me. These experiences made me to think that advance Organizers are useful only if the learner have some preliminary knowledge about the subject. If the learner is having no knowledge in a subject, it is better to give up avoiding frustrations.

Reference: Driscoll, M (2005). Psychology of Learning For Instruction. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
Developing & Teaching a Course. Retrieved July 2, 2006, from http://www.pitt.edu/ Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~ciddeweb/FACULTY-DEVELOPMENT/FDS/advorg.html