The use of cognitive psychology in the development and evaluation of textbooks |
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| Authors: | Ellen D Gagné Michael S Bell |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Educational Psychology , University of Georgia , Athens, Georgia, 30602;2. University of Georgia , |
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| Abstract: | The major memory representations produced by reading a textbook chapter are described. These include (a) single propositions, (b) integrations and elaborations of two or more propositions, and (c) a chapter summary. Research that bears on each of these aspects of memory for textbook information is used to select 15 dimensions for evaluating a textbook's potential for facilitating representations in memory. These dimensions are then quantified for samples from three educational psychology textbooks. The dimensions appear to be useful for evaluating a text's strengths and weaknesses. |
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