Understanding the Process and Implication of Verbal Learning

Verbal learning is considered by most modern cognitive psychologists as either inadequate or ineffective in ensuring learning in students.

For verbal learning is often considered a passive learning experience as the action is completely undertaken by the teacher. The students are therefore, looked upon as inactive or passive recipients of knowledge.

The Nature of Verbal Learning

According to Amusable (1963; 1977) learning is equivalent to subscription which is the inclusion of new information into an existing cognitive structure. Thus entails the following process:

I. Recognizing (of the verbal information),

II. Relating (new information to what already exists in the cognitive structure), and

III. Meaningful learning (as a result of the above).

For example, if you want to teach students about ‘moths’. The pattern according to Amusable would include, the recognition of the organism as an ‘insect’ or ‘small winged creature’ i.e. placing the new information in some.

Existing category of Child’s Cognitive Structure:

The second step would then be to relate this information with what already exists in his structure.

This is done in terms of comparing the new information ‘moth’ to what is already known about insects, in terms of similarities and differences. This results in meaningful learning for the child.

According to Amusable organizing and explaining relationship both old and new, is the task of the teacher, and not of the student. Bruner help that the task of organizing information should be undertaken by the students.

Only then will learning become meaningful. The advantage of verbal learning over discovery learning is that verbal learning would-

1. Include a larger body of information.

2. Require less resources, and

3. Be economical in terms of time.

Process of Verbal Learning:

Amusable explains the process of meaningful verbal learning with the help of the following key concepts:

Subsume:

The subsume is akin to Piaget’s concept of schema. It is a conceptual framework, wherein higher level concepts include (subsume) other ideas. Subsuming involves incorporating new material meaningfully, within this conceptual framework.

Subsumption:

The process of building the cognitive structure (subsume) by subsuming new information into it takes place in two vital ways:

1) Derivative subsumption:

When the new information is derived from the already existing structure, the process of derivative subsumption takes place.

For instance, if a general category of ‘mammals’ is already present in the cognitive structure, the specific example of a horse, elephant, etc., even when presented as new information is derived easily and therefore is easily learned.

2) Correlative subsumption:

When the new information requires that the existing structure be altered, correlative subsumption takes place. In the earlier example, if the new information was ‘whale’.

The existing structure will have to change to accommodate the new kind of mammal. This kind of learning is more challenging, yet when acquired, is better remembered. This is comparable to Piaget’s concept of accommodation.

Dissociative subsumption:

Remembering is dissociative subsumption i.e., it requires the ability to separate new learning from the old. Amusable holds that recall is facilitated or enhanced, according to the dissociability of the new information.

Information which is similar to what already exists, will be learned faster yet paradoxically because of the similarity with the existing structures.

Learning is low in dissociability and therefore difficult to recall. When information is unique or different, the reverse occurs. Implication for Classroom Practice

Amusable subscribes to the notion that new ideas are best introduced from the general (abstract) to the specific (concrete).

This implies that students must be provided with a conceptual framework on which they can anchor new ideas being elaborated later. The advanced organizer serves this very purpose.

It introduces the main ideas and makes all the relationship between these ideas explicit.

Advanced Organizers

There are two types of advanced organizers as under:

(i) Comparative advanced organizers:

It is based on derivative subsumption and involves direct comparisons. For example, comparing the respiratory system of animals and human being before introducing the human respiratory system.

(ii) Expository advanced organizers:

This, type of the advance organize is based on oblique and not on direct comparisons.

For example, when two system, such as the circulatory and the respiratory are compared; a new subsume is sought to be established as an offshoot of an existing one. Other implications of verbal learning are as under:

(a) The lecture method is neither ineffective, nor passive if it is organized or based on theory of verbal learning.

(b) Since learning is facilitated when new information is similar to the existing one, points of similarity must be established.

(c) Since recall is facilitated when differences are distinct, differences between new and existing knowledge must also be highlighted.

(d) It is necessary for the teacher to assess the child’s existing cognitive structure before introducing new information.