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…

In a study of mathematics learning, taking a rule-oriented approach, students were taught to trade objects of type A for objects of types B and C. Children ranging from ages 7 to 9 were given rules for converting A to B and B to C and were then presented with the task of converting A to C. Of the 30, 6 succeeded. Of the 24 who failed, half were…

Sixty-six goals, mostly involving symbolic representation and cognitive processes, were evaluated to indicate those aspects of the summative research on Sesame Street that were bases for generalizing about research into the development of preschoolers. Unintended and intended outcomes were investigated as well as the program's effectiveness for…