Pictorial Strategies for School Learning: Practical Illustrations

Abstract

In this chapter I will provide examples, taken from a variety of school learning tasks, in which the potential utility of pictorial strategies has been explored. Included in the discussion are not only examples of situations in which pictures have proven helpful, but also examples of situations in which either negligible or negative effects of pictures have emerged. Along the way, appropriate task analyses will permit reasonable accounts of the various outcomes obtained to date, as well as speculations about those that might be anticipated in the future. Special attention will be given to the language arts area and, in particular, to word recognition and prose comprehension. Throughout the chapter, use will be made of the distinctions among picture functions that I have recently proposed in the context of prose comprehension (Levin, 1981b). These "functional" distinctions will prove helpful in understanding exactly what the addition of pictures to a task may and may not be expected to accomplish.