Difference recall protocols for technical texts due to advance organizers

In 2 experiments, 108 undergraduates read a text concerning a new computer programming language, with an advance organizer given either before or after reading. On a subsequent recall test, there were different patterns of performance. The "before" group scored high on recall of conceptual idea units, produced more appropriate intrusions, and made more novel inferences; the "after" group scored higher on recall of technical idea units and produced more inappropriate intrusions, connectives, and vague summaries. Results support the idea that the locus of the effect was at encoding rather than retrieval and favor an assimilation encoding theory. (31 ref)