Abstract
This article examines learning strategies that promote meaningful learning from expository text as evidenced by problem-solving transfer. The teaching of learning strategies involves decisions concerning what to teach, how to teach, where to teach, and when to teach. The teaching of learning strategies also depends on the teacher's conception of learners as response strengtheners, information processors, or sense makers. Three cognitive processes involved in meaningful learning are selecting relevant information from what is presented, organizing selected information into a coherent representation, and integrating presented information with existing knowledge. Finally, exemplary programs for teaching of learning strategies are presented. The most effective method for teaching students how to make sense out of expository text is for students to participate in selecting, organizing, and integrating information within the context of authentic academic tasks.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bartlett, F. C. (1932).Remembering, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
Bloom, B. S., and Broder, L. J. (1950).Problem-Solving Processes of College Students, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Brown, A. L., and Palinscar, A. S. (1989). Guided, cooperative learning and individual knowledge acquisition. In Resnick, L. B. (ed.),Knowing, Learning, and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 393–451.
Chi, M. T. H., Bassok, M., Lewis, M. W., Reimann, P., and Glaser, R. (1989). Self-explanations: How students study and use examples in learning to solve problems.Cog. Sci. 13: 145–182.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1990). Anchored instruction and its relation to situated cognition.Educ. Res. 19: 2–10.
Collins, A., Brown, J. S., and Newman, S. E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics. In Resnick, L. B. (ed.),Knowing, Learning, and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 453–494.
Cook, L. K., and Mayer, R. E. (1988). Teaching readers about the structure of scientific text.J. Educ. Psych. 80: 448–456.
Covington, M. V., Crutchfield, R. S., and Davies, L. B. (1966).The Productive Thinking Program, Brazelton, Berkeley, CA.
DuBois, N., Staley, R., Guzy, L., and DiNardo, P. (April 1995). Durable Effects of a Study Skills Course on Academic Achievement. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Educational Research Association, Washington, D.C.
Graesser, A. C., Bertus, E. L., and Magliano, J. P. (1995). Inference generation during comprehension of narrative text. In Lorch, R. F., and O'Brien, E. J. (Eds.),Sources of Coherence in Reading, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 295–320.
Katona, G. (1940/1967).Organizing and Memorizing, Hafner, New York.
Kiewra, K. A. (1994). The matrix representation system: Orientation, research, theory, and application. In Smart, J. (ed.),Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Agathon, New York, pp.331–373
Lave, J. (1988).Cognition in Practice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
Mayer, R. E. (1984). Aids to text comprehension.Educ. Psychol. 19: 30–42.
Mayer, R. E. (1989). Models for understanding.Rev. Educ. Res. 59: 43–64.
Mayer, R. E. (1992a). Cognition and instruction: On their historic meeting within educational psychology.J. Educ. Psychol. 84: 405–412.
Mayer, R. E. (1992b). Guiding students' cognitive processing of scientific information in text. In Pressley, M., Harris, M., and Guthrie, J. T. (eds.).Promoting Academic Competency and Literacy in School. Academic Press, San Diego.
Mayer, R. E. (in press a). Multimedia learning: Are we asking the right questions?Educ. Psychol.
Mayer, R. E. (in press b). Incorporating problem solving into secondary school curricula. In Phye, G. (ed.),Handbook of Academic Learning: The Construction of Knowledge, Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 473–492.
Mayer, R. E. (in press c). Learners as information processors: Legacies and limitations of educational psychology's second metaphor.Educ. Psychol.
Mayer, R. E., and Anderson, R. B. (1991). Animations need narrations: An Experimental test of a dual-coding hypothesis.J. Educ. Psychol. 83: 484–490, pp. 473–492.
Mayer, R. E., and Wittrock, M. C. (1996). Problem solving transfer. In Berliner, D., and Calfee, R. (eds.),Handbook of Educational Psychology, Macmillan, New York, pp. 47–62.
Moely, B. E., Hart, S. S., Santalli, K., Leal, L., Johnson-Baron, T., Rao, N., and Burney, L. (1986). How do teachers teach memory skills?Educ. Psychol. 21: 55–72.
Nunes, T., Schliemann, A. D., and Carraher, D. W. (1993).Street Mathematics and School Mathematics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
Perkins, D. N. and Salomon, G. (1989). Are cognitive skills context-bound?Educ. Res. 18(1): 16–25.
Piaget, J. (1930).The Child's Conception of Physical Causality, Kegan Paul, London.
Pressley, M. (1990).Cognitive Strategy Instruction That Really Improves Children's Academic Performance, Brookline Books, Cambridge, MA.
Pressley, M., and McCormick, C. B. (1995).Cognition, Teaching, and Assessment, Harper Collins, New York.
Sternberg, R. J. (1985).Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
Tharp, R. G., and Gallimore, R. (1988).Rousing Minds to Life, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
Thorndike, E. L. (1924). Mental discipline in high school studies.J. Educ. Psychol. 15: 1–22.
Thorndike, E. L., and Woodworth, R. S. (1901). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficiency of other functions.Psychol. Rev. 8: 247–261.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978).Mind in Society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Weinstein, C. E., and Mayer, R. E. (1986). The teaching of learning strategies. In Wittrock, M. C. (ed.),Handbook of Research on Teaching: Third Edition, Macmillan, New York, pp. 315–327.
Wertheimer, M. (1945/1959).Productive Thinking, Harper and Row, New York.
White, B. Y. (1993). Intermediate causal models: A missing link for successful science education? In Glaser, R. (ed.),Advances in Instructional Psychology (Vol. 4), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 177–252.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mayer, R.E. Learning strategies for making sense out of expository text: The SOI model for guiding three cognitive processes in knowledge construction. Educ Psychol Rev 8, 357–371 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463939
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463939