Subsumption+Theory

**Subsumption Theory (Advance Organizers)**
[|David Ausubel]'s Subsumption Theory posits that new ideas must be linked to learners' existing knowledge base before the new ideas/materials are presented. Ausubel suggests the use of Advance Organizers as a strategy for application of the theory. As Ausubel (1970) has noted, "the principle function of the organizer is to bridge the gap between what the learner already knows and what he needs to know before he can successfully learn the task at hand" (p. 6). A key idea in Ausubel's theory is that knowledge is sequentially and hierarchically organized and that new information is meaningful to the extent that it can be related to that which is already known. 

[[|edit]] **Key Contributor**
[|David Ausubel] 

[[|edit]] **Practical Applications of Theory**
Subsumption theory is applied in classrooms when new lessons or ideas are linked to previous lessons or ideas. When teachers review work that has been done, they lay the foundation for new learning to take place. By using advance organizers, teachers give students an idea of how the lesson will proceed and allows learners to keep on track; advance organizers explicitly state the lesson focus in advance, thus providing students with a means of organizing the ideas. Ausubel (1970) recommended that teachers take into account, rather than ignore, any preconceptions that students may have, for "often these preconceptions are based on widely accepted elements of cultural folklore that are very tenacious unless explicitly undermined" (p. 10). According to subsumption theory, more general concepts or ideas should be addressed before details or specific topics. An emphasis on the memorization of facts without an understanding of concepts or ideas is discouraged. Rather, subsumption theory promotes an emphasis on understanding concepts and ideas over simply remembering isolated information. Ausubel has been credited with saying, "tell them [students] what you are going to tell them; then tell them; then tell them what you told them." 

[[|edit]] **Multimedia/Weblinks**
Information available at: 
 * 1) Instructional Design Knowledge Base: [|[1]]
 * 2) Syracuse Universiy, Instructional Design Theory Database Project: [|[2]]
 * 3) Slideshare presentation : [|[3]]
 * 4) Downlaod from Wiley Online Library, The Meaningful Learning of Intellectual Skills: An Application of Ausubel's Subsumption Theory to the Domain of Intellectual Skills Learning, by West and Kellett: [|[4]]

[[|edit]] **Publications**
[] [] Ausubel, D. (1978). In defense of advance organizers: A reply to the critics. Review of Educational Research, 48, 251-257. Can be retrieved from [] Ausubel, D. P., & ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education, C. H. (1970). The Use of Ideational Organizers in Science Teaching. Occasional Paper 3. Can be retrieved from [] Ausubel, D. (1963). The Psychology of Meaningful Verbal Learning. New York: Grune & Stratton. Ausubel, D., Novak, J., & Hanesian, H. (1978). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View (2nd Ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 

[[|edit]] **Sources**
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