One theory of visual communication maintains three things. It holds that attention is a process for obtaining information, that it is a transaction between the visual and the viewer, and that the success of a visual communication is determined by the amount and relevance of information conveyed. Current research aims at evaluating…

This brief history of the cinema surveys the birth, development, and modern period of silent and sound films. The approach seeks out major "auteurs" of film, discusses their more artistic works, and places them in historical perspective. Commentary on the aesthetic nature of film includes speculation on the relationship of sound to…

The team who constructed this curriculum guide believed that a need exists for a flexible outline to be used in an introductory high school course in radio, television, and film. It has been structured to enable teachers to present a meaningful unit or series of units, and includes suggestions for utilizing these media of communication. The guide…

Because of the importance of television in the lives of our children--they spend more time with it than in school--it makes sense that they should learn to process the vast input from television and become knowing and active about the media. This collection of essays presents ideas by contributors outside of the "painfully vague conclusions of the…

This report documents the development of instructional objectives and accompanying measurement criteria for an elementary school art curriculum for grades 3-5. Results are from the three schools which participated in the study: an inner-city school with no special emphasis on art; a suburban school with much emphasis on art; and a transitional…

This unit is designed to enable students to advance in their ability to relate to the visual and the verbal, and to develop students' creative abilities. Phase 1 describes a method to help students recognize vagueness in writing and presents the proper use of abstractions. Phase 2 encourages an awareness of dominant or total impression in a story…

A study was devised to determine the efficacy of picture sequencing as a method of evaluating a child's interaction with a film, particularly children who are low in verbal expression. A series of five photographs were used which illustrated important points in a film about the ill effects of smoking. Subjects were selected from two primary…

One goal of this study was to investigate sex differences in facial expressiveness. The study used all possible combinations of males and females in the positions of "sender" and "observer" of the facial communication to determine which factor was responsible for the superior accuracy among females, as reported in a previous study. Another goal of…

Presentation of a methodology for instruction in reading and interpreting graphs and charts in a foreign language class. Illustrated by several demographic charts, the discussion includes an explanation of graphic semiology, several pedagogical approaches, the relationship between written text and graph and a bibliography. (Text is in French.)…

The value of visual literacy, the ability to recognize and interpret natural and manmade symbols, to a student of foreign language is stressed. Three groups of nonverbal signs--kinesic elements, environmental elements, and objects invested with a special meaning--are discussed, and methods for teaching visual literacy described. (RM)

This paper focuses on the cognitive and social functions of art and the role that art plays in communicating social and personal values. It shows how art criticism can play an important part in the education of all students by fostering critical thinking related to art history, art production, and aesthetics. (Author/JDH)

Discusses recent developments in media education that reflect the concern of teachers at all levels about the ability of students to comprehend and practice the variety of media to which they are constantly exposed and through which they develop many of their concepts of the world. (SRT)

Focusing on video technology, this discussion of integrating new electronic media into the classroom suggests ways to help students critique and use new visual technologies effectively and to develop visual literacy. (LRW)

Ivan Albright's 1929 oil-on-canvas painting called "Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida" is used as the vehicle for a senior high school art lesson designed to introduce students to symbolism, aesthetic issues, and the formal elements of painting. (JDH)

Explores the social correlates of the interpretive abilities of young children to assess televised narratives. Demonstrates negative correlations between amount of television viewed by parents and children's television comprehension, indicating that the more parents viewed television, the worse their children performed on comprehension tests.…