It was hypothesized that high visual imagery is a liability during acquisition periods and an asset during consolidation periods of Piaget's stages of concrete and formal operations. It was also hypothesized that at all ages high imagery would be related to performance on a "spatial egocentrism" task. A sample consisting of 195 children…

A model was developed to account for similarities and differences between picture and word processing in a variety of semantic and episodic memory tasks. The model contains three levels of processing: low-level processing of the physical characteristics of externally presented pictures and words; an intermediate level where the low-level processor…

The diagnosis and treatment of early learning problems and their relation to visual development is the subject of a series of 12 articles. The optometric viewpoint expressed is that vision is learned. A child's method of organizing his world, and manifestations of his disorganized behavior, including poor early academic achievement, probably…

The reports of eight studies testing the effects of elaboration on the learning of children are compiled in this document. Mental elaboration is "thinking while learning" which occurs as the learner actively adds context to the material he is asked to process. Supplied elaboration, included in these studies, occurs when the learner is provided…

High and low achievers listened to 20 sentences under imagery or repetition instructions. The next day, learning was assessed by multiple choice items in which correct alternatives were stated in either verbatim or synonym form, and incorrect alternatives contained either familiar or new words. Implications for test construction were discussed.…

The effects of imagery instructions on fifth-graders with differing abilities were examined through within-class analysis and analysis in which class effects were allowed to have influence. In the latter analysis there were significant Aptitude X Treatment interactions with subscores derived from paired-associate tasks. Interactions were…

Visual literacy encompasses the ability to generate and make use of visual images to develop or clarify ideas, as a tool both for conveying information and for creative expression. The usefulness of visual thinking in study skills, problem solving, and living in an increasingly visual society is stressed. (Author/JDD)

Examines recent data on sex-related differences in science and mathematics achievement, discussing meta-analyses findings on attitudes, career choice, life/physical science preferences, and motivation. Indicates that spatial visualization appears to be very important and that girls more often attribute success to luck rather than skill. (DH)

An information-processing model was tested for a laboratory visualization task that represents one adaptation of a standardized spatial ability test. The pattern of results suggests that individual differences are a function of differences in the accuracy and/or quality of the mental representation, not just speed of processing. (Author/BW)

The transformation of a solid to its net is based on something quite different from simple perceptual impression. It is a mental operation performed by manipulating mental images. The aim of this study was to observe pre-service and in-service teachers' ability to visualize the transformation of a curved solid to its net and vice versa, and to try…

This activity is designed to teach about topographic maps and bathymetric charts. Students are expected to create a topographic map from a model landform, interpret a simple topographic map, and explain the difference between topographic and bathymetric maps. The activity provides learning objectives, a list of needed materials, key vocabulary…

This paper focuses on some main distinctions that are necessary to analyze mathematical knowledge from a learning point of view and explain how many students come up against difficulties at each level of the curriculum. From a learning point of view, visualization cannot be used as an immediate and obvious support for understanding, even though it…

Three-dimensional visualization skills are critically important to success in engineering careers. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the 3-D spatial visualization skills of women engineering students lag significantly behind those of their male counterparts. This paper examines gender differences in background and in visualization ability for…

This CD-ROM consists of software that allows both teachers and students to create and experiment with mathematical models by linking shapes, graphs, numbers, and equations. It is usable for demonstrations, home learning, reinforcing concepts, illustrating concepts that are difficult to visualize, further pupil investigations, and project work.…

Sixty-four subjects were presented pictures and later asked to draw them or provide one-word descriptions to test the hypothesis that decreased retention effectiveness occurs because images stored in long-term memory are accessible only through their verbal labels. Recall of pictures was significantly greater than recall of words. (Author/PN)