Eye tracking is becoming increasingly popular in physics education research (PER). As technology has advanced considerably in recent years and has become more user friendly, it is anticipated that eye tracking will play an increasingly significant role in assessing student learning at the process level in future studies. The main objective of this…

In response to the wide-scale proliferation of "the cone of learning"--a fanciful retention chart confounded with Dale's Cone of Experience--the authors make four major claims debunking this fantasy and provide documentary evidence to support these claims. The first claim is that the data in the mythical retention chart do not make…

Critics have been attempting to debunk the mythical retention chart at least since 1971. The earliest critics, David Curl and Frank Dwyer, were addressing just the retention data. Beginning around 2002, a new generation of critics has taken on the illegitimate combination of the retention chart and Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience--the corrupted…

The authors are attempting to set the record straight regarding the sources frequently cited in the literature of the mythical retention chart and the corrupted Dale's Cone. They point out citations that do not actually connect with relevant works; provide correct citations of sources that are often cited erroneously; add references for overlooked…

Examines whether it is the mediator as a "product" or whether it is the "process" involved in a particular strategy that facilitates learning, concluding that neither view can be rejected. (RB)

THE EFFECT OF INCIDENTAL VISUAL STIMULI ON THE EFFICIENCY OF LEARNING FACTUAL MATERIAL BY FRESHMAN COLLEGE STUDENTS WAS INVESTIGATED. THE INVESTIGATORS DETERMINED WHETHER THE PROVISION OF INCIDENTAL STIMULI, WHEN USED TO FACILITATE LEARNING, RESULTED IN IMPROVED TEST PERFORMANCE. BRIEF, HIGH INTENSITY STIMULI, SEX DIFFERENCE, COLOR OF FOCAL…

Research on the use of eye movement indices (such as number of fixations, the average fixation duration, and saccadic movements) as a measure of cognitive processing is reviewed in this paper. Information is provided on the physiology of the eye, computer applications to eye movement study, the influence of stimulus materials and intelligence on…

This study was designed to determine whether adults' memory for pictorial and word stimuli might be differentially affected by age. Twenty female secretaries, median age 22.1, and 20 female members of a senior citizens' center, median age 69.4, were asked to learn lists of pictorial and word stimuli under free recall conditions. Eight trials were…

This summary of a program of research in children's learning describes the effects of pictures and visual imagery on children's cognitive performance. The role of individual differences is highlighted throughout the paper, as are variables which potentially limit the effects discussed. Some of the conclusions were that in a large number of…

In order to investigate learning theories, media researchers need to explore three variables: (1) the psychological requirements of a given learning task, (2) individual differences in cognitive style, and (3) specific media characteristics. It is necessary to identify the psychological processes which underlie any specific learning task in order…

A total of 152 fourth grade students participated in a study examining the effects of visual-only, verbal-only, and combined audiovisual prose presentations and different elaboration strategy conditions on student learning of abstract and concrete prose. The students saw and/or heard a short animated story, during which they were instructed to…

Analyzes effect of brain hemisphere orientation on music appreciation. Reports results from 36 left-hemisphere and 36 right-hemisphere undergraduates who responded to a musical selection verbally or visually. Finds right-hemisphere students show greater appreciation, measured by attention, understanding, and enjoyment scores. Discusses…

To determine the effect of two verbal formats (aural and visual) on learning time and performance when the instructional objective was principle learning, a standardized reading test was administered to 115 male vocational students in Grades 10-12, and 15 high reading ability students and 15 low reading ability students were randomly assigned to…