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The effects of a segmented presentation applied to a visually structured text were examined in the context of the explosion of small-screen devices. Empirical research investigating the influence of text signaling on text processing suggests that the text visual structure may influence comprehension by facilitating the construction of a coherent text representation. Undergraduate students were asked to read a text under different segmented conditions varying on the type of information provided about the text visual structure and on the segmentation unit. When the segmented presentation did not supply any information or when it only offered local information about the text ...

To determine whether standardized instructions enhance communication of discharge information, we provided 197 parents of children in whom otitis media was diagnosed with one of three types of instruction at the time of discharge from a pediatric emergency department: (1) instruction by individual housestaff and medical students after consultation with an attending physician (control group); (2) standardized verbal instructions given by housestaff and students trained in their use (verbal group); or (3) the same instructions given to the verbal group, together with a typewritten copy of the information to take home (verbal + written group). Prior to leaving the emergency ...

In two experiments, we attempted to analyze the effects of newspaper article headlines and summaries on final comprehension and recall. During the first experiment, the participants consisted of 117 high school students from the 9th grade, 68 from the 11th grade, 79 first year Psychology students from the Autonoma University of Madrid and 66 fifth year Journalism students from the Complutense University of Madrid. The subjects were randomly required to read a news report in one of the following experimental conditions: (1) the whole news article (headline, summary and text), (2) the headline and text, (3) the summary and text, ...

Two experiments investigated alternatives to split-attention instructional designs. It was assumed that because a learner has a limited working memory capacity, any increase in cognitive resources required to process split-attention materials decreases resources available for learning. Using computer-based instructional material consisting of diagrams and text, Experiment 1 attempted to ameliorate split-attention effects by increasing effective working memory size by presenting the text in auditory form. Auditory presentation of text proved superior to visual-only presentation but not when the text was presented in both auditory and visual forms. In that case, the visual form was redundant and imposed a cognitive load that ...

The aims of this research were to investigate the ways in which students in primary and secondary schools process texts and accompanying visual aids and to ascertain any developmental patterns. Think-aloud protocols were gathered from 119 Grade 5, Grade 7 and Grade 9 students while they read and studied grade-appropriate History and Science materials which contained both text and visual aids (tables, diagrams). Analyses of the think-aloud protocols yielded over 50 different processes, subsumed under 10 major categories. While the History results showed no reliable grade differences in the 10 think-aloud categories, the Science results showed developmental differences. Older students ...

Background: Australian epidemiologists have recognised that lay readers have difficulty understanding statistical graphs in reports on population health. This study aimed to provide evidence for graph design improvements that increase comprehension by non-experts. Methods: This was a double-blind, randomised, controlled trial of graph-design interventions, conducted as a postal survey. Control and intervention participants were randomly selected from telephone directories of health system employees. Eligible participants were on duty at the listed location during the study period. Controls received a booklet of 12 graphs from original publications, and intervention participants received a booklet of the same graphs with design modifications. A questionnaire with ...

While low-literacy consumers rely heavily on pictorial information when making market-based decisions, they also do attempt to read relevant information. When the advertisement picture and text are aligned, so too should be the conclusions low-literacy consumers draw. We ask what happens when the pictures and accompanying text are incongruent. Results of an experiment indicate that low-literacy consumers misinterpreted an advertisement with text-picture incongruity more regularly than did high-literacy consumers. Furthermore, low-literacy consumers demonstrated errors in comprehension that reflect picture-based processing. However, despite comprehension differences between low- and high-literacy consumers, attitudes toward the advertisement did not differ. ...

This study investigated the effects of presentation format (animation, still graphics, text) and the students’ prior knowledge on learning a computer-based physics lesson. A total of 357 eighth-grade (novice learners) and ninth-grade students (experienced learners) were randomly assigned to different treatments on a class basis. A 3 x 2 ANCOVA (Animation/Still graphics/Text x Novice/Experienced) (controlled by covariants, physics and mathematics scores) was used to determine the effect of these two variables. The significant interaction effect found between presentation format and prior knowledge in both descriptive and procedural learning (p < 0.05 and p < 0.005, respectively) reveals that the use ...

Within the framework of cognitive learning theories, instructional design manipulations have primarily been investigated under tightly controlled laboratory conditions. We carried out two experiments, where the first experiment was conducted in a restricted system-paced setting and is therefore in line with the majority of empirical studies in the learning sciences. However, the second experiment was done in an ecologically more valid classroom setting, with students working at their own pace with the instructional material embedded in a professional hypermedia learning environment. Both dealt with the same topic in the domain of biological education, namely the structure and functioning of the enzyme ...

Within the framework of cognitive learning theories, instructional design manipulations have primarily been investigated under tightly controlled laboratory conditions. We carried out two experiments, where the first experiment was conducted in a restricted system-paced setting and is therefore in line with the majority of empirical studies in the learning sciences. However, the second experiment was done in an ecologically more valid classroom setting, with students working at their own pace with the instructional material embedded in a professional hypermedia learning environment. Both dealt with the same topic in the domain of biological education, namely the structure and functioning of the enzyme ...