Advance organizers have been shown to be very important in helping students learn, remember, and interrelate material they have studied. A preview of the material to be studied and learned forms a broad framework of prior knowledge upon which new knowledge and understanding can be built. Not everything is of equal importance. Objectives help focus on the more important information. In most cases objectives are provided by teachers.
Some textbooks contain learning objectives.
Other times learning objectives may not be explicit, and you will need to determine what is important to learn. Frequently instructors structure their lectures and handout materials much like a textbook with heading and subheadings that will tell you what is important. After you identify a topic or concept that is important, ask a series of questions about the topic or concept, that, when fully answered, will provide essential information necessary to understand the topic or concept. Understanding the pattern of organization of information is an important guide to learning the information. Common patterns of organization are given below.