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LEARNING FROM TEXTBOOKS 203Information in texts and lectures is often presented linearly, one idea
at a time. Many students view academic subjects in terms of a large
number of isolated facts. No wonder little information is remembered.
Learning involves constructing meaning by combining ideas so that
relations and patterns are apparent. When students view information
solely in a linear format, they miss important relations among ideas.
One of the advantages of recognizing different organizational pat-
terns used by authors and lecturers is that it allows the reader or lis-
tener to anticipate the type of information likely to be presented. A
second advantage is that understanding how ideas and information is
organized makes it easier to remember the information. If the author’s
or lecturer’s organization patterns are understood, more of the mate-
rial will be understood and remembered (Cortina et al., 1992).
The discussion in this section is based on the work of Kiewra and
DuBois (1998), who have developed a useful approach to the represen-
tation of knowledge. They identified four different representations—
hierarchies, sequences, matrices, and diagrams—and provided suggestions
for constructing them. This information is appropriate both for learning
from reading and lectures. Kiewra and DuBois favor representations over
outlines. They believe that representations provide better comparison of
content and a more precise overview of the structure of the content than
outlines. Each of the four representations is reviewed here.Hierarchies. Hierarchies organize ideas into levels and groups. Higher
levels are more general than lower levels. Hierarchies are organized
around class-inclusion rules. These rules are based on the notion that
something is a part of or a type of something else. Examples of class
inclusion rules are the classification of reptiles as part of animals, and
neutrons as part of atoms.
Take another look at the hierarchy of minerals that was first intro-
duced in chapter 2 (Fig. 2.2). Level 1 represents the class (minerals), Level
2 includes two types of minerals (metals and stones), Level 3 includes
three types of metals and two types of stones, and Level 4 includes spe-
cific examples of each of the type of metals and stones. The number of
levels in a hierarchy can vary from one or more. It is important to reflect
all the important levels and groups in any hierarchy that is developed.
The following is an excerpt from a child psychology textbook
(Vasts, Haith, & Miller, 1992, p. 31) that will be used later in the
chapter to illustrate how sequences and matrices can be used to organ-
ize information. Read the excerpt before moving to the next section
of this chapter:Stages of Development. Piaget was a stage theorist. In his
view, all children move through the same stages of cogni-
tive development in the same order. Each stage is a quali-
tatively distinct form of functioning, and the structures that