Ausubel's Meaningful Verbal Learning/Subsumption Theory

Meaningful Reception of Information

Meaningful Learning- takes place when an idea to be learned is
related to ideas that the learner already possesses

 Quantity,Clarity and Organization of the Learners Present

Knowledge
 Use of Advance Organizers
-strengthen the student's cognitive structure
-allow students to already have a bird's eye or to see the "big picture"
of the topic to be learned even before going to the detail
 Subsumption
-a process by which new material is related to relevant ideas in the
existing cognitive structure.

Four Processes for Meaningful Learning

 Derivative Subsumption
- new information you learn is an example of a concept that you
have already learned
 Correlative Subsumption
- new material is an extension or elaboration of what is already
known
 Superordinate Learning
- The child already knew a lot of examples if the concept, but did not
know the concept itself until it was taught to her.
 Combinatorial Learning
- Newly acquired knowledge combines with prior knowledge to
enrich the understanding of concepts.
Advanve Organizers
-is a major instructional tool proposed by Ausubel.
Two benefits:
(1) You will find it easier to connect new information with what you
already know about the topic.
(2) You can readily see how the concepts in a certain topic are related to
each other.
Types of Advance Organizers
 Expository: describes the new content.
 Narrative: presents the new information in the form of a story to
students.
 Skimming: is done by looking over the new material to gain a basic
overview.
 Graphic Organizer: visuals to set up or outline the new information.
This may include pictographs, descriptive patterns, concept
patterns, concept maps.