This paper discusses two related areas in which recent advancements in cognitive science and educational technology may affect instructional design theory. These are: (1) the analysis of information-to-be-learned; and (2) the linkage of learning theory to instructional prescriptions. The first area proposes extensions to current methods of…

This guide is designed to promote discussion of any photograph with students, whether encountered in the classroom, in textbooks, or in other school materials. The guide contains a one-page handout which uses Dorothea Lange's photograph "White Angel Breadline" to discuss 10 photographic elements: aesthetic elements, punctum, title,…

Findings of a 2-year study of school-community communications are presented in this report, which analyzes the content and style of district-to-community written communiques and offers suggestions for improvement. Methodology involved document analysis of 594 written communiques from the central office and one elementary, middle, and high school…

Metadiscourse can be classified into two types: informational and attitudinal. Informational metadiscourse directs readers to an understanding of the primary message by referring to its content and structure or to the author's purposes or goals. Attitudinal metadiscourse directs readers to an understanding of the author's perspective toward the…

Through an analysis of the products of the radical press, this paper presents the rhetorical outlines of a cultural history of the 1930s. Following an overview of the "reportage" of the radical press, the paper focuses on that medium's rhetoric, specifically its conscious and unconscious use of religious symbolism. Among the publications…

An investigation of structural aspects of television messages focused on the interaction between structure and content in the creation of meaning. A preliminary study using quantitative data analyzed 137 television news stories from the commercial networks on the fighting in El Salvador to determine how structural elements were used by…

The inadequacies of the report by the Commission of Inquiry into High School Journalism are reported here, and some sources of help for those concerned with secondary school journalism are cited. (Editor)

Introduction: We explored Harris and Dewdney's principle that people follow habitual patterns when seeking everyday information along with Pettigrew's notion of information grounds. Method: A telephone survey of 612 urban-rural residents was conducted regarding their needs for health and human services in partnership with the United Way of…

A content analysis of the literature on leadership in colleges and universities and on selection, retention, and attrition of college students, especially minority students, was conducted. It is concluded that elegant questions about the structures and processes of higher education have been asked and answered, but provide little guidance in…

An instrument to assist in assessing textbooks was created to provide a concise format for comparison and evaluation. Textbook characteristics were selected to illustrate content and proportion of characteristics of textbooks. Nine textbook characteristics were selected for quantifying the content areas of textbooks: (1) number of pages in the…

Based on the findings of a content analysis of representative literature on educational technology, this report examines the trends and issues in the field, beginning in 1988 and continuing into 1989. It is noted that trend analysis, particularly year-to-year analysis which reveals less variability than decade-to-decade analysis, reveals topics of…

Focusing on conversational stories of personal experience (SPEs), this paper explores the narrative skills of preschool-aged black children in a low-income, urban community. Although linguistic and anthropological work attest to a flourishing tradition of story telling among black adults, little is known about the ways in which children become…

A study analyzed the effects of instruction in an introduction to public relations class on student perceptions of contrasting public relations communication styles. Two standard models, the traditional scales of family communication patterns and J. E. Grunig's triangular model of public relations objectives, were adapted for the study. A content…

There are thousands of alternative media outlets in the United States. By definition, they differ from the mainstream dominant media. The idea that the media represent and promulgate societal values is widely held. While not monolithic, the dominant media which grew alongside mass industrialization share an overriding bias. The dominant media…

After summarizing the widespread occurrence and male orientation of television beer advertising, this paper describes a study of the thematic content of beer commercials. Two-hundred and six beer advertisements which appeared on WTBS, the USA Network, and ESPN between September 1983 and September 1985 were studied. Event-specific ads and those in…