Factors Causing Failure in Teaching

Abstract

This study was undertaken to examine two fundamental questions related to the use of graphic organizer instruction with fifth-grade, normal-achieving students: (a) Does graphic organizer instruction facilitate comprehension, recall, and transfer of information contained in an expository textbook? and (b) To what degree is explicit instruction necessary for independent generation and use of graphic organizers by students? In four experimental conditions, participants read social studies information with or without the graphic organizer. The conditions were further separated by the presence or absence of explicit instruction. Participants in the control condition received traditional basal instruction, as prescribed by the teacher's manual of the district-adopted textbook. Participants in all groups performed comparably on acquisition and retention measures. However, when required to read and recall novel social studies content, participants receiving the graphic organizer and explicit instruction performed better on the measure of transfer than students who received traditional basal instruction did.     

Book Reviews

This study investigated the effects of a visual advance organizer on a biology concept learning task among fifth graders. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) a visual advance organizer will facilitate the acquisition of concepts, especially when the material to be learned has visual components; (2) the organizer will be more effective in enhancing transfer than facilitating acquisition of verbal information; and (3) the organizer will produce greater benefits over long‐term retention of content. Three treatments were administered to 48 fifth graders, ranging from 10 to 11 years. In two of the treatments, subjects were exposed to a visual organizer either before or after the completion of a self‐instructional unit on ‘Fungi’. In the third treatment (control group), students were not given any organizer. Two parallel‐form post‐tests‐‐immediate and delayed‐‐were administered, consisting of three levels of learning outcomes: knowledge, comprehension and application. Results of MANCOVA on performance showed a slight but non‐significant difference in delayed post‐test scores. An interaction between the levels of learning and time of test factor also emerged. Findings of the study are discussed in terms of the assimilation theory, and aptitude‐treatment interactions observed between prior knowledge and level of instructional support.     

Can an Advance Organizer Technique Compensate for Poor Reading Conditions?

In Experiment 1, 201 college students read both a literary and a technical text either in an advance organizer condition or a non-organizer control condition. Results failed to support the hypothesis that an organizing schema would help subjects with good reasoning skills compensate for poor memory skills or information overload caused by speeded reading conditions. In Experiment 2, data from a sample of 189 college subjects demonstrated that real-world distractions do cause significant learning decrements but failed to support predictions that an organizer would aid distractible students and would compensate for distracting study conditions. Findings suggest that the organizer technique does not help compensate for processing deficits related to information overload or distracting study conditions.     

Twenty years of research on advance organizers: Assimilation theory is still the best predictor of results

Forty-four published research studies involving advance organizers were reviewed. Twenty-seven studies included an advance organizer vs. a control group (standard advance organizer study) and 17 studies included an advance organizer vs. a post organizer group (modified advance organizer study). Results of the studies were compared to the predictions of several theories. In addition, four specific predictions of assimilation theory were evaluated: that advance organizers should have a stronger effect for poorly organized text than for well organized text, that advance organizers should have a stronger positive effect for learners lacking prerequisite knowledge, that advance organizers should have a stronger effect for learners lacking prerequisite abilities, and that advance organizers should have an especially strong effect on measures of transfer rather than retention.     

An investigation of the effects of a graphic organizer in an online serious game on learning outcomes and attitudinal perceptions

A serious game, which is designed for learning purposes rather than recreational purposes, has been applied for digital game-based Learning. This study investigated the effects of graphic organizers in a serious game, “The Transistor”, on learning outcomes and attitudinal perceptions. A total of 99 participants were randomly assigned to three groups: non-organizer group, advance organizer group, and post organizer group. The results revealed that participants using a post organizer, which was presented after the game for review, outperformed those using a non-organizer and an advance organizer on both learning outcomes (recall test scores and recycling intention) and attitudinal perceptions (perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction). These findings implied that a post-graphic organizer could enhance the instructional value of a serious game. More detailed implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Effects of pictorial advance organizers on passage retention

This study examined the effects of pictorial advance organizers, provided prior to reading a passage, on students' retention of passage information. Fifth-graders studied a passage for 8 min and were asked to recall the material immediately and 1 week later. Prior to studying the passage some subjects were given 2 min to study an integrated pictorial advance organizer, a fragmented pictorial advance organizer, the passage, or nothing. Students given the integrated pictorial advance organizer recalled more than the other groups on both immediate and delayed tests of recall. These results extend previous research on verbal advance organizers by indicating that pictorial advance organizers can serve an organizing context for incoming passage information.     

The effect of subsuming concepts on student achievement on unfamiliar science learning material

Students enrolled in an undergraduate chemistry class were rank ordered by their performance on a test of organizing ability. The median break was used to form two groups: good organizers (GO) and poor organizers (PO). Students within these groups were randomly assigned to treatments. Treatment I subjects received an advance organizer followed by a learning passage. Treatment II subjects received the same organizer preceeded by the learning passage. Treatment in subjects received an historical nonorganizer and the learning passage. No significant differences were observed on treatment or interaction, but GO group achieved significantly higher learning passage scores than PO group.     

成人院校《高等数学》课堂教学中先行组织者的设计

本文以当代教育心理学的研究成果为基础,结合笔者的教学实践,提出通过设计"先行组织者",来提高成人院校非数学专业高等数学课的课堂教学效率.实践证明,高等数学教学中设计"先行组织者"的尝试取得了很好的教学效果.     

The effects of advance organizer and prerequisite knowledge passages on the learning and retention of science concepts

Fifty-five ninth-grade science students participated in this study which compared the effects of two pretreatments, an advance organizer and a prerequisite knowledge passage, on learning and retention measured at low (knowledge and comprehension) and high (application and analysis) levels of the cognitive domain. The effectiveness of the pretreatments was measured by a framework test and a prerequisite knowledge test prior to the beginning of instruction. An analysis of covariance, with IQ as the covariate, was performed on the framework test and the prerequisite knowledge test. It was found that the advance organizer group performed significantly better than the prerequisite knowledge group (p < 0.001) on the first framework test, and the prerequisite knowledge group performed significantly better (p < 0.001) than the advance organizer group on the prerequisite knowledge test. These results provide evidence that both passages were read and understood by the students and that the passages had their intended effects as preinstructional treatments. An analysis of covariance, with IQ as the covariate, was performed on the low-level questions, high-level questions, and total score for the posttest and retention test. The group means for the two question levels and the total score were not found to be significantly different (p > 0.05) for either the posttest or retention test. The results of this study do not provide evidence that an advance organizer facilitates learning and retention more than a preinstructional treatment that concentrates on developing prerequisite knowledge.     

Graphic organizers or graphic overviews? Presentation order effects with computer-based text

It has long been assumed that graphic organizers (GOs) should be presented to students following text as an organizer, rather than preceding text as an overview. Robinson et al. (Educational Technology Research & Development, 51(4), 25?C41, 2003) challenged this assumption by finding support for GOs as an overview. The present study further examined this issue by having 111 undergraduates view three GOs before (overview) or after (organizer) reading or listening to a narration of a 3,400-word text, followed by measures of retention and transfer. Students who received GOs as organizers transferred knowledge better than those who received GOs as overviews. Whether GOs should also be used as overviews, as prescribed by Robinson et al., is unclear and in need of further investigation.     

结构图策略在大学英语教学中的应用——一项《大学英语阅读与写作》课堂上的行动研究

教师作为意义建构的促进者,可以运用结构图策略教学帮助学习者将新的语言知识整合到原有的认知结构中,形成新的意义建构,提高将知识转换成自己的内部的表达能力。文章以此为出发点,设计了结构图策略教学的详细方案,通过一个学期的行动研究发现,结构图策略是帮助学生提高阅读与写作能力、培养自主学习能力的有效途径。     

Pictorial organization in prose learning

Ninety undergraduates of high and low prior knowledge of geology read a difficult prose passage concerning the formation of a meander. Two groups of learners were forced to process a map-like organizer either before or after they read the passage, while a control group was provided no pictorial support. The results showed that subjects with little prior knowledge who were provided with the organizer prior to reading recalled at a level similar to that of subjects with a good deal of background knowledge. The findings were interpreted as support for the use of map-like organizers in the primary position to aid comprehension.     

Using Multimedia Graphic Organizer Software in the Prewriting Activities of Primary School Students: What Are the Benefits?

The use of multimedia graphic organizer software and how it influenced the prewriting process for primary school children were evaluated. An analysis of writing samples generated by second-grade students with diverse writing abilities was carried out. Students were given two opportunities to participate in prewriting activities—one without and one with the use of multimedia graphic organizer software. The results indicated that the use of multimedia graphic organizer software can provide some benefits to writing for elementary school children.     

Facilitating fourth-grade students’ written argumentation: The use of an argumentation graphic organizer

Abstract

Literacy instruction in the 21st century must bolster students’ ability to critically process text and craft well-reasoned written argumentation. The authors investigated changes in fourth-grade students’ (N?=?28; 15 girls) written argumentation as they used a researcher-developed graphic organizer (i.e., Quality Talk graphic organizer [QT_GO]). The authors also examined the extent to which students’ graphic organizer performance predicted their written argumentation and whether such prediction was sustained across genres. Both QT_GO responses and written argumentation essays were scored for quantity and quality. Multilevel modeling analyses reveal that (a) both quantity and quality of students’ written argumentation essays statistically significantly improved after students used QT_GO and (b) students’ graphic organizer performance seemed to attenuate the effect of genre on their written argumentation for both quantity and quality. Results suggest that QT_GO facilitated students’ written argumentation, making it easier for fourth-grade students to write about both narrative and expository texts.     

大学英语自主学习者对教师角色的期待与教师实际表现的对比分析

对100名非英语专业大二学生进行了问卷调查,对比分析了大学英语自主学习者对教师角色的期待及教师的实际表现,调查结果显示,学生最期待教师在自主学习中扮演心理协调者、顾问及语境营造者的角色;教师在实际教学中所扮演的"参与者"、"心理协调者"及"组织者"这三种角色获得的学生认同感最低;进一步分析发现,除了"评估者"及"资源提供者"这两个角色外,教师在其他角色上的表现均与学生的期待差异显著,尤其是在"心理协调者"、"语境营造者"及"组织者"这三方面。提出了调整教师角色以适应大学英语自主学习者期待的建议。     

Imagery/Concreteness Attributes of Advance Organizers

The purpose of this study was to examine the attributes of prose passages used in advance organizer studies on an imagery-concreteness scale. Phase I demonstrated significant differences in ratings between organizer, historical, and learning passages using a semantic differential type instrument. A principal components factor analysis of the scale provided evidence of a stable factor structure for the instrument across the three passages. Phase II demonstrated significant differences in retention for the organizer-learning passage combination but no differences when the three passages were examined alone. Results are discussed on the basis of Paivio’s two-process theory, and questions are raised about the role of advance organizers in learning and retention.     

The relationship of student interest and advance organizer effectiveness

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship of learner interest and advance organizers with test performance. Student interest was measured before instruction and at several different times following instruction. The advance organizer, in a chart format, presented the key information upon which the instruction was based. Results indicated that the advance organizer had no positive effect on test performance in either study; however, student interest appeared to be affected by the presence of an advance organizer. Interest was a significant covariate. Specifically, the level of interest immediately following introduction of the material but prior to actual instruction changed when advance organizers were introduced. An “overjustification” hypothesis is discussed in relationship to these results.     

Using advance organizers to teach BASIC programming to primary-grade children

An advance organizer is introductory material presented prior to accompanying learning material as a means to facilitate learning and retention. Although there have been many studies on using advance organizers to teach children various types of subject matter, none has examined computer programming as the subject matter. The study reported in this article explored the use of the advance organizer to teachbasic programming to primary-grade children. Results indicate that the advance organizer may have confused rather than clarified the more difficult material for the subjects. It is suggested that the post-organizer may be a more effective tool for enhancing computing instruction in the primary grades, in that it provides learners with a tool for review and recall of learned material.     

Accessing Prior Knowledge to Remember Text: A Comparison of Advance Organizers and Maps

Two theories, schema and dual coding, and the conjoint retention model were contrasted to explain the role of geographic familiarity and prior knowledge in map-passage retention. One hundred, eighty-six college students listened to a passage taking place in either a familiar or unfamiliar geographic domain and viewed either a map or no map of either of the two geographic areas. One-third of each group received either a general or specific advance organizer of the passage topic, or no organizer at all. Results revealed that maps function to bridge what learners already know about an area and what they need to remember from a passage. However, prior knowledge of geography is activated by the geographic propositions contained in a passage, with or without a map. Thus, maps serve a mnemonic function of imagery, but learners' prior knowledge of the geography of the map's space mediates the value of the map. Learners are able to generate an image of the map themselves if there are locational markers in the passage, and the geography of those markers are familiar.     

Effects of processing instructions on the usefulness of a graphic organizer and structural cueing in text

This study assessed two adjuncts to instructional text, structural cueing and graphic organizer processing instructions. Previous research has shown that cueing is a useful indicator of textual structure and that graphic organizers can be enhanced by providing learners with an indication of how they can be used. Results indicated the presence of a three-way interaction among reading ability groups, structural cueing and graphic organizer processing instructions. Analysis of this interaction revealed that high level readers were the only subjects who profited from processing instructions, and only in the presence of cueing. Middle level readers benefited from cueing in both conditions of processing instructions while low level readers were able to take advantage of cueing only in the absence of processing instructions. The results are interpreted in light of previous graphic organizer research.