Ausubel's Assimilation

Learning Theory:
Theoretical Basis for
Concept Maps and E-Maps
David Ausubel
is an American born cognitive psychologist who
first introduced his Assimilation Learning
Theory in 1962.
His theory primarily explains cognitive learning
Defines effective learning as a process in which
learners comprehend the structure of
knowledge and consciously make new
structures fit with the existing organization of
concepts in the brain.
Refers to this process where new ideas or
concepts are linked with previously acquired
knowledge as meaningful learning.
Meaningful vs. Rote Learning
According to Ausubel:


- "the most important single factor influencing

learning is what the learner already knows"
- Relationships between concepts are formed
when two concepts overlap on some level.
- As learning progresses, this network of
concepts and relationships becomes
increasingly complex.

- Example :
- A student simply memorizes
information without relating that
information to previously learned
knowledge.
- As a result, new information is easily
forgotten and not readily applied to
problem-solving situations because it
was not connected with concepts
already learned.

Three basic requirements
for meaningful learning
A learner’s relevant prior knowledge,
meaningful material (often selected by the
teacher) and learner choice (to use
meaningful learning instead of rote learning).
An important advantage of meaningful learning
is that it can be applied in a wide variety of
new problems or contexts.
This power of transferability is necessary for
creative thinking
Concept maps
E-maps
(Science year 2 syllabus)

Non-living Things
Characteristics of living
things