Often colleges and universities that are just beginning to include technical communication in their curricula do so using faculty trained in traditional English doctorate programs. This digest examines several areas of concern for such institutions and discusses: (1) characteristics of technical communication; (2) issues in teaching technical…

A growing interest among industrial and organizational psychologists is learning how to predict and maximize trainability. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between dimensions of cognitive style and perceptual mode as well as their association with a learning style instrument, explore the relationship between field…

The success of a reading laboratory using a learning modality approach was studied. The null hypothesis that there would be no significant difference among the levels of primary learning modality, sex, and race on the posttest of reading achievement for 31 second grade students, who read below grade level was tested at the 0.05 level after the…

Experimental phenomenology requires that educators acknowledge the experiences of the learner. Today, many of those experiences are images that come from television. In a behaviorist or humanist tradition, learning takes place through experience, and learners comprehend, make decisions, and analyze their behavior through reflection. Meaning is…

Two experiments investigated the linear and nonlinear processes involved in a visual search of letter displays. The displays used in the experiments were well-illuminated 6 x 6 degree or 10 x 10 degree fields containing from 2 to 23 capital As, Bs, or Cs located randomly over the displays. The task of the subjects was to decide as rapidly as…

The primary research problem confronting many experimental researchers is finding valid stimulus (instructional) and criterial (testing) materials that operationally fit their hypotheses. Five experimental studies have been completed, and two are in progress, using the Dwyer instructional materials to address the problem of finding valid…

A discussion of an investigation of the effectiveness of viewing three types of visual presentations over different intervals of time. (Author)

In order to enhance the understanding of visual literacy, one of its constituents, visual learning (VL), is examined in terms of underlying assumptions, hypothesized behaviors, and implications of both assumptions and behaviors. Assumptions are: (1) VL encompasses all changes in behavior arising from the individual's responses to visual…

Pantomime can be used in language arts classes as a learning activity in which students observe and organize movements in a logical sequence, transforming abstract concepts into vivid images. This paper suggests three ways that teachers can use pantomime in the classroom: portraying character types, such as golfer, archer, or juggler; becoming…

Due to the importance of visual stimuli for learning, the videodisc is expected to have a major impact on education. When combined with the computer, it will greatly expand the capabilities of computer assisted instruction. There are two major types of videodisc equipment: the optical type with a laser beam to read the information from the disc,…

This study of 96 high school biology students investigates the effectiveness of visual instruction composed of simple line drawings and printed words as compared to printed-words-only instruction, visual tests, and the interaction between visual or non-visual mode of instruction and mode of testing. The subjects were randomly assigned to be given…

This paper documents and describes a new course in visual communications developed at the University of Oklahoma to serve a general college undergraduate audience. The course content which is summarized in three areas--graphics and media techniques, visual/verbal message design and delivery, and "pure visual" message design and delivery--is…

This report describes a series of studies of how children learn to operate on incoming information as it is transmitted by language or pictorial representations. Specifically, the studies examined (1) the relationship between what is known and the structure of incoming information and (2) the active operations children use in the process of…

This study focuses on the relationship between blending ability and reading comprehension among 80 prereading children from three private preschools. Three methods of instruction were tested: One group was instructed with an auditory method; the second group was instructed with an auditory-visual method; and the third group practiced the basic set…