The Program of Systematic Evaluation (PSE), which began as an attempt to explore the instructional dimensions of multimedia, has evolved into the most comprehensive set of experimental multimedia studies exploring the varied dimensions of cognitive load theory as they relate to the design of effective and efficient visual learning environments for…

Attempts to define how the amount of realistic detail in a visualization affects subjects' achievement. (KS)

In order to investigate the relative effectiveness of specific media attributes on student performance on criterion tests, a comparison was made of the effectiveness of two levels of stimulus explicitness in visuals in facilitating student achievement on criterion tests of knowledge, comprehension, and total understanding. Subjects were 171…

To assist educators to develop improved instructional television presentations, research is needed to assess the instructional effects of stimuli emitted by various types of visual illustrations. (IR)

Argues that the use of visuals specifically designed to complement printed instruction can significantly improve student achievement of certain types of educational objectives, but that visualization itself represents only a mild rehearsal strategy which will not always optimize student achievement of the more complex levels of learning. (RS)

Effective use of visual illustration entails consideration of specific instructional purposes, method of presentation, student characteristics, type of objectives, and cuing techniques. (LS)

This study examines the effects of four different types of visuals used with television, slide-tape, and programed instruction (printed booklet) presentation. The same script was used with simple line drawings, detailed shaded drawings, photographs of a heart, and photographs of a heart model. In general, results favored programed instruction.…

The effectiveness of elaborate visual cueing and reduced step size (i.e., increasing the number of visual cues) in facilitating student achievement on different instructional tasks was examined. The hypothesis proposed that instructional treatments utilizing reduced step size and elaborate visual cueing alone and in combination would be superior…

The instructional effectiveness of integrating abstract and realistic visualization was studied using five types of visualization, three levels of general ability and two modes of instruction. The dependent variable was performance on a four-part criterion test representing five different types of instructional objectives, which was administered…

The instructional effectiveness and efficiency of organizational chunking and batched postquestions within the framework of an information processing approach to learning and memory were investigated. Results indicated that the chunked treatment was a more efficient learning strategy. The intervening postquestion strategy helped reduce completion…

From a research program to identify the types of visual materials that would be most effective in helping industrial education students to learn from different instructional formats, the author concludes that the effectiveness of visualized instruction depends upon the type of visual used, the method of instruction, student characteristics, and…

The program of systematic evaluation of variables associated with visual learning was initiated in 1965 to investigate the impact of variables linked to effective, efficient use of instructional visual materials. A prototype experimental package, containing a specific unit of cognitive content, learner achievement objectives, four individual…

This study investigated the effects of (1) verbal instruction alone vs. verbal instruction complemented by simple line drawings; (2) visual testing vs. nonvisual testing; (3) verbal cueing vs. free recall on achievement; and (4) order of testing on subsequent achievement. Interactions among type of instruction, type of testing, and order of…