Describes two studies that examined the nature of Japanese elementary and junior high school students' perceptions of different media, the effect of teachers on these perceptions, and the relationship between perceptions and student learning. The studies of fifth graders and eighth graders also addressed gender and class differences. (Contains…

Two studies examine the nature of Japanese elementary school and junior high school students' preconceptions about media, the effects of teachers on these preconceptions, and the effect of such preconceptions on learning from instruction in multimedia situations. In the first study, 109 fifth graders reported their preconceptions toward watching…