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Expert’sEdge
The 10% Solution (for Learning) One of the most widely disseminated nostrums in education and training is the ‘‘retention chart,’’ which typically is phrased, ‘‘People generally remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear and see, 70% of what they say or write, 90% of what they say as they do a thing.’’ Where does this nostrum come from? You will see it attributed to Edgar Dale, Jerome Bruner, William Glasser, and many other sources. All these attributions are entirely bogus. The most likely author is Paul John Phillips, who prepared training materials for the petroleum industry at the University of Texas in the summers of 1939 and 1940. Phillips then spent the World War II years as a lieutenant colonel in charge of the Training Methods branch oftheOrdnanceSchool,Aberdeen Proving Ground. After the war he return ed to the University of Texas. Records at the University of Texas show that Phillips developed a mimeographed handout, ‘‘Some Training Principles’’ (TIM-151), in 1947, and this handout contains the now infamous retention chart. One of the earliest published mentions of the retention chart is by Treichler (1967), who refers to it as a well-known finding but gives no source. Treichler was affiliated with the oil company that was known as Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. prior to 1955 and Mobil Oil Corp. after 1966; hence, there are some early references to Socony-Vacuum or Mobil Oil Corp. as the sources of the percentages. Since P. J. Phillips (who died in 1950) had prepared training materials for oil industry workers, it is quite likely that Treichler encountered the percentages in the University of Texas handout. The remaining issues are whether the percentages were based on controlled experiments and whether the percentages are a literal report of the research or a rounded estimate. There are no detailed records at Aberdeen Proving Grounds documenting a systematic program of research. But it is likely that they conducted research on training methods and retention at the Ordnance School, as this would have been consistent with the work done in other training branches of the U.S. military during World War II. However,if there was research, there tention table could only be averyroughly rounded summary, for several reasons. First, it is implausible that any field research results would yield such even numbers. Second, any statistical findings would be pertinent only to some specific content, presented to a specific audience; they would not be pertinent to the retention of all knowledge in general. Third, not only is different content retained by different people at different rates, the retention rates would differ when measured by different sorts of tests. We know enough about visual and verbal learning to know that there are no simple generalizations. The retention chart is often used to encourage teachers and instructional designers to select more ‘‘active’’ instructional strategies. That’s not a bad idea, but it is a bad idea to attempt to support that practice by reference to ghost sources and oversimplified data.
PICTURES AND GRAPHICS IN INSTRUCTION
The final consideration is the use of pictures and graphics in instruction. Considerable research (e.g., Anglin, Vaez, & Cunningham, 2004) and several books (e.g., Willows & Houghton, 1987) are devoted to the study and use of pictures in instruction as well as their ability to increase motivation (Ainsworth, 1999; Peeck, 1993). In this section, we describe the effectiveness of pictures in instructional materials, the functions pictures can serve, and some general design considerations for using pictures for instruction.
Effectiveness There is a general consensus that illustrations are conducive to learning the related text information. Pictures help readers learn the text information that was illustrated (Levie & Lentz, 1982; Mayer, Hegarty, Mayer, & Campbell, 2005). The pictures neither helped nor hindered the learning of textual information that was not duplicated in the illustrations. Pictures are particularly helpful when used to show spatial relationships described in the text (Peeck, 1987). For example, in a text describing the relationship between the position

of the moon relative to the earth and sun during a lunar eclipse, a picture of these spatial relations would benefit the reader. Pictorial representations are also beneficial when used to illustrate abstract material and the main ideas in the text. However, no one type of information benefits more from illustrations than another. There are times, however, when some pictures, such as diagrams, are not always beneficial. Diagrams used to teach problem solving are most effective with students who have higher abilities and are able to generate an accurate understanding of the problem from the diagram. For these students, it is thought that the diagram aids the transition to a mental representation of the problem (Booth & Koedinger, 2011). Similarly, Moreno, Ozogul, and Reisslein (2011) suggest that inappropriate diagrams can harm problem solving. They suggest that perceptually rich diagrams, such as one of an electrical circuit that uses images of components such as light bulbs and resistors, are less effective in improving problem solving and transferring skills than are abstract representations (see Figure 8-2), such as the traditional electrical diagram using schematic symbols. Extensive research on the effectiveness of different type so f illustrations was the subject of much of Dwyer’s (e.g., 1970, 1972) work. A series of his studies focused on the use of photographs, realistic drawings, and simple line drawings in instruction. He concluded that, if the learner has limited time for viewing the illustration, as in an externally paced presentation like a video recording or lecture, then a simple line drawing tends to be most effective. If the learning environment is self-paced, then the learner is more likely to take advantage of the details in a more realistic picture such as a photograph. However, there is always the possibility that the learner may focus on inappropriate parts of an illustration with too much detail. Simply placing an illustration in the instructions,however,does not guarantee that the learner will examine the illustration and gain any benefits. Directing the learner’s attention to the illustration through prompts such as ‘‘Examine the difference...’’ is not always effective (Peeck, 1987). Researchers, however, have had more success when the learner interacts with or studies the illustration (Dean & Kulhavy, 1981; Winn & Holliday, 1982). For example, the designer might require the learner to label parts of a diagram or picture, answer questions about the picture,or trace and study a picture.Similarly,the designer might have the learner identify relevant information in the text and the picture by underlining or highlighting the information (Schlag & Ploetzner, 2011). A balance is needed between the picture and the activity, as overprompting the learner is also detrimental to learning from a picture (Winn & Holliday, 1982). Similarly, Mayer et al. (2005) found that static pictures were more effective than animations when teaching the operation of a system; they suggest that learners may need assistance in learning how to process animations to make them effective.According to Mayeretal.,the static pictures reduce dextraneous processing,which resulted in additional memory resources(i.e.,germane load)for developing an appropriate schema.

The Function of Pictures One can examine almost any textbook with pictures and see a variety of styles (e.g., simple to complex, black-and-white or color, line drawings or color drawings). On a more careful examination of the pictures and prose, one can identify pictures that serve different functions. Levin (1981) has identified five different learning functions that pictures can perform in text. He also suggested that these functions are not equal in their effects on learning.Following is a summary of his categories,with examples of how you might use each in designing instructional materials.

Decoration Pictures at the beginning of a chapter often serve no purpose other than to decorate and to signal that a new chapter is about to start (see Figure 8-3). From a publisher’s standpoint, the inclusion of these pictures increases sales by making the text appealing. An instructional designer might view the pictures as motivational for the student. Graphic designers also use decorative pictures in the text to ‘‘break up’’ the page so that it is appealing to the reader. The general idea is that a full page of text is threatening to the reader. Decorative pictures have no direct connection to the text information.

Representation When a picture is used to represent people, tools, things, or events in text or other media, it may be classified as representational. Such pictures illustrate a major portion of the important textual information (Figure 8-4). For example, a designer might use two pictures in a science unit to illustrate the difference between rotation and revolution of a planet. Representational pictures provide a concrete reference for verbal information, which makes the information easier to grasp and more meaningful to the learner. These pictures are often used in children’s books to illustrate poems, fairy tales, and stories. They are also used in technical training materials to illustrate new ideas.