GO Literature Example 3

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Implications of Graphic Organizers 1

Th

Implications of Graphic Organizers in the Classroom

Beth de Anda

Northern Illinois University


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Theme/Problem Statement

How has the learning theory of cognitivism influenced the classroom of today? One way

it has been put to use in the classroom is by the ubiquitous use of graphic organizers (GOs) as

aids to improve comprehension. Typically a textbook used to include an outline of each chapter.

The second edition of Marcy P. Driscolls Psychology of Learning for Instruction, however, uses

concept maps to illustrate the interconnections and hierarchies of the chapters concepts.

Stemming from D. P. Ausubels development of an advance organizer to fill in the gaps of a

learners background knowledge, an enticing array of GOs have been developed to support and

facilitate student learning. But has there indeed been an increase in students cognitive abilities

when GOs are employed? If so, in what areas is enhanced cognition manifested? What

guidelines can one apply in the classroom from the various studies that have tracked the effects

of GOs?

Definition of a Graphic Organizer

A graphic organizer is an outline of concepts that uses two-dimensional spatial format to

illustrate connections and hierarchies between concepts. GOs present information visually. This

is what sets them apart from a traditional one-dimensional, linear outline. Andrew D. Katayama

and Steven M. Crooks state that GOs are a spatial arrangement of concepts to communicate

their relations, without spelling out the relations for the student. (2003) There are different types

of GOs such as matrices, tree diagrams, concept maps, Venn diagrams, rational set generators,


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Theoretical Foundations of Graphic Organizers

D. P. Ausubel developed short summary paragraphs that were to be presented to students

prior to a learning activity. The purpose was to help students activate prior background

knowledge or to fill in the gaps of an inadequate foundation. It was a strategy that was designed

to help students actively engage in a task to make the learning meaningful. Other schema

theorists shared this concern with activating prior knowledge. Story maps that featured areas for

students to fill in the basic story elements of characters, setting, problem, events and solution

were found to enhance recall of the story for later retelling. (Marcy P. Driscoll, 2000). Driscoll

goes on to say that Ausubel deplored the common practice of textbook writers to

compartmentalize ideas or topics into separate chapters without exploring their relationships.

(P. 144, 2000) Hence, many GOs were developed to pick up on text clues of organization and

create a visual guide to the information such as a Venn diagram used in conjunction with a text

that compares and contrasts various elements. Other comparison organizers would be concept

trees and comparative organizers, which is a matrix that utilizes rows and columns to compare

and contrast ideas and concepts.

Trends/Patterns

From these early beginnings in schema theory, what trends and patterns have emerged in

conjunction with the use of GOs? Due to the wide variety and types of GOs its not surprising

that initially there were inconclusive patterns supporting their effectiveness. However, extensive

research in the utilization of GOs in schools and universities has begun to point to certain


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effectiveness be ascertained or valuable instruction time is being wasted. Each of the five reports

that read pointed out areas in which use of GOs by students makes a difference and other areas

where their use leads to little or no improvement in learning.

Overall, GOs are effective in providing visual clues as to the hierarchy and

interconnections of concepts. Reading of text requires that students make these connections on

their own. Textbooks try to give clues about the organization through headings, subheadings and

chapters, but not every reader is able to make such inferences. Learning disabled (LD) students

especially seem to be unable to make such connections. Giving students an opportunity to

review text material with a GO supports students in making these connections that signify a

higher order of understanding.

There is evidence, however, that points to the idea that giving a student a ready made GO

that requires nothing more from the student than to study it is not the most effective method in

utilizing GOs. Chang, Sung & Chen in their study on concept-mapping strategies found that

partially completed concept maps were more effective in helping students increase their recall of

the concepts and in application of the concepts to novel situations. Most effective of all were

map correction activities in which students were given concept maps wherein approximately

60% of the information was incorrect. As students worked with the concept map, they had to

look for the inaccuracies and correct them. This is a different way to use concept maps, but it

proved to be highly effective. Students engaged in this activity were able to write better text

summaries than both the control group and the group using concept maps in a more standard


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suggested that students who are actively engaged in some measure with the GO develop a deeper

understanding of the material. Being active in a learning activity requires more cognitive

engagement and makes such activities more meaningful.

If students are more cognitively engaged in their learning while utilizing GOs, then it

should stand to reason that students would have better recall of the concepts that they learned.

This, however, does not always hold true. Certain types of learning are not enhanced by the use

of GOs. Simple recall of facts is high immediately after use of the GO, but the same results are

found after reading text. Delay testing and recall drops just as fast in both groups. GOs were

shown to enhance recall of hierarchical and coordinate relations, comparing and contrasting

features, and applying knowledge to novel situations. (Robinson & Kiewra, 1995) Plus, students

found GOs a more user-friendly strategy to implement when studying. This is an important

consideration when working with unmotivated students or LD students who might be easily

overwhelmed with text material.

As a result of education requirements mandated by the No Child Left Behind Law

(NCLBL), it is critical that educators find more effective ways to increase learning in all students

in the classroom. This includes LD and English language learners (ELL). Because of the visual

nature of GOs, they hold great promise in this area. Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek and Wei (2004)

found significant benefits for LD students in GOs. They reviewed over 21 studies in order to

conclude that reading comprehension was increased when GOs were used in conjunction with

reading the text. One study, which did not support such findings, was found to include non-LD


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Reflection Statement

The study of learning theories this semester has been very interesting to me as I can now

articulate why I am using certain strategies in my classroom. I understand now why certain

learning activities suggested by my reading and science basals are organized the way they are.

For example, the science textbook publisher has a series of worksheets that requires students to

answer true-false questions in such a way that any question that is false must be corrected to

make a true statement. This is a variation of the map-correction activity developed by Chang,

Sung, and Chen in their research on the effects of concept mapping. Such an activity requires

cognitive engagement as the student not only needs to judge whether the material is true or false

but must then reword any false statements to make them true. When looking for trends that

signify GOs that are effective, one must look for GOs that engage students in active or

meaningful learning. Presenting students with a GO such as Ausubels advance organizer or a

completed concept map does not actively engage students in their learning. They can sit back

and absorb the material, but there is no indication that it is being absorbed until the student is

assessed. At that point, it might be too late. Too often learning disabled students are passive

learners. Such students need to be encouraged at every step of the way to become active

participants in their learning. GOs that require their participation ensure cognitive engagement.

As with any learning strategy, there is no one size fits all. The research showed that GOs

had little or no effect on recall of facts. It would be a waste of time for teachers to employ GOs

in such a role then. Instead, strategies that are effective in enhancing recall such as mnemonic


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RefReferences

Chang, K., Sung, Y., Chen, I. (2002). The effect of concept mapping to enhance text

comprehension and summarization. The Journal of Experimental Education, 71(1),5-23.

Driscoll, M. P. (2000).Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Katayama, A. D., & Crooks, S. M. (2003). Online notes: differential effects of studying complete

or partial graphically organized notes. The Journal of Experimental Education, 71(4),

293-312.

Kim, A., Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., & Wei, S. (2004). Graphic organizers and their effects on the

reading comprehension of students with ld: a sysnthesis of research. Journal of Learning

Disabilities, 37(2),105-118.

Robinson, D. H., & Kiewra, K. A. (1995). Visual argument: graphic organizers are superior to

outlines in improving learning from text.Journal of Educational Psychology, 87(3),455-

467.

Schorzman, E. M., & Cheek, E. H. (2004). Structured strategy instruction: investigating an

intervention for improving sixth-graders reading comprehension.Reading Psychology,

25, 37-60.


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GO Literature Example 3