Some subscribers to TIPS and TeachEdPsych might be interested in a post "More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention #3" [Hake (2010)]. The abstract reads:
*************************************** ABSTRACT: In response to my post "Re: More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention" [which called attention to the article "Fortune Favors the Bold (and the Italicized): Effects of Disfluency on Educational Outcomes" by Oppenheimer et al. (2010)], EDDRA2's Keith Baker made some points upon which I commented in "Re: More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention #2." In response to the latter post, SCListserv's Owen White wrote (paraphrasing): "Wikipedia has an article on the readability and legibility of typography at <http://bit.ly/cgrVQe>. . . . I'd always been taught that serif fonts (e.g., Times Roman -- fonts with little 'tails' at the ends of letters) is better for 'body text' since it provides more clues to critical distinctions; lower case 'l', for example, in contrast to upper case 'I' -- can you tell the difference in this sans-serif font?" Similarly, JourNet's Gerald Grow had questioned Oppenheimer et al.'s designation of certain fonts as "easy" and "hard" to read in response to "Re: More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention." Grow wrote (paraphrasing): "At the link <http://longleaf.net/hardtype.pdf> I've posted some text set in type similar to that used in the study -- passages set in 16-point Arial, 12-point Comic Sans at 75%, and 12-point Didot (I didn't have the similar Bodoni on hand) at 75%. Print it out (an on-screen version will not provide an accurate comparison) and take a look: Is 16-point Arial really easy to read? That's debatable. . . . . . It's not clear that the study convincingly compared an easy-to-read font with a hard-to-read font. Perhaps examining the printed materials used in the study will help clear up this question." *************************************** To access the complete 11 kB post please click on <http://bit.ly/a5Yi4S>. Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII) <rrh...@earthlink.net> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi> <http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com> <http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake> REFERENCES [All URL's shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 03 November 2010.] Hake, R.R. 2010. "More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention #3," online on the OPEN AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/a5Yi4S>. Post of 3 Nov 2010 11:14:54-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. kThe abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to various discussion lists and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/b0qham> Oppenheimer, D.M., C.D. Yauman, & E.B. Vaughn. 2010. "Fortune Favors the Bold (and the Italicized): Effects of Disfluency on Educational Outcomes," online at <http://bit.ly/cATcBK>. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=6218 or send a blank email to leave-6218-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
