THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE HOW TO USE NONVERBAL, VISUAL MATERIALS (VISUALS) IN PROMOTING THE ACQUISITION, RETENTION, AND TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE. VISUALS WERE SELECTED FOR SEVERAL LEARNING SITUATIONS WHICH REQUIRED STIMULUS-ORIENTED STUDENT RESPONSES. STUDENTS WERE REQUIRED TO PRACTICE THEIR LEARNING ACTIVITIES WITH THESE VISUALS, MAKING BOTH "CRITERION" RESPONSES, DESIGNATED BY LESSON OBJECTIVES, AND INSTRUMENTAL "INTERMEDIARY" RESPONSES NECESSARY FOR TOTAL OBJECTIVE ACQUISITION. TWO BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE VISUALS WERE IDENTIFIED--(1) THEY COULD BE USED TO CUE AND REINFORCE SPECIFIC RESPONSES, ADDING TO THE PROBABILITY OF STUDENT ACQUISITION AND RETENTION, AND (2) THEY COULD BE USED AS EXAMPLES IN ORDER TO FOSTER GENERALIZATION OF RESPONSES TO NEW SITUATIONS (TRANSFER), OR TO ESTABLISH BASIC UNDERSTANDING. (REFER TO ACCESSION NUMBERS ED 003 212 AND ED 003 213 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE ROLE OF VISUALS IN INSTRUCTION.) (JH)