Showing papers in "Educational Technology Research and Development in 1953"

A theoretical orientation for instructional film research

Abstract: The objective of the Indstructional Film Research Program is to discover facts and principles for increasing the effectiveness of the instructional sound motion picture for rapid mass training. Quantitative methodology and statistical techniques are extensively used to assay and measure the effects of film presentations. It is assumed that effects are revealed in terms of changes in the behavior of subjects. An important requirement of film research is the controlled production of experimental film variables and versions for comparative test purposes.

Professionalizing the audio-visual field

Abstract: In summary, then, of the six criteria set forth in this paper; (a) intellectual technique, (b) application of technique to practice, (c) long training period, (d) association of members with a high quality of communication, (e) a series of standards and an enforced statement of ethics, and (f) an organized body of intellectual theory constantly expanding by research, audio-visual personnel meet only the first and second completely. The fourth and fifth are met to a degree which is not satisfactory but which is improving. And the third and sixth tests rate such low scores that failure is the only possible grade. This adds up, in the opinion of the writer, to the simple stated fact thatthe audio-visual field is not yet a profession.

Television and education: a review of research

Abstract: The existing research on television of interest to educators was analyzed and found to be grouped into four general categories: (a) studies of the general social effects of television, (b) content analyses, (c) studies of the educational effects of television, and (d) technical studies. Studies in each of these four categories were reviewed and generalizations drawn from them. No attempt was made to review related research that is, no doubt, applicable to the problems of television. For example, the vast amount of research information developed in the audio-visual field during the past 30 years was not touched. Future investigators will find that the existing television research and the existing audio-visual research provide only a sketch map of the field of audio-visual communication. To use these important instruments wisely, and this is particularly true of television, it is necessary that we know and understand much more. This is the challenge for future research.

Presenting information in diagrams

Abstract: The following general conclusions may then be drawn: 1. Presenting factual information in diagrams, and even in pictorial charts, does not ensure that it will be understood and remembered any better than presenting it in tables of figures, altho greater interest may be created. 2. Special training is required to enable people to understand diagrams and make use of them properly. 3. The more complex and unfamiliar the information, the concepts, and ideas which it involves, the less likely are people to understand it, irrespective of the particular type of diagram used. 4. Certain sets of data, however, are shown best by certain types of diagram. 5. People usually understand diagrams better when they are accompanied by verbal explanation than when they are presented alone. 6. The best form of verbal explanation is given by a simple coherent logical argument. But readers require special training to enable them to utilize the graphical material effectively, that is to say, to recognize that it demonstrates the particular facts upon which the generalizations of the argument are based.

What does it mean to communicate

Abstract: The launching of this Audio-Visual Communication Review is a sign that we are seriously interested in audio-visual research and communication. We are concerned with communication; we are interested in the answer to the question, "What does it mean to communicate?" I should like to present several ideas on this topic, not with the certainty that I am right, but rather with the notion that these are worth thinking about, not only as we launch a journal, but also as we carry forward our own professional activities. As I think about the effectiveness of audio-visual materials, I find that reading and thinking about theories of communication are one of my most fruitful methods of evaluation. In short, I ask myself: "What broad theories of communication can I operate under which will be most helpful to me as a writer, a speaker, a teacher, a member of a discussion group, a research worker?" I find John Dewey especially helpful at this point and I read again and again certain excerpts from Democracy and Education. Indeed, much of the material in this book seems to bear especially on the problem of communication. I find Mind, Self and Society by George H. Mead provocative. In the introduction to this book, Charles W. Morris says: "Man is essentially the role-taking animal. The calling out of the same response in both the self and the other gives the common content necessary for communication of meaning." Dewey, Mead, and many others who hold similar ideas say to me that if you can put yourself in the other fellow's shoes while you are talking to him and react to your own words, you are likely to communicate. In other words, communication thrives in a mood of mutuality. Communication, like good human relations, is simply the ability to take the other fellow into account while you are talking or acting. Communication, thus, is not merely interaction. A dog and a cat can interact but they cannot communicate because they have no way of putting them-

Determinants of audience reaction to a training film

Abstract: This exploratory study by Charles F. Hoban raises two challenging and unique hypotheses. Whereas, in the past, we have been inclined to consider audience involvement in an instructional film as a function of audience status at the time, this experiment presents evidence that points to audience aspiration as the determining factor. Dr. Hoban, previously at Catholic University and in the Army Pictorial Service Division, is now associated with the University of Pennsylvania.

Perception research and audio- visual education

Abstract: The experiments in perception are assuming greater importance to audiovisual educators. Dr. Norberg briefly summarizes the demonstrations at the Hanover Institute and points out their implications for audio-visual instruction. Some challenging questions regarding "concrete" and "abstract" learning are raised. The author was Director of the Audio-Visual Center, University of Chicago, when this paper was written. He is now Associate Professor of Educat on and Coordinator of Audio-Visual Services, Sacramento State College, California.

Determinants of audience reaction: status

Abstract: Among the factors that influence behavior in group situations is that of status. Status is the position of the individual in the structure of the group or community. This article reports some data, gathered in inservice film evaluation studies of the Signal Corps, on the influence of status on audience reactions to training films. Film research has, on the whole, followed the safe, classical, and sometimes sterile constructs of learning theory, and the vested procedures of teaching and training. It has tended to shy away from the dynamics of interaction of the audience with what is represented on the screen. Consequently, little is known of the influence of status on audience reactions to a-v communication.

Qualitative aspects of gain on achievement tests

Abstract: The basic questions involved in this investigation were the effect of initial standing and item difficulty on the gain established on final over initial measures in achievement testing. The hypotheses were advanced that the use of gain discriminated against bright students on two counts; first, by limiting possibility for gain and second, that equal gains might really represent different levels of performance. It has been shown that the use of a measure of achievement, the effectiveness index, which is independent of initial standing, shows a higher positive correlation with intelligence than the correlation obtained between gain and intelligence. The use of partial correlation to hold the factor of initial standing constant raised the relation found between gain and intelligence in 11 out of 12 cases, indicating that the higher initial standing of brighter students tended to limit their performance. Further, it has been shown that the gain of bright students tends to be established on more difficult items. In addition, the film apparently facilitated the success of students with above average intelligence on difficult items since the relationship found between intelligence and gain or nongain on test items was markedly higher in experimental than in control sections. To the extent that the gains made on the tests employed in this investigation are representative of gains made on achievement tests in general, in pretest and posttest situations, it may be concluded that bright students are discriminated against when gain is the measure of performance. The bright students must overcome the twin difficulties of establishing their gain on more difficult items in competition with students who havemore items on which improvement, i.e., gain, may be established. It is obvious that groups and individuals differing widely in their initial performance on tests should not be compared using gain as a criterion unless there is some compensation for these factors.