An approach to cognitive development which builds upon Piagetian assumptions and methods but which takes into account specific characteristics of diverse symbol systems and media is outlined. Such an approach may account for several phenomena left unexplained by Piaget, integrate diverse strands of research, and suggest promising lines of…

The failure of research on media to deal with media's symbol systems is discussed. Nature of symbol systems is described and related to cognition and learning. Symbolic elements used by media can facilitate the cultivation of mental skills in interaction with individual differences and depth of processing. (Author/RD)

The "symbol systems approach" to the study of computers in education that is outlined avoids the pitfalls of past media research--particularly research on the effects of television on children's learning and knowledge--and asserts that media can be usefully distinguished in terms of the symbol systems they present and the kinds of…

An experiment investigated the effects of representational modes, presentation methods, and age on learning. Representation was in either iconic or symbolic verbal style, the verbal component was presented by either tape or booklet, and the pictorial component contrasted filmloops. Nine and eleven year old learners were exposed to a lesson on the…

Teaching with films has largely been limited to the attainment of the simpler educational objectives such as factual and perceptual motor skills learning. Here is an attempt to define the characteristics of filmic communication in order that it may be applied to more complex educational aims. Language and filmic symbolism are compared to…