An advance organizer is a type of instructional preparation that links previously learned or known material to a new lesson. Usually the new material is at a more advanced level of the same subject. Familiar terms and concepts are re-introduced and applied again, but at a higher level.
Advance organizers can be applied in different ways. For example:
During the presentation of new material, a teacher should integrate the new while also making connections to the old, reminding students of the connections between the two. Key terms should be repeated. After the old material is reviewed and the connections to the new lesson have been made, students can work in groups to define or summarize key points, or draw comparisons between the old and the new. Or, students can choose an application of the old material to something that hasn't been yet mentioned in the lesson.
Let's say you've taught a unit on conservation and have focused on human pollution of streams and rivers. You might have focused on the River Ganges for the first unit, and decide to begin the second unit by reviewing this material using the same vocabulary (advance organizer).
You would then shift the focus to another river where changes (for example) in conservation have improved the water quality and river life, while also introducing new vocabulary terms. Or, if you've had a unit focusing on the impact of climate change that included facts and figures, apply those facts and figures to other times in Earth's history and draw comparisons.
| Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Advance organizer | a type of instructional preparation that links previously learned or known material to a new lesson |
| Applications | material described using familiar terms, introduced as a new story, skimming old material, making visual connections |
| Method | integrating new material while making connections to the old material |
After this lesson is completed, students should know how to:
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Educational Psychology: Help and Review10 chapters | 355 lessons
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