We compared university, community college, and high school students' evaluations of common learning aids. Over 500 participants rated 15 pedagogical aids on 3 dimensions: familiarity, probability of use, and educational value. Overall, there was striking agreement about which learning aids are most useful. The pedagogical aids that earned the highest marks were boldface technical terms, running or chapter glossaries, chapter summaries, and self-tests.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
MarekP.GriggsR. A.ChristopherA. N. (1999). Pedagogical aids in textbooks: Do college students' perceptions justify their prevalence?Teaching of Psychology, 26, 11–19.
2.
WeitenW. (1988). Objective features of introductory psychology textbooks as related to professors' impressions. Teaching of Psychology, 15, 10–16.
3.
WeitenW.GuadagnoR. E.BeckC. A. (1996). Students' perceptions of textbook pedagogical aids. Teaching of Psychology, 23, 105–107.
4.
WeitenW.WightR. D. (1992). Portraits of a discipline: An examination of introductory psychology textbooks in America. In PuenteA. E.MatthewsJ. R.BrewerC. L. (Eds.), Teaching psychology in America: A history (pp. 453–504). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.