Schema theory as a theory of knowledge: networks of a superordinate concept with supporting information that interface with incoming information¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Schema theory, in its broadest sense, is "a theory of knowledge" (Rumelhart, 1980) concerning how material is organized, encoded and retrieved from memory. A schema comprises a superordinate concept with supporting information — defining features, characteristics, associations, functions and propositions — clustered in networks that can be interwoven, subsumed, or enveloped by other schema. In reading comprehension, schema provide ideational scaffolding and contain slots that interface with text; the better the match between schema and text, the more the reader comprehends while allocating less attention to encoding, activation and retrieval. The essay reviews competing structural accounts, including Just and Carpenter's hierarchical Reader model and propositional networks.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Incoming information must interface with prior, background knowledge organized in networks around a superordinate concept

Constraints¶

• The essay identifies definitional ambiguity as the major problem limiting schema theory: how general a cluster must be to qualify as a schema, whether prototypes can change, and how slot hierarchies are determined remain unresolved

Target Learners¶

• readers developing reading comprehension

Target Learning Objectives¶

• comprehension through interfacing new information with prior knowledge

Claims¶

• Schema Perspective Improves Text Recall [+M]
• Developed Schema Higher Recall [+M]

Related Theories¶

• Mental models as a situational alternative to schema theory for comprehending novel situations and texts
• Dual coding theory: parallel verbal and nonverbal representation systems as an alternative to schema theory
• Cognitivism

Examples¶

• Elaborate new information precisely and meaningfully within the learner's perspective to facilitate schema encoding and retrieval
• Advance Organizers
• Visualizations and Mind Maps
• Activation
• Making Connections
• Activation
• Competency-mapping module organizing curriculum topics by difficulty, prerequisites, and concept clusters

Key Sources¶

• Bigenho, Frederick W., Jr. (1992). Conceptual Developments in Schema Theory. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED351392