1. Epistemology / Knowledge basedtheory of instructional design
Prepared by:
Soo Pei Zhi
P-QM0033/10
QIM 501 Instructional Design and Delivery
2. David PaulAusubel (1918–2008)
• AnAmerican psychologist, born in Brooklyn, New
York.
• Did his undergraduate work at the University of
Pennsylvania (pre –med andpsychology).
• Graduated from medical school at Middlesex
University.
• Earned aPh.D inDevelopmental Psychology at
ColumbiaUniversity.
• Influenced by the work of Piaget.
3. David PaulAusubel (1918–2008)
• His principal interests in psychiatry have been
general psychopathology, ego development,drug
addiction, and forensicpsychiatry.
• Served on the faculty at several universities and
retired from academic life in 1973and began his
practice inpsychiatry.
• Published several textbooks in developmental and
educational psychology, and more than 150articles.
• In 1976,he received the ThorndikeAward for
“Distinguished Psychological Contributionsto
Education” from the American Psychological
Association.
4. During meaningful learning, the person“subsumes,”or organizesor
incorporates,new knowledge into old knowledge.
Subsumption theory suggeststhat our mind hasawayto subsume
information in ahierarchical or categorical manner if the new
information is linked/incorporated with prior knowledge/familiar
patterns.
Asaresult prior knowledgeis given absolute importance.
Teachersareencouragedto teach prior knowledge first rather than new
information to help information subsume.
Advance organizersprovide conceptsand principles to the students
directly in anorganizedformat.
The strategy of “advance organizers” basically means to classify/
categorize/ arrange(organize)information asyou proceed (advance)to
the next complexlevel.
5. • Themost generalideasof asubject should
be presented first and then progressively
differentiated in terms of detail and
specificity.
1
• Instructional materials should attempt to
integrate new material with previously
presented information through
comparisonsand cross-referencingof new
and oldideas.
2
6. • Helpsintroduce anew lesson,unit, or course.
• Helpssummarizemajor ideasin new lessonor unit.
• Basedon student’s prior knowledge.
• Showsimilarities between old material and new material.
• Allows student to transfer or apply knowledge.
• Providesfor structure for new information.
• Helpsteach complexmaterial that is similar to information learned
previously.
9. New material or relationships can be derived from the existing
structure. Information canbe moved in the hierarchy, or linked to
other concepts or information to create new interpretations or
meaning.
• SupposeI have acquired abasic concept such as“tree” –
trunk, branches, green leaves, and may have some kind of
fruit.
• Now, I learn about akind of tree that I have never learn
before “persimmon tree” –conforms to my previous
understanding of tree.
• My new knowledge of persimmon trees is attached to my
concept of tree, without substantially altering that concept in
anyway.
• So,I had learned about the persimmon trees through the
processof derivativesubsumption.
Example
(Stage1)
10. New material is an extension or elaboration of what is already
known.
• SupposeI encounter anew kind of tree that hasred leaves,
rather thangreen.
• In order to accommodate this new information, I have to alter
or extend my concept of tree to include the possibility of red
leaves.
• I have learned about this new kind of tree through the
processof correlativesubsumption.
• In asense,you might saythat this is more “valuable” learning
than of derivative subsumption, since it enriches the higher-
level concept.
Example
(Stage2)
11. An individual is able to give alot of examples of the
concept but doesnot know the concept itself until it is
taught.
• Imagine that I was well acquainted with maples,oaks, apple
trees, etc., but I did not know, until I was taught, that these
were all examples of deciduous trees.
• In this case, I already knew alot of examples of the
concept, but I did not know the concept itself until it was
taught tome.
• This is superordinatelearning.
Example
(Stage3)
12. The first three learning processes all involve new information that
"attaches" to ahierarchy at alevel that is either below or above
previously acquired knowledge. Combinatorial learning is
different; it describes aprocess by which the new idea is derived
from another idea that is neither higher nor lower in the
hierarchy, but at the same level.
• Now, supposeI learn about how fish eggs are fertilized.
• I might relate it to previously acquired knowledge about
pollination inplants.
• Both of the ideas are different, but it is related to the “process
of breeding”.
• Youcould think of this aslearning by analogy.
Example
(Stage4)
13. Advance organizers areusedto relate prior
information tonew concepts.
They are part of Ausubel's subsumption theory
that "contends that meaningful learning and
permanent retention of material is afunction of
the stability of existing anchoring ideas"
(Applin).
Canbe classified : expositoryor comparative.
14. While presenting newmaterial.
Usebeginning oflesson.
Presents several encompassing generalizations wheredetailed
contents will be added later.
• The teacher discuss the process of the absorption of water
and minerals into the plants through the tap and fibrous root
system.
Example
15. Useful when the knowledge to be presented is new to learner.
Compares new material with knowledge already known by
emphasizing the similarities between 2 types of material &
showing the information that is to be learnt.
Ausubel’s teaching approach is deductive in nature.
• Ateacher shows the similarities and differences among two
major root system, the tap root and the fibrous root system.
Example
16.
17. Ausubel’s theory is concerned with how
individuals learn large amounts of meaningful
material from verbal/ textual (lecture/ books)
presentations in aschool setting asopposedto
theories developed based on experimental
settings.
Therefore, learning is basedupon the kinds of
superordinate, representational, and
combinatorial processesthat occurduring the
presentation ofinformation.
18. Ivie,Stanley D. “Ausubel’s LearningTheory:AnApproach to
TeachingHigherOrderThinking Skills,” HighSchoolJournal.Oct.
1998:Vol. 82,, i1, p.35.
Cooper,S.(2009).Theories of Learning in Educational Psychology:
David Ausubel: Meaningful Verbal Learning & Subsumption
Theory. Retrieved on from http://www.lifecircles-
inc.com/Learningtheories/constructivism/ausubel.html
Goconstructivism, (2007). David P
.Ausubel. Retrieved from
http://goconstructivism.blogspot.com/2007/02/david-p-
ausubel.html
Aziz,A, W. B., Razali,A. B., hasan, L. B. C., & Yunos,Y
.A. B. M.
(2009).Cognitive learning theories and its implication on science
classroom teaching. Retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/niena17/learning-theory-by-ausubel
Kearsley,G.(2009).SubsumptionTheory (D.Ausubel). Retrieved
from http://tip.psychology.org/ausubel.html
