Accessing Prior Knowledge to Remember Text: A Comparison of Advance Organizers and Maps

Abstract

Two theories, schema and dual coding, and the conjoint retention model were contrasted to explain the role of geographic familiarity and prior knowledge in map-passage retention. One hundred, eighty-six college students listened to a passage taking place in either a familiar or unfamiliar geographic domain and viewed either a map or no map of either of the two geographic areas. One-third of each group received either a general or specific advance organizer of the passage topic, or no organizer at all. Results revealed that maps function to bridge what learners already know about an area and what they need to remember from a passage. However, prior knowledge of geography is activated by the g..