David Ausubel's Subsumption Theory

Ausubel receiving (or giving?) an "i dont know" award...hehehe...He is wearing glasses...

     
          It is a consensus among educators that experiential learning or hands on approach to learning is a very effective teaching strategy. John Dewey's "learning by doing" phrase had been used gazillion times especially by education students if asked what the best teaching strategy is. However, I just would like reiterate that to use this approach in teaching requires preparation and materials. And we can't just utilize this on everyday basis, as well as on simple objectives that do not necessarily require "experiential" activities. This is where expository teaching comes in.
          Expository Approach in teaching is the most common teaching strategy wherein the teacher explains the lesson to the pupils. This is different from Discovery Approach where the pupils discover for themselves what the concept is. Some refer expository approach as teacher-centered, traditional and "spoon-feeding". That this kind of approach is just giving the students everything and does not give them the chance to think. Perhaps this approach is sometimes blamed with low mastery and academic level of pupils.

        On the other hand, David Ausubel presented an idea that makes expository approach more meaningful using verbal or textual presentations. He proposed the use of?....of?...of?...any guess? hehehehe...Advance Organizers to aid for a more meaningful learning (LET alert: This always comes out in the exam). "These organizers are introduced in advance of learning itself, and are also presented at a higher level of abstraction, generality, and inclusiveness; and since the substantive content of a given organizer or series of organizers is selected on the basis of its suitability for explaining, integrating, and interrelating the material they precede, this strategy simultaneously satisfies the substantive as well as the programming criteria for enhancing the organization strength of cognitive structure." (1963 , p. 81).Tsk tsk tsk,,,why do I have to quote this, I'm having a nosebleed...hahaha... Seriously, in simpler terms, advance organizers are used preceding or prior to teaching/learning a new content that can be used by the learner to learn and understand the new content. It is a means of preparing the learner's cognitive structure for the learning experience about to take place. It is a device to activate the relevant schema or conceptual patterns so that new information can be more readily "subsumed" into the learner's existing cognitive structures.
      This is where "subsumption" comes in.David Ausubel's  Subsumption Theory is a theory which suggests that learning "is based upon the kinds of superordinate, representational, and combinatorial processes that occur during the reception of information." When new knowledge is created that is substantive and non-verbatim, and is related to existing knowledge, retention and learning are primed. Forgetting occurs when new knowledge becomes integrated into existing knowledge, and loses its individual identity. (Ausubel, 2010). Again, in simpler terms, subsumption theory is incorporating a new material to one's existing cognitive structure (sounds familiar uhuh? yes the answer can be found below), from the word itself "subsumption" or to "subsume". And order to do this, there has to be an existing material that provides a framework into which the new learning is related, to the previous information or concept the learner has. In simplest term, it represents learning as somewhat like a ladder. In order to learn a new material, there are prerequisites. You can't learn how to write if you don't know what the letters are. You can't cook sushi if you don't know about Japanese cuisine in the first place ( I included this because I'm hungry..hehehe). If no previous knowledge is available, advance organizers are presented in order to give learners a framework in order for the new information to be meaningful and be retained for recall and transfer.
          This theory is somewhat similar with some known concepts like Piaget's "schema" as well as Bruner's "spiral curriculum". 
        Ausubel is a proponent of deductive and expository teaching methods. That is why this theory is also called as Meaningful Verbal Learning.
        On my next post I will discuss further about advance organizers and specific examples of these organizers as well as the applications in classroom teaching and instruction.

Principles of Teaching and Learning: Classroom Management

     Since my very first post, I am not quite aware about the comments that I have received from some of the readers who came across this blog. And I am glad to know that there are a lot of comments especially from my posts about principles of teaching. I personally believe that once an education student have mastered all the principles of teaching, he/she doesn't need to memorize all the facts (Well, if we are only talking about the courses Principles of Teaching 1 and 2...hehehehe. Memorizing some important facts is also very vital especially in Content Courses. If you'll ask and "idealist", he might say that facts are important building blocks for higher thinking skills.) In this regard, I am now going to discuss some principles in teaching particularly in managing the class (Actually this is a more comprehensive discussion of my previous post about this topic. In short this is just a repost. hehehehe)
     It is a cliche to say that a teacher must also be a good manager. Although we have heard this how many times, this is really so true (really and so...redundancy...hehehe...for emphasis's sake). What we have prepared for a day's lesson will be useless if our class is uncontrollable. Below are some of the principles of effective classroom management.

1. Proactive discipline over counteractive discipline. This means that we must do certain actions before disciplinary problems will occur. We must impose rules and policies inside our class and consistently implement these. We must not wait for troubles before we will take solutions. If pupils will be cleared with all the rules they need to follow, disciplinary problems will  least likely to happen.

2. Routines are best ways of minimizing disorders inside the classroom.  It is good to start the school year establishing routines with the students/pupils. These routines, like passing of the paper, reading textbooks, checking of answers, etc, can lessen interruptions and can save a lot of time. If the students/pupils are made to know what they have to do, the flow of the class will be more smooth and orderly.

3. Avoid having "dead air" in the class. The class must run smoothly so as not to give a chance for students to do unnecessary things. This makes the class's attention focused on the lesson and not making them restless.
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4. Make the activities interesting and challenging. Perhaps this is one of the primary principle in minimizing mismanaged class. If pupils/students are provided with various challenging and interesting activities, they will never think of doing things that may interrupt the class. These do not make them bored, because if pupils/students are bored, then expect chaos inside the classroom.

5. Teachers must have "with-it-ness" (LET alert...this always comes out in the exam...remember this..."with-it-ness"). When we say "with-it-ness", a teacher must be aware of what is going on inside the classroom. He/she must be vigilant and sensitive enough with his/her pupils/students. If the students/pupils feel that their teacher is watching over them, they become more conscious with their actions. As teachers, we must have eyes in our backs and make use of the whole classroom space while teaching.

6. Respond and resolve minor problems before they become a major one. We must not wait for our classroom to be out of control before we make a move. Let us put a small spark out before it becomes a fire.

7. Provide positive reinforcements for good behavior. Token management (giving of rewards) can be used. This is far better than giving punishments. However, positive reinforcements do not necessarily mean giving of material things. A praise or an approval is sometimes enough to do this. One thing to take note is that to make this more effective, it must be appropriately and sincerely given. Give pupils/students what is due to them. Don't underpraise nor overpraise students/pupils.

8. Treat minor disturbance calmly. Don't spend the whole class giving "sermons" because of an inappropriate behavior. (Some teachers are so guilty with this. They will give a long sermon and if it is time already, pupils/students will say "The mass has ended".hahahaha). If this can be settled even by just giving of a stern look or gesture, then it's over, done, finished, etc...hahahaha...

9. Check the physical environment. Sometimes, the main reason why the class is restless and noisy is because of the physical feature of the classroom. Perhaps the class is too congested, overcrowded, disorderly or hot. Fix these things and the class will be far much better.

10. The last but not the least, minimize discipline time to maximize instructional time. Avoid long sermons...period. hehehe...very self-explanatory,..no need to discuss...

Forms forms forms

These days I've been busy filling out a lot of forms in the public school system. Perhaps this is the reason why if you will check the Table of Specifications of LET, you have there "Filling out Forms". I have to be honest and I must admit that I am not that quite familiar with DepEd forms since I myself am a neophyte teacher. Anyway, here are just some of the forms which I am familiar with.

Form I - School Register
Form 48- Daily Time Record
Form 137- Pupil/Student Permanent Record
Form 138- Report Card
Form 18- Record on Promotions

What else???I don't know...hehehehe....

I will just post some LET topics if I'm totally free from schoolwork...

LET Tips: Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory

          Forgive me if I wasn't able to update my blog that often. There was a lot of "ATs" going on in the public school system. If you are not familiar with these, I am actually referring to achievement tests namely Division Achievement Test, Regional Achievement Test and the upcoming National Achievement Test this March. These tests are conducted to measure the extent of learning of pupils among public schools in our country. But to be honest, I'm actually skeptical if these tests really "measure" what they really want to measure. Hmmmmm....
          Going back to my usual business (thank God for the holiday), here are some of the questions that usually come out visavis Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory. As I said many times, these are just the "look" of how the questions are constructed and asked in LET. (Answers are found below, please READ first the questions before scrolling down.)

1. Young Mary saw her mother applying make-up in front of the mirror. She then went to her room and  color her face with crayons. Which psychologist can best explain Mary's behavior?
A. B. F. Skinner
B. Jean Piaget
C. Albert Bandura
D. Ivan Pavlov

2. Teacher C demonstrated the steps in ChaCha before he let his pupils do the dance. Which theory adheres to this teaching strategy?
A. PsychoSocial Theory
B. Purposive Behavior
C. Constructivist Theory
D. Social Learning Theory

3. Teacher Maila wanted to apply Bandura's principles in learning. Which of the following will she most likely do?
A. Exhibit good and proper attitudes in teaching values in GMRC
B. Present concrete materials in teaching Science
C. Do oral graded recitation in Language
D. Have the pupils draw different polygons in Mathematics

4. Which must first be taken into consideration for effective modelling to occur?
A. The learner must be able to replicate the behavior the model exhibits
B. The learner must be able to pay attention to the model
C. The learner must be motivated
D. The learner must retain what he has observed

5. Which does NOT adhere to Albert Bandura's theory?
A. Learners can learn by observing other people
B. Learners must have direct experience of the consequences of one's behavior in order to learn
C. Teachers can demonstration method as a teaching strategy
D. Teachers must serve as role models for the learners


Answers:
1. C
2. D
3. A
4. B
5. B
Any questions, violent reactions and comments about the questions and answers are welcome.

Applications: Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory

          These are some of the educational/instructional applications of this theory. As I always say, these are just some of the applications and the possibility of applying this theory is endless given various factors like the learners, classroom environment, etc.

1. Learners learn through observation. Therefore as teachers, we can utilize modelling especially on topics that develop skills or the psychomotor domain of our objectives. Demonstration method can be used especially on topics like dance or stunts in Physical Education Topics; using the microscope in Science; how to sew buttons in EPP; measuring angles in Mathematics and many more.

2. Modelling is another way to modify or shape behavior aside from the usual reinforcement. Present scenarios or vicarious experiences of models that present rewards or consequences (for the information of everybody, educators/psychologists nowadays prefer to use the term "consequences" to replace the word "punishment") of various behavior. Share and discuss biographies, anecdotes and many other stories about people or certain models and the results of their behavior.

3. Present not only the "usual" or common models. As teachers, let's present and expose our learners to diverse models to avoid stereotyping.

4. Last but not the least, teachers must be good role models for learners. Let us be aware and be careful with the behavior that we exhibit in front of the class. Let us model appropriate behaviors especially values. Let us walk our talk...