Advance Organizers . . . What are they? What do they do? (adapted from Methods and Materials Discussion Forum, Rene Postrech): This is a cognitive strategy suggested by David Ausubel. His 'Subsumption Theory' describes how learners use prior knowledge in combination with new material being presented. However, the advance organizer is not a strategy the learner comes up with, but more importantly, this is a strategy used by the teacher to present the material. It can be a simple outline, or a brief speech prepared by the teacher prior to the main lesson, calling upon prior knowledge, ultimately readying learners' for better understanding of new information.
re: "David Ausubel . . . an unusual educatonal theorist:
"Ausubel's primary concern: help teachers organize and convey large amounts of information as meaningfully and efficiently as possible . . .
"His stance applies to situations in which the teacher plays the role of organizer of subject matter . . .
"Whereas inductive approaches lead the students to discover or rediscover concepts, the advance organizers provide concepts and principles to the students directly.
- Joyce & Weil, p.249
