Verbal learning involves acquiring knowledge through lectures and discussion where students play a passive role. David Ausubel disagreed with this view, believing that verbal learning is meaningful when students actively incorporate new information into their existing understanding. According to Ausubel, meaningful learning occurs through "subsumption", where new concepts are subsumed into an existing cognitive framework. The process involves students first recognizing new information, relating it to what they already know, and then meaningfully learning through adjusting their understanding.

1. LEARNING
THEORIES
- AUSUBEL
Revathy Krishna R
Presented By

2. David P Ausubel was Born in 1918
Grew up in Brooklyn, NY
Attended the university of pennsylvania, taking the pre -
medical course and majouring in psychology
in 1973, he retired from academic life to devote full time to
his psychatric practice
his principle interests in psychatry has been general
psychopathology , ego development , drug addiction and
foreinsic psychatry
In 1976, he recieved the thorndike award from the American
Psychological Association for "Distinguished Psychological
Contributions to Education.

3. Verbal learning is imparted when teaching is through talk or lecture. Learning
of this type helps in the acquisition of verbal behaviour. The language we
speak, the communication devices we use, are the result of such learning.
Rote learning, rote memorisation which is a type of school learning are also
included in verbal learning. Signs, symbols, pictures, words, figures, sound
and voices are employed by the individual as essential instruments for
engaging in the process of verbal learning.
Verbal learning is often considered as a passive learning experience, as the
action is completely undertaken by the teacher. The students are looked
upon as inactive or passive recipients of knowledge.
VERBAL LEARNING

4. AUSUBEL’S THEORY OF
MEANINGFUL VERBAL
LEARNING

5. Verbal learning is a passive learning experience.
Action is completely undertaken by the teacher.
Students are inactive and passive recipients of knowledge.
David Ausubel disagreed with the view that –
DISAGREEMENTS OF AUSUBEL

6. Verbal learning is a meaningful transaction of knowledge.
Students are not completely passive.
Whatever is being presented by the teacher, students are actively
incorporating it into his/her existing cognitive structure.
According to Ausubel –
AUSUBEL’S VIEW

7. According to Ausubel, learning is equal to
“Subsumption” which is the inclusion of new
information into an existing cognitive structure.
Subsumption : It is inclusion of new information
meaningfully to an existing cognitive structure.

8. PROCESS OF VERBAL
LEARNING

9. Recognising
Relating
Meaningful Learning
The verbal learning follows the sequential
process of –

10. Verbal learning starts with Recognising the
verbal information, next Relating this new
information to what already exists in the
child’s cognitive structure and as a result of
these processes, Meaningful Learning
happens.

11. 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.
Relating this information with what is already exists in his cognitive
structure. This is done in terms of comparing the new information ‘moth’ to
what already known about insects, in terms of similarities and differences.
Like comparing with already known ‘Butterfly’.
Resulting in Meaningful Learning of information.
If the teacher want to teach students about ‘Moths’. Then according to Ausubel,
the pattern of learning includes-
For example

12. Subsumer : It is a conceptual framework, wherein
higher level concepts include (Subsume) other ideas.
Cognitive Structure is the Subsumer
Subsumption : The process of building cognitive
structure by subsuming new information into it is
called Subsumption.
The process of meaningful verbal learning is based on the
following key points

13. Subsuming of Information
Subsumption takes place in two vital ways :-
Derivative Subsumption
When the new information is derived from already existing structure,
the process of derivative subsumption takes place.
Example – If a general of ‘mammals’ is already present in the cognitive
structure, then the example of a horse, elephant etc, even when
presented a new information, is derived easily and therefore is easily
learned.

14. Correlative Subsumption
When the new information requires that the existing structure be altered,
correlative subsumption takes place.
Example – If a general idea of ‘mammals’ is already present in the
cognitive structure, the new information like whale as example requires
that the cognitive structure will have to change to accommodate new kind
of mammal.
This type of learning is more challenging, yet when acquired, is better
remembered.

15. Recalling of Information
Dissociative Subsumption
Remembering is dissociative subsumption and it requires the ability to separate new
learning from the old. Recalling of information depends upon the way of learning of
information like :-
(1) Information which is similar to what already exists (Derivative
Subsumption) – Here learning is faster because of similarity but it is
difficult in recalling.

16. (2) Information is unique and different from what is already exists
(Correlative Subsumption) – Here, learning is hard because change is
required in cognitive structure but easy to recall once it is learnt.
David Ausubel described that verbal learning is an active
participation of student’s learning.

17. Implications of Meaningful
Verbal Learning

18. (A) Use of Advanced Organiser : The major implication of Ausubel’s
Theory of verbal Learning for classroom practice is the use of an
“Advanced Organiser”.
Advanced Organiser serves the purpose of providing a conceptual
framework on which the students can anchor new ideas being elaborated
by the teacher. These new ideas can best be introduced from the general
to the specific.
Advances Organiser introduces the main idea and makes all the
relationships between these ideas explicit. It is like an overview of the
lesson. To aid learning and retention of information, the advanced
organiser must emphasise both similarities and differences between the
new and old information.

19. Comparative Advanced Organiser : This type of
advanced organiser is based on derivative
subsumption and involves direct comparisons.
Expository Advanced Organiser : This type of
advanced organiser is based on oblique and
not on direct comparisons.
Two types of Advanced organisers :

20. (B) Lecture Method becomes effective
If the lecture method is organised on the basis of the theory of verbal learning,
then lecture method becomes effective and not passive for students.
Teacher should assess child’s existing cognitive structure before introducing
new information.
When new information is facilitated which is similar to the existing one, then
points of similarity must be established.
When new information is facilitated which is different from the existing one,
then points of dissimilarities must be established.
For affective recall of information, the difference between new and existing
knowledge must be highlighted.
(C) Theory of verbal learning provides the Idea that