Incidental and relevant learning with instructional objectives.

Improving Comprehension for Jury Instructions

“…When given instructions as to what material they are expected to learn, people will learn it more effectively by concentrating on the relevant material and paying less attention to irrelevant material. This effect has been shown empirically with many different types of materials and in many situations (Dawley & Dawley, 1974;Duchastel & Brown, 1974;Kaplan & Rothkopf, 1973;Marton & Sandquist, 1972;Mechanic, 1962;Meunier, Kestner, Meunier, & Ritz, 1974;Wolk, 1974;Wolk & Du Cette, 1974;Postman & Adams, 1957;Zerdy, 1971). If jurors knew what is relevant to their verdict at the beginning of a trial, they would be better able to focus in on relevant evidence as it is being presented, and later remember it.…”

Relevance and Goal-Focusing in Text Processing

“…Examples of specific relevance instructions include reading to answer pre-reading questions or objectives (Duchastel & Brown, 1974;Duell, 1974;Frase & Kreitzberg, 1975;Gagne & Rothkopf, 1975;Kaplan, 1974;Kaplan & Rothkopf, 1974;McCrudden et al, 2005;Peeck, 1970;Reynolds, Trathen, Sawyer, & Shepard, 1993;Rothkopf & Billington, 1975a,b, 1979Rothkopf & Kaplan, 1972, 1978, use of inserted questions (Lapan & Reynolds, 1994;Lorch, Lorch, Gretter, & Horn, 1987a;Reynolds, 1992;Reynolds & Anderson, 1982;Reynolds, Standiford, & Anderson, 1979;Rickards & Di Vesta, 1974;Rothkopf & Billington, 1974;Shavelson, Berliner, Ravitch, & Loeding, 1974;Swenson & Kulhavy, 1974;van den Broek, Tzeng, Risden, Trabasso, & Basche, 2001), and answering explanatory "why" questions (van den Broek et al, 2001;Ozgungor & Guthrie, 2004;Seifert, 1993Seifert, , 1994Willoughby, Wood, Desmarais, Sims, & Kalra, 1997;Willoughby, Wood, & Khan, 1994). Pre-reading questions or objectives are examined prior to reading whereas inserted questions are interspersed throughout a text.…”

A framework for incorporating orienting activities in computer-based interactive video

“…Specific objectives are often used to orient the learner to relevant material, while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of detracting attention from intended information (Duchastel & Brown, 1974). To the extent that intended learning of defined, specific lesson detail and information is required, specific statements such as those provided via objectives are often appropriate.…”

“…In a review of objectives as orienting activities, Melton (1978) cited several studies where increased intended learning paired with decreased incidental learning were reported when behavioral objectives were presented prior to learning. (See also Duchastel, 1972;Morse & Tillman, 1972;Rothkopf & Kaplan, 1972, 1974 The implications of this research for the design of orienting activities is noteworthy. Activities should be designed that optimize the learning of both intended lesson content and the contextual knowledge that aids both encoding and retrieval.…”