Some subscribers to TIPS and TeachEdPsych might may be interested in a post "Re: More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention" [Hake (2010)]. The abstract reads:
****************************************** ABSTRACT: PhysLrnR's Bill Goffe alerted subscribers to an "Economist" report <http://bit.ly/bfpdaB> on an article "Fortune Favors the Bold (and the Italicized): Effects of Disfluency on Educational Outcomes" (Oppenheimer et al. (2010, <http://bit.ly/cATcBK>). In research conducted both in the lab and in chemistry, physics, English, and history classrooms, Oppenheimer et al. (2010) found that information made "disfluent" with difficult-to-read fonts (12-point Comic Sans MS 75% greyscale and 12-point Bodoni MT 75% greyscale) enhanced "learning" over more fluent information in easy-to-read 16-point Arial pure-black font. But classroom "learning" was measured by "normal assessment tests" which usually gauge only lower-level learning such as rote-memorization, recipe following, and algorithmic problem-solving. One might wonder, for example, if, after textbook coverage of Newtonian mechanics, there would be an increase of posttest scores on the conceptually oriented "Force Concept Inventory" (FCI) [Halloun & Hestenes (1992)] for text material with more: (a) difficult-to-read fonts, (b) "Fog" as measured by the "Gunning Fog Index", or (c) structural complexity [as studied by e.g., McNamara, Kintsch, Songer, & Kintsch (1996) in "Are good texts always better? Text coherence, background knowledge, and levels of understanding in learning from text."] ****************************************** To access the complete 20 kB post please click on <http://bit.ly/cZ9xHe>. 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> "Easy reading is damned hard writing." - Nathaniel Hawthorne "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." - George Bernard Shaw REFERENCES Hake, R.R. 2010. "Re: More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention." online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/cZ9xHe>. Post of 27 Oct 2010 17:14:33-0700 to AERA-L, Net-Gold, and PhysLrnR. The abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to various discussion lists and are also on my blog "HakeEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/b9Zxhg> with a provision for comments. --- 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=6063 or send a blank email to leave-6063-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
