Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Summary: Schema Activation and Schema Acquisition: Comment on Richard C. Anderson’s Remarks by John D. Bransford

Susan Conklin
For Michael Cameron’s Class
And higher learning

Bransford considered the processes of understanding and remembering of statements through schemata as the basis for interpreting and elaboration on the information received. Bransford highlights examples of Anderson’s explanations. He uses his own schemata and words for determining importance of data of the six functions.
1. Assimilating text information,
2. Making inferential elaborations that fill gaps in messages,
3. Allocating attention to important text elements,
4. Searching memory in an orderly fashion,
5. Formulating a summary of information,
6. Inferring and reconstructing the original message.

He discusses that background knowledge and experience for students may vary. One example is that many students may have been to airports but have different knowledge about the elements of airport. Without comprehensive knowledge, students may have inadequate schemata. His specific example includes metal detectors and their concept if a student has not had firsthand experience. He suggests that teachers should do more than just talking about metal detector when the goal is to have the student develop a more sophisticated schema. Bransford does not want the teacher to merely activate schema that already exists but to utilize and elaborate knowledge for a more developed schemata.

There may be terms that are familiar to persons (like vein and artery) but the person want to learn more about them. Definitions, facts, and the relationship of facts to each other build sophistication. If the facts seem arbitrary, they will be difficult to remember. However, if the learner can clarify fact significance, then learning is interesting and memorable.

Importantly, Bransford states the importance of precise elaborations because imprecise elaborations are worse for the student than no elaborations at all. Schema activation and schema construction represent two different problems. Simplification of text can omit information that is important for understanding of the concepts. The point is that the core concepts must remain intact if we are to have perspicacious students.

In conclusion, it is helpful to design education for precise analysis using the six functions and monitoring the interpretation of text by both teacher and student for sophisticated understanding and schema development noting that schema activation and schema development are two different processes and require different attention by the teacher. Children must learn to identify situations and learn to supply their own elaborations. This includes different text structures so that they may have available to them different schema when encountering new information. Additionally, note that different people have a different affinity for the comprehension of different text. Students should be aware of their activities, have learning material to experience the effects of their own learning and be able to modify their activities, evaluate materials, experience the effects on memory, and learn what to do to make the materials significant and relevant. These procedures for classroom and text learning may be different that approaches for students to learn independently.