The class of media characteristics, which is generic to them and which may be of potentially great relevance to learning, is the way in which media select, highlight, structure, and present information, i.e., their "languages" or symbol systems. How, if at all, and why do symbol systems, in general, differentially relate to cognition and learning?…

This paper develops a theoretical context for the concept that visual literacy involves a specific type of information processing that has been discussed in the literature on symbolism and epistemology for a number of years. Literacy is discussed first, as a general process of information processing involving the generation of knowledge through…

This study explored the relationship between symbolic representation in dramatic play and art and cognitive and reading readiness levels of kindergarten children. Results indicated children at different cognitive levels performed significantly differently on the Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test and spent significantly different amounts of time…

The possible use of a calendar algorithm was assessed in DBC, an autistic "savant" of normal measured intelligence. Testing of all the dates in a year revealed a random distribution of errors. Re-testing DBC on the same dates one year later shows that his errors were not stable across time. Finally, DBC was able to answer "reversed" questions that…

The nature, essence, and power of thought and speech in Navajo ideology are discussed. Emphasis is given to speech and thought in the context of ritual. (SCC)

According to S. K. Langer, people create meaning through presentational and discursive symbolism. Presentational symbolism, Langer suggests, is an abstracted sense of experienced life, while discursive symbolism is a series of subordinating or coordinating positions that set in motion the relation of ideas and permits the discussion of causation.…

A UNIT ON EFFECTIVE THINKING, WITH THE EXPERIMENTAL FOCUS ON INFLUENTIAL THINKING, WAS PREPARED AND TESTED. A TEXT, "EFFECTIVE THINKING," WAS PREPARED. AN INEXPERIENCED TEACHER USED THE TEXT IN A NINE WEEK COURSE WITH SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS. ONLY A POST-TEST CONTROL GROUP DESIGN WAS USED. THE TWO FACTORS STUDIED WERE TREATMENT AND SEX.…

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)

To explore how readers create textual meanings or interpretations from written materials, a study that investigated reading from a semiotic perspective was conducted. The study's design was based on the principle of prior ethnography and employed data collection techniques common to field studies: participant/intervention and interviewing.…

The word-learning ability of 12 school-age subjects with moderate or severe mental retardation was assessed. Subjects used the System for Augmenting Language with visual-graphic symbols for communication. Ability to fast map novel symbols was found to relate to symbol achievement status. Implications for vocabulary acquisition by youth with mental…

This study is designed to help provide an understanding of the role semiosis plays in information processes. The object of study is the structure of various types of signs, and a determination of the relationship between sign structure and information properties. A review of the theory of sign structure is followed by an examination of syntactic…

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…

Based on the more general principle that all thinking (including reasoning) is basically perceptual in nature, the author proposes that visual perception is not a passive recording of stimulus material but an active concern of the mind. He delineates the task of visually distinguishing changes in size, shape, and position and points out the…

This document presents some of the major challenges facing Developmental Psychologists. Research revealed that middle class children tended to respond in classification tasks to objects and pictures as equivalents, whereas low class black children tended not to do so. The reason for this was investigated. This investigation of the course of…