Discusses the use of visual media as symbol systems that gather, package, and convey knowledge. Media's different and often unique symbol systems are looked at as potentially serving as cultivators of mental abilities. Forty-nine references are provided. (Author/CHC)

Discusses the prescriptive propositions underlying the analytical approach to instruction, including emphasis on the identification of valid instructional needs, use of content experts, and the accurate classification of instructional objectives in determining effective instructional strategy. (RAO)

Social context, reinforcement patterns, and cue salience are examined in field dependent and field independent learners to provide an overview of learner analysis research dealing with cognitive styles. Instructional designers are asked to investigate equivalent alternate forms of instruction for these two polar groups. Nine references are listed.…

Offers an annotated bibliography of 22 RIE entries from the ERIC database on the use of questions in the classroom and in other learning environments. (JMF)

Provides a descriptive 10-step format to be used for conveying some basic concepts of instructional technology to clients, and for focusing the consultant-client interaction, both during initial project definition and throughout project implementation. (Author/MER)

Briefly summarizes some recent advances in instructional science and indicates how this knowledge can be used to improve the instructional quality of textbooks and other instructional materials. Procedures for developing a textbook and for evaluating a textbook are provided. (Author/MER)

Reviews several development and research activities that were an out-growth of using cognitive theory to design CAI programs in spelling. A psychological theory of spelling performance was used as the conceptual basis for developing several instructional programs illustrating how a cognitive approach can strengthen lesson design strategies in CAI.…

Presents an overview of frame games developed to provide a content-free instructional structure on which can be loaded locally relevant content. Included are an analysis and comparison of selected games on the basis of eight important characteristics, overall evaluations of selected games, and advantages and disadvantages of frame games. (CMV)

Reflects on the development of instructional design, relating the progress made in task analysis, the use of taxonomies of learning outcomes, sequencing of instruction, simulation, media selection, and instructional strategies. (RAO)

Discusses the results of a three-year instructional research and theory-construction project which identified six basic areas which influence the quality of instruction, specify aspects of quality in each area, and prescribe specific methods for teachers and textbook writers to use in increasing their instructional quality. (RAO)

Describes a seven-level taxonomy intended to assist design teams to produce more generalized, flexible media to support instruction. The levels are defined as jargon and definitions, component point recognition, awareness of purpose, components of usage skill, awareness of sequences, skill performance or application of relationships, and…

Task analysis procedures are used to determine the instructional importance of job tasks, and objectives are structured directly from task analysis information. The author examines the translation of this information into instructional outcomes and the determination of the functional relationship between job tasks and instructional components. (MF)

Experiential learning packages help learners effectively attain affective, empathetic, interactive, and complex cognitive objectives, and unlearn undesirable cognitive prejudices and affective anxieties. They are recommended for vocational education in the helping professions and in instructional situations that involve internships. The beginning…

Introduces this special issue by discussing the nature of educational technology and its development in the antipodes as presented in the eight papers which follow. Topics focus on the understanding of educational technology as a systematic process--a problem-oriented approach to the design, implementation, and evaluation of educational…

The purpose of this study was to develop models that could demonstrate those relationships between factors in the instructional development process that affect the success of the overall project; however, the data generated cannot support such models at this time. Implications for developers are discussed. (Author/JEG)