Educational Advance Organizers: A Bridge to Effective Learning

Abstract

Background: Instructional advance organizers are tools that help learners to learn and understand educational materials better. This study aimed to investigate the role of explanatory and visual advance organizers on the learning of health workers working in the Shirvan city health center.Method: This study was conducted as an interventional (quasi-experimental) study in health houses covered by the Shirvan County Health Center in 2023. The required sample was 120 staff entered the study using the census of the entire population and were randomly divided equally into three groups. In the two intervention groups, education was provided by the method of explanatory and visual advance organizers, and in the control group, education was provided in the form of lectures. Post-test questions were reviewed by five specialists in medical education, general practitioners, and infectious diseases.Results: Demographic variables in pre-test and post-test scores were not statistically significantly different except for marital status which had a statistically significant relationship with pre-test scores and educational status of individuals with diplomas with pre-test and post-test scores. There was a statistically significant relationship and difference in post-test scores in all three groups (P=0.00).Conclusion: Advance organizers help learners activate their prior knowledge and connect it with new knowledge. In addition, they can lead to meaningful learning, facilitate and increase motivation in learning. The group that was trained using visual advance organizers had significantly higher average learning scores than the other two groups.