In the assessment of aural skills of second language learners, the study of the inclusion of visual stimuli has almost exclusively been conducted in the context of listening assessment. While the inclusion of contextual information in test input has been advocated for by numerous researchers (Ockey, 2010), little has been said regarding the…

College students viewed a short multimedia PowerPoint presentation consisting of 16 narrated slides explaining lightning formation (Experiment 1) or 8 narrated slides explaining how a car's braking system works (Experiment 2). Each slide appeared for approximately 8-10 s and contained a diagram along with 1-2 sentences of narration spoken in a…

College students read, listened to, or viewed a presentation about the library. Some presentations included cartoons. Results suggest that the printed text without cartoons is just as effective as cartoons or audiovisual presentations. If enjoyment is a factor, cartoons or audiovisual presentations should be considered. (Author/JEG)

Thirty normal geriatric individuals, who had been randomly assigned to one of three feedback modes, were instructed to produce a phrase at slow, average, and fast speaking rates. Results suggest that visual-verbal and verbal-quantitative feedback lead to significantly better performance than verbal-qualitative feedback, particularly when the task…

Fourteen groups of college students were shown a 30-minute film, introducing an assembly kit, in one of seven versions of visual-narrative overlap. For best associative recall of object names, results indicated visuals should be presented before or simultaneously with text in dual-media presentations. (Author/BS)

In a series of four experiments, subjects used scales of loudness, pitch, and brightness to evaluate the meanings of a variety of synesthetic metaphors--expressions in which words or phrases describing experiences proper to one sense modality transfer their meaning to another modality. (Author/PN)

Effectiveness of two versions of computer software used as an electronic blackboard to present geometric concepts to ninth grade students was compared. The experimental version incorporated color, animation, and nonverbal sounds as stimuli; the no-stimulus version was monochrome. Both immediate and delayed learning were significantly better for…

This study investigated the use of word-visuals to aid university students' recall by examining relationships that exist among levels of learners' recall resulting from different presentation modes; between levels of field-dependent and field-independent learners' recall; and between levels of field-dependent and field-independent learners' recall…

The NCTM Standards encourages teachers and students to explore multiple approaches and representations when engaging in mathematical activities. The activities in the "Your Better Half" investigation engage students in the understanding of the commonly used fraction half by using the set and the area model and it is found that using real-world…

Describes two experiments conducted with undergraduate students to determine effects of field dependence/independence on visual characteristics and presentation modes. The first studied content information recall from still projected visuals of different sizes and types of illustrations; the second studied visual-location task performance and…

This investigation evaluated performance of university students on visual and nonvisual versions of an achievement test. Two experimental designs assessed the effects and interactions between visual and nonvisual instructional modes, order of drawing test (before or after verbal/visual achievement test), and mode of drawing test (verbal cued or…

This study, involving a 10-year-old child with cerebral palsy and autism, found that the use of headphones resulted in an increase in on-task behavior whether stimuli were presented in an audiovisual mode, an audio-only mode, or a visual-only mode. Preference was for the auditory only or the mixed audiovisual stimuli. (DB)

Visualized braille was presented on closed circuit television (CCTV) to six blind tactile braille reading subjects (ages 12-50). Results supported cross-modal transfer of learning from tactile to visual modality. After intensive visual training, these subjects could discriminate visual forms and read ordinary print using the CCTV. (Author/BS)

This study investigated effects of rehearsal strategies and immediate test formats on delayed retention and effectiveness of visualization on material acquisition and retrieval. Findings indicate different rehearsal methods have different effects in facilitating delayed retention. Information acquisition is facilitated by visualization, although…