Some instructional strategies for improved learning from distance teaching materials

In distance teaching we are usually concerned with indirect methods of interacting with learners, using for the most part, the written word. Quality of learning in distance education ought therefore to be closely related to the quality of textual materials provided to students. In this paper we examine some ways of facilitating learning at a distance. We begin by noting the current dearth of models for teaching through text and make a plea for diversity and experimentation in this area. Some traditional instructional strategies (including advance organizers, overviews, pretests, objectives and inserted questions) from the dominant approach to distance teaching are examined along with devices in typoraphy and graphics. Guidelines for their use are developed, based on research, everyday rationality, and from an embryonic conceptualization of distance learning.

[1]  J Hartley,et al.  Tables in text. , 1976, Applied ergonomics.

[2]  R. Kaplan,et al.  Effects of Grouping and Response Characteristics of Instructional Objectives When Learning from Prose. , 1976 .

[3]  P. Duchastel,et al.  Exploring Student Reactions to Inserted Questions in Text , 1980 .

[4]  Michael Macdonald-Ross,et al.  2: Graphics in Texts , 1977 .

[5]  Ernst Z. Rothkopf,et al.  Effects of interpersonal interaction on the instructional value of adjunct questions in learning from written material. , 1970 .

[6]  Richard C. Anderson,et al.  Frameworks for Comprehending Discourse , 1977 .

[7]  Elmer U. Clawson,et al.  Do Advance Organizers Facilitate Learning? Recommendations for Further Research Based on an Analysis of 32 Studies , 1975 .

[8]  Richard C. Anderson,et al.  On asking people questions about what they are reading , 1975 .

[9]  Barry J. Schwartz,et al.  Typographical Cues That Facilitate Comprehension. , 1979 .

[10]  T. Gary Waller,et al.  Mathemagenic Behaviours and Efficiency in Learning from Prose Materials: Review, Critique and Recommendations , 1976 .

[11]  Philippe C. Duchastel.  Learning Objectives and the Organization of Prose. , 1979 .

[12]  Shawn M. Glynn,et al.  Control of Prose Processing via Instructional and Typographical Cues. , 1979 .

[13]  Robert Waller,et al.  Criticism, Alternatives and Tests: A Conceptual Framework for Improving Typography , 1975 .

[14]  Charles M. Reigeluth,et al.  The structure of subject matter content and its instructional design implications , 1978 .

[15]  Ernst Z. Rothkopf,et al.  The Concept of Mathemagenic Activities1 , 1970 .

[16]  Reginald F. Melton,et al.  Resolution of Conflicting Claims Concerning the Effect of Behavioral Objectives on Student Learning , 1978 .

[17]  Ivor K. Davies,et al.  Preinstructional Strategies: The Role of Pretests, Behavioral Objectives, Overviews and Advance Organizers , 1976 .

[18]  James Hartley,et al.  Fifty Guide‐Lines for Improving Instructional Text , 1977 .

[19]  Michael Macdonald-Ross,et al.  6: Language in Texts , 1978 .

[20]  K. P. Szlichcinski,et al.  Diagrams and illustrations as aids to problem solving , 1979 .

[21]  Ralph Norman Haber,et al.  An Introduction to Psychology , 1975 .

[22]  Joseph T. Lawton,et al.  Advance Organizers as a Teaching Strategy: A Reply to Barnes and Clawson , 1977 .

[23]  P. Duchastel.  Dlustrations in Text: a Retentionai Role , 1981 .

[24]  James Hartley,et al.  Designing instructional text , 1978 .

[25]  Paul F. Merrill,et al.  The Effects of Behavioral Objectives on Learning: A Review of Empirical Studies1 , 1973 .

[26]  Patricia Wright,et al.  Presenting technical information: A survey of research findings , 1977 .

[27]  Richard E. Mayer,et al.  Can Advance Organizers Influence Meaningful Learning? , 1979 .

[28]  John A. Baath,et al.  Correspondence Education in the Light of a Number of Contemporary Teaching Models. , 1979 .

[29]  Wilbur S. Ames,et al.  A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Advance Organizers on Learning and Retention , 1980 .

[30]  Peter R. Denner,et al.  Inserted questions as aids to reading text , 1978 .

[31]  Michael Macdonald-Ross.  How Numbers are Shown: A Review of Research on the Presentation of Quantitative Data in Texts. , 1977 .

[32]  D. Ausubel,et al.  School learning;: An introduction to educational psychology , 1969 .