David Ausubel developed Meaningful Learning Theory, which posits that meaningful learning occurs when new information is related to an individual's existing cognitive structure through non-verbatim incorporation into relevant aspects of their knowledge. Ausubel proposed four processes for meaningful learning: derivative subsumption, correlative subsumption, superordinate learning, and combinatorial learning. According to Ausubel, meaningful learning is facilitated when instructors present general ideas before specific ones, integrate new and old ideas, use advance organizers, and focus on similarities and differences with examples.

1. David Ausubel
Meaningful Learning Theory

2. Biography
 Born: October 25, 1918
 Died: July 9, 2008
 Grew up in Brooklyn, New York
 He graduated from medical school at
Middlesex University.
 Later he earned a Ph.D in Developmental
Psychology at Columbia University.
 He was influenced by the work of Piaget.

3. • In 1973, Ausubel retired from academic life and
devoted himself to his psychiatric practice.
• In 1976, he received the Thorndike Award from
the American Psychological Association for
"Distinguished Psychological Contributions to
Education".

4. Meaningful Learning Theory
 Concerned with how
students learn large
amounts of meaningful
material from
verbal/textual
presentations in a
learning activities.
 Meaningful learning
results when new
information is acquired
by linking the new
information in the
learner’s own cognitive
structure
 Learning is based on the
representational,
superordinate and
combinatorial processes
that occur during the
reception of information.
 A primary process in learning
is subsumption in which new
material is related to relevant
ideas in the existing cognitive
structure on a non-verbatim
basis (previous knowledge)

5. The processes of meaningful
learning:
 Ausubel proposed four processes by which
meaningful learning occur:
Derivative Subsumption
Correlative Subsumption
Superordinate Learning
Combinatorial Learning

6. Meaningful Learning Theory
 Describes the
situation in which
the new information
pupils learn is an
instance or example
of a concept that
pupils have already
learned.
 More valuable
learning than that of
derivative
subsumption, since
it enriches the
higher-level concept.
Derivative
Subsumption
Correlative
Subsumption

7. Meaningful Learning Theory
 In this case, you
already knew a lot of
examples of the
concept, but you did
not know the
concept until it was
taught to pupils
 It describes a process
by which the new idea
is derived from
another idea that is
comes from his
previous knowledge
(in a different, but
related, “branch”)
 Students could think
of this as learning by
analogy
Superordinate
Learning
Combinatorial
Learning

8. Principles of Ausubel’s Meaningful
Reception Learning Theory
Within a classroom setting include:
 The most general ideas of a subject should be
presented first and then progressively differentiated
in terms of detail and specificity.
 Instructional materials should attempt to integrate
new material with previously
presented information through comparisons and
cross-referencing of new and old
ideas.

9. Principles of Ausubel’s Meaningful
Reception Learning Theory
 Instructors should incorporate advance organizers
when teaching a new concept.
 Instructors should use a number of examples and
focus on both similarities and differences.
 Classroom application of Ausubel's theory should
discourage rote learning of materials that can be
learned more meaningfully.
 The most important single factor influencing
learning is what the learner already knows.

14. Summary
 For Ausubel, meaningful learning is a process that
related new information relevant to the concepts
contained in a person’s cognitive structure.
 In order to be meaningful to students ‘learning,
then learning should be linked and relevant to
students’ cognitive structures.
 Relevance to students’ cognitive structures can
happen when we pay attention to early knowledge
of the concepts that preceded the concept to be
learned.

15. Summary
 It is important for students to construct
knowledge through learning.
 The essential theory of meaningful learning is
a teaching which Ausubel enables students
can associate the beginning of knowledge with
new knowledge that will learn and how
teachers can facilitate learning by preparing
the facility as a presentation of the subject
matter which allows students to build
knowledge in discovery learning activities.