ERRR #084. Sarah Cottingham on Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning
Nov 1, 2023
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Former teacher and experienced teacher educator, Sarah Cottingham, discusses Ausubel's Meaningful Learning theory and how it impacts the learning process. The conversation covers the development of rich bodies of knowledge, the importance of connecting new knowledge to prior concepts, facilitating transfer in education, assimilation in learning, progressive differentiation in teaching, anchoring knowledge, engaging students through personal connections, understanding advanced organizers and knowledge organizers, checking for meaning in education, cognitive drive and meaningful learning strategies, and the significance of creating meaningful learning experiences.
Meaningful learning occurs when new knowledge is connected to existing knowledge through assimilation.
The quality of existing knowledge, how well it is activated, and the number of connections made all contribute to the level of meaningful learning.
Teachers can support meaningful learning by ensuring the quality of existing knowledge, explicitly activating prior knowledge, and facilitating connections between new and existing ideas.
Deep and well-structured prior knowledge enhances the assimilation of new information, allowing students to make connections and deepen their understanding.
Teachers can foster meaningful learning by providing opportunities for students to draw connections between related concepts, compare and contrast information, and reflect on their own understanding.
The use of advanced organizers helps to prepare students cognitively for new learning, providing a cognitive framework for students to engage with and better understand the new material.
Deep dives
Meaningful Learning through Assimilation
Meaningful learning occurs when new knowledge is connected to existing knowledge through assimilation. Assimilation is the process of integrating new ideas with prior knowledge, creating a new and meaningful understanding. The quality of existing knowledge, how well it is activated, and the number of connections made all contribute to the level of meaningful learning. Teachers can support meaningful learning by ensuring the quality of existing knowledge, explicitly activating prior knowledge, and facilitating connections between new and existing ideas. By doing so, students can develop rich and interconnected bodies of knowledge that promote deep understanding and facilitate transfer.
The Importance of Prior Knowledge
The quality of a student's existing knowledge plays a crucial role in meaningful learning. Deep and well-structured prior knowledge enhances the assimilation of new information, allowing students to make connections and deepen their understanding. Teachers can support meaningful learning by helping students build high-quality prior knowledge that is aligned with key concepts and relevant to the new ideas being taught.
Activating Existing Knowledge
Effective teaching involves activating students' existing knowledge and making explicit connections between prior knowledge and new ideas. By highlighting relevant prior knowledge during instruction, teachers can help students bridge the gap between what they already know and new information, promoting meaningful learning. Explicitly linking new concepts to existing knowledge enhances understanding and facilitates the integration of new ideas into students' mental frameworks.
Connecting Ideas for Meaningful Learning
Meaningful learning is enhanced when students can make numerous connections between new and existing ideas. Teachers can foster this by providing opportunities for students to draw connections between related concepts, compare and contrast information, and reflect on their own understanding. By promoting a network of connected ideas, students can develop a deeper and more comprehensive body of knowledge, facilitating meaningful learning and promoting long-term retention.
Activating prior knowledge and making explicit links
To support assimilation, teachers can make explicit links between the new content being taught and the students' prior knowledge. By activating important subsumers and highlighting the connections, teachers help students grasp the new ideas more effectively.
Anticipating confusion and addressing contradictions
Teachers can anticipate potential confusion between related concepts and proactively address it. By being upfront about the similarities and differences, teachers can help students avoid misconceptions and develop a more accurate understanding of the concepts. Similarly, addressing contradictions between related ideas ensures that students can reconcile conflicting information and avoid confusion.
Preparing students with advanced organizers
The use of advanced organizers helps to prepare students cognitively for new learning. These organizers can take the form of verbal explanations, written passages, concept maps, or graphics that activate important subsumers. By connecting new content to already existing knowledge, advanced organizers provide a cognitive framework for students to engage with and better understand the new material.
The Importance of Knowledge Organizers
Knowledge organizers are an important tool in teaching. They provide detailed information and definitions related to the subject being taught. Unlike advanced organizers, which focus on higher-level concepts, knowledge organizers summarize specific details and key points from a lesson. They help students remember important information and serve as a scaffold for their learning.
Understanding Advanced Organizers
Advanced organizers are different from knowledge organizers. While knowledge organizers focus on summarizing and organizing specific lesson details, advanced organizers provide a lens or concept to interpret and understand higher-level concepts. They help students view the subject matter from a broader perspective, allowing for deeper comprehension and understanding of complex ideas.
The Role of Self-Explanation and Concept Mapping
Self-explanation and concept mapping are effective strategies for enhancing learning. Self-explanation involves students explaining a concept in their own words, making connections to their existing knowledge. Concept mapping helps students visually organize their understanding of a topic, linking key concepts and their relationships. These strategies promote deeper learning and help students make meaningful connections between ideas.
Checking for Meaning, Not Just Understanding
Checking for meaning involves going beyond simply assessing understanding and delving into the meaningfulness of students' knowledge. This requires probing questions that prompt students to relate new ideas to their existing knowledge and articulate their understanding. By focusing on meaning, teachers can identify misconceptions and support students in constructing more accurate and robust mental models of the subject matter.
