The current state of much research on written patient education materials (WPEM) suggests that they are written in a manner that is too difficult even for educated patients to understand and remember. Much of the research in this area is focused on modification of the readability of WPEM, which has shown to be relatively ineffective. In this study, an attempt was made to determine if a theory-based method in revising WPEM for improved comprehensibility and memorability was effective. The effectiveness of three versions of WPEM regarding breast self-exams (BSEs) was examined; the original version without illustrations obtained from the American Cancer Society website, a version that was written at a lower readability level as measured by the Flesch-Kincaid readability formula, and a version with a lower readability level as measured by the Flesch-Kincaid readability formula and the increased use of concrete language as suggested by Dual Coding Theory. The researcher compared the percentage of recall of idea units recalled by 76 participants at two time periods: immediately after reading the randomly assigned version of WPEM and seven days after the initial reading. The WPEM that contained the lower readability level and concrete language was most recalled by participants both at immediate recall and delayed recall. In fact, the delayed recall of the WPEM that contained the lower readability level and concrete language after the seven-day period was almost equivalent to the immediate recall of the participants in the other two groups. A significant main effect was found for the forms of WPEM, F(2, 73) = 27.69, p = .00, n2 p = .43 with an observed power of 1.00. A significant main effect was found for time, F(1, 73) = 161.94, p <.00, n2 p = .69 with an observed power of 1.00. A significant interaction of WPEM and time was found, F(2, 73) = 5.07, p = .01, n2 p = .12 with an observed power of .80. Reported levels of frequency of performing BSEs and levels of confidence in performing BSEs were also analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test in relation to the three WPEM versions over time. Reported frequency was significantly greater after seven days, regardless of form of WPEM (WPEM A, p = .32; WPEM B, p = 1.00; WPEM C, p = .74). Levels of confidence were significantly greater after seven days, regardless of form of WPEM (WPEM A, p = ..02; WPEM B, p = .00; WPEM C, p = .00). Overall results indicate that combining reduced readability and increased concrete language is beneficial. The writing of WPEMs in a way that patients can understand should be supported by a theory, and infusing Dual Coding Theory in the writing of selected WPEMs may be beneficial for patients.

xiii, 205 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This study examined idiom understanding in 120 neurologically healthy adults, ages 20-29 (20s Group), 40-49 (40s Group), 60-69 (60s Group), and 80-89 (80s Group) years old. Each participant was administered a familiarity task, definition explanation task, mental imagery task, and forced-choice comprehension task. Twenty idioms, 10 transparent and 10 opaque, were used with no supporting contexts. Participants were asked to rate the familiarity of each idiom, to provide a definition of each, to generate a mental image of each, and to select the best definition of each from among four options. It was predicted that younger and older adults would perform equally well on the comprehension task but that older adults would perform poorer than younger adults on the explanation task. Additionally, mental imagery of idioms was expected to become more figurative with advancing age, and participants were expected to perform better on highly familiar and transparent idioms than on less familiar and opaque ones. Participants rated all 20 idioms as highly familiar, with the lowest familiarity rating for participants in the 20s Group. No significant differences were found on the forced-choice comprehension task across the four age groups although the 20s Group scored the lowest among all age groups. The 60s Group performed significantly better than the 20s Group on the definition explanation task, but no significant differences were found between the other age groups. No significant differences were found in generating mental images between transparent and opaque idioms, and mental images tended to be figurative rather than literal for both types of idioms. The present study adds to our knowledge of idiom understanding across adulthood. Familiarity seemed to play a stronger role than transparency in idiom understanding in adults. Once an idiom was learned and stored as a lexical unit, people used the idiomatic meaning and generated figurative mental imagery immediately without accessing the literal meaning or the literal mental image. / Committee in charge: Marilyn Nippold, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Roland Good, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Deborah Olson, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Nathaniel Teich, Outside Member, English

Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka potentialen av TAKK (Tecken Som Alternativ och Kompletterande Kommunikation) i undervisningen av främmande språk i den svenska skolan. Genom en kvasiexperimentell utvärdering tillämpades TAKK under en lektion i spanska där 18 elever skulle lära sig 24 nya ord om mat. Eleverna gick i åk 6 och studerade nybörjarspanska. Orden lärdes ut på ett traditionellt sätt genom att säga och skriva dem men orden 1-12 ackompanjerades dessutom av ett TAKK tecken som eleverna uppmanades att härma. Eleverna förhördes skriftligt vid tre tillfällen på en period av två veckor; glosförhör 1 bestod av 24 ord utan bilder på tecknen, glosförhör 2 bestod av 24 ord och bilder på tecknen för orden 1-12. Glosförhör 3 bestod av endast 12 bilder på tecknen för ord 1-12. Orden skulle översättas till svenska förutom vid tredje tillfället där det skulle skrivas på spanska. I ljuset av Paivios (1971) Dual Coding Theory och The Additivity Hypothesis visade resultatet på glosförhören en positiv inverkan av gesterna/tecknen på inlärningen av orden. Alla elever fick ett högre antal rätt översatta ord vid glosförhör 2. Man kan försiktigt dra slutsatsen att tecknen från TAKK bidrog till en förbättrad memorering av orden då de lagrades i vårt multimodala minne där de lämnade två interrelaterade minnesspår.

Syftet med detta examensarbete i fördjupningsämnet svenska, har varit att utforska elevers lyssläsning i jämförelse med läsning med ögonen i relation till läsförståelse. Följande frågeställningar har fokuserats: Hur upplever elever att det är att lyssläsa jämfört med att läsa med ögonen? Hur påverkas elevers läsförståelse av att lyssläsa jämfört med att enbart läsa med ögonen? För att besvara syftet och frågeställningarna har en explorativ studie genomförts bestående av ett kvasiexperiment med två läsförståelsetester (lyssläsa respektive ögonläsa), enkätfrågor och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Sammanlagt har 13 elever i årskurs 2 deltagit i studien varav 6 intervjuades. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån forskning kring lyssnande, lyssläsning och stöttning samt ”Dual Coding Theory”. Följande slutsatser har dragits: Lyssläsning bidrog till utveckling av ordförrådet. Det agerade stötta för ökad förståelse och bidrog med en högre grad av förståelse i jämförelse med att läsa med ögonen. En viktig faktor för att lyssläsandet verkligen skulle stötta, handlade om rätt hastighet på talrösten. Eleverna i studien hann läsa längre textstycken när de lyssläste i jämförelse med när de läste med ögonen. I och med själva jämförelsen uppstod även metakognitiva reflektioner hos eleverna. Trots att studiens resultat inte är generaliserbart är det relevant då det indikerar att lyssläsning påverkar elevers läsförståelse och engagemang i positiv bemärkelse. / The purpose of this student essay has been to explore reading while listening in comparison to reading with the eyes, in relation to reading comprehension. The questions at issue were: How do young learners experience reading while listening in comparison to reading with the eyes? How do reading while listening effect young learners reading comprehension in comparison to reading with the eyes? An exploratory study has been done to meet the purpose and to answer the research questions via a quasiexperiment and semi structured interviews. All in all 13 students in 2nd grade has participated in the study in which 6 were interviewed. The results of the study have been analyzed from research concerning listening, reading while listening, scaffolding and Dual Coding Theory. A number of conclusions have been made. Reading while listening contributes to the development of vocabulary as well as a higher grade of understanding. It scaffolds reading comprehension and the speaking rate of the voice reading the text is of utmost importance. The students in the study were also able to read longer passages of text when reading while listening in comparison to reading with the eyes. Because of the comparison made between reading while listening and reading with the eyes, the students made metacognitive reflections, which supported understanding. Even though the result of the study cannot be generalized, it is relevant since it indicates that reading while listening effect students reading comprehension and engagement in a positive way.

Studien är både kvalitativ genom klassrumsanteckningar och semistrukturerade intervjuersamt kvantitativt genom läs- och hörförståelsetester. Syftet med examensarbetet är attbelysa elevers upplevelse av högläsning och egen tyst läsning i årskurs 4 och 5 inomsvenskämnet i grundskolan. Sammanlagt har 37 elever medverkat i läs- ochhörförståelsetestet varav åtta elever intervjuades. Analysen tar stöd av den kognitivateorin “Dual Coding Theory”, läs- och hörförståelsetest och elevintervjuer. Eftersomempirin har ursprung i olika forskningsmetoder som kopplats samman blevforskningsansatsen triangulering. Slutresultatet är följande; Högläsningen har en positivinverkan på läsförståelsen och förmågan att förstå nya ord och begrepp. Hörförståelse,läsförståelse och de inre bilder som elever skapar utgör tillsammans ett multimodaltverktyg och förstärker deras kunskap kring texten. Elevnära texter skapar tillsammansmed lässtrategier en glädje, motivation och förståelse kring en text.

Researchers have studied memory recall of crisis-oriented or emotional events in non-educational settings. However, within the health care field, there has been a limited study of the the concept of recall of crisis oriented or emotional events in& health care education. Crisis-oriented events such as natural disasters, acts of bioterroism, and industrial accidents, have been reported to impact memory. Patient safety is a primary focus in anesthesia education, appropriate crisis management is imperative to quality anesthesia care. Due to the critical nature of anesthesia delivery, there is a strong, constant need to develop methods that will enhance, support, and improve current anesthesia practices that impact patient safety. Educational methodologies used by both clinical and didactic instructors that will improve teaching effectiveness need to be investigated to ensure that patient safety content is being delivered to nurse anesthesia students in a manner consistent with the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANAs) Council on Accreditation's COAs) standards of care. Utilizing a simulated anesthesia crisis situation, this study compared the differences in cognitive imprinting and application to practice between two content delivery methods, the written case study and patient safety vignettes, in nurse anesthesia students. The control group was given a written case study which is considered a traditional method of content delivery. The treatment groups studied vignettes, which are short, realistic, simulated audio-visual videos that demonstrate content to be relayed. The research hypothesis studied the use of anesthesia crisis oriented vignettes as an educational tool to impact memory recall, thus potentially improving application to clinical practice. Hypotheses for the study were: Hypothesis 1 (Hl): Student anesthetists exposed to audio-visual vignettes will exhibit superior clinical performance during simulated apparatus-related crisis events, evidenced by higher group mean demonstration scores, when compared to a matched group exposed to written case studies. Hypothesis 2 (H2): Student anesthetists exposed to audio-visual vignettes will exhibit superior recall of apparatus related material, evidenced by higher group mean post-test scores, when compared to a matched group exposed to written case studies. Using the paired samples t-test and analysis of variance procedure (ANOVA), statistical findings were evaluated for significance. The different teaching methodologies were represented in the abbreviation of the variables studied. Two different crisis oriented events were presented in vignette format, a malfunctioning unidirectional expiratory valve and a malfunctioning suctioning apparatus. Variables that were studied include: clinical performance during the anesthesia machine checkout process by recreating the stuck expiratory valve and malfunctioning suction apparatus scenarios. Statistically, mixed results were obtained. The impact that the stuck expiratory valve vignette had on student recall and clinical performance was found to be insignificant. The impact resulting from exposure to the non-functioning suction apparatus vignette was found to be significant for both student recall and clinical performance. Other recall and clinical performance measures related to the non- functioning suction apparatus were also found to be significant. Conclusions: In this research study, memory and clinical performance were impacted when the anesthesia provider incorporated the correct anesthesia apparatus checkout process and crisis management skills into their practice. This research demonstrated that under the conditions of this study, teaching methodology impacted some areas of clinical performance. Due to the small sample size and because the clinical performance measurements tools were newly designed for this particular study, findings from this study cannot be generalized to any other group or population. However, the findings from this study merit further investigation into the potential use of vignettes as an educational methodology to impact clinical practice and improve patient safety.

Dual coding theory implies that engaging multiple modalities (e.g., visual, auditory) in instruction enhances learning. Presenting information via 3D images and 3D animations appears to improve student performance but the results are inconsistent across multiple studies. The present study investigated the effect of the Sensavis visual learning tool, a 3D educational software, on performance in chemistry among students in a Swedish elementary school. Thirty-seven students from grades 7 and 9 received training involving a 3D animation on chemical bonds while nineteen students in grade 8 had traditional instruction. ANCOVA results controlling for age and average chemistry grade revealed a statistically significant difference in the posttest performance with the control group outperforming both experimental groups. These results indicate that the Sensavis tool did not have a positive effect on learning chemistry compared to traditional instruction. Interpretation of the results is presented in discussion. / Enligt “dual coding theory” hjälper det att kombinera flera sätt att inta information (t.ex. visuellt, verbalt) inom lärandet. Presentation av information genom 3D-bilder och 3D-animationer verkar förbättra prestation bland elever, men resultaten är inkonsekventa i flera studier. Denna studie undersökte effekten av ett visuellt verktyg från Sensavis, en  pedagogisk programvara med 3D-animationer, på prestation inom kemi bland elever i en svensk grundskola. Trettiosju elever från årskurs 7 och 9 använde en 3D-animering om kemisk bindning förutom föreläsningar, medan nitton elever i årskurs 8 fick traditionell undervisning. ANCOVA-resultat som kontrollerade för ålder och kemibetyg visade att kontrollgruppen presterade bättre än bägge experimentgrupperna. Dessa resultat tyder på att Sensavis-verktyget inte hade en positiv effekt på lärande i kemi jämfört med traditionell undervisning. Tolkningen av resultaten presenteras i diskussion.

The aim of this paper is to get a better understanding of the potential advantages and disadvantages of the audiovisual education in relation to the teaching and learning of Spanish as a Foreign Language in 21st century Swedish upper secondary schools. From here, we will work on establishing a clearer view of if these audio and visual presentations of school materials should remain in its current state of utilization or if it should be either increased or decreased for the completion of the vision of a more advanced comprehension, a higher motivation and higher grades among the students.           For us to be able to accomplish the main purpose of this paper, we have chosen to base our investigation on the dual-coding theory and on a collection of questionnaires to work as a quantitative research method. These research instruments were distributed to three of the largest upper secondary schools in Karlskrona, Blekinge, Sweden; where three Spanish teachers and their total of 117 students answered a total of 13 questions that later were compared and generalized to aid us throughout our task of establishing the role of the audiovisual education.           As a conclusion, the results showed clear evidence of how many of the audiovisual technologies help or overturn the comprehension, the motivation and the grades of the students. Although two of these technologies lacked in frequency of utilization, which aggravated the results, we could with ease see that technologies such as Whiteboard, PowerPoint, movies and videos should be able to improve all three of the mentioned factors for the majority of the students. In turn, this would mean that a higher utilization rate of the audiovisual technology could be beneficial for future education of Spanish as a Foreign Language.

In a suggestion to build upon students’ historical knowledge through reading The Remains of the Day, this essay delves into cross-curricular teaching, dual-coded theory aspects and revision of suggested plans to improve learner’s understanding of historical novels, characters, events, and descriptions to grasp and reflect upon such historical knowledge. Several methods for enhancing students’ knowledge and to improve vocabulary knowledge are provided. The essay is theoretically based and presents different aspects of how students’ knowledge of English and history as separate subjects in school, could be combined to address the learning abilities of all students. Reading comprehension is mainly based upon students’ prior knowledge. Therefore, this essay delves into various parts of learners’ abilities to reflect upon the written word and its significance to reality. Furthermore, suggestions to how teachers can collaborate to achieve an improved understanding of the novel and its time period through history and vocabulary is presented.