Designing Instructional Formats: The Effects of Verbal and Pictorial Components on Hearing-Impaired Students' Comprehension of Science Concepts

This study compared the effectiveness of four different printed instructional formats on the comprehension of science information by 60 hearing-impaired students aged 12 to 22 with severe to profound hearing losses. The students studied one of four randomly assigned formats describing basic science concepts derived from a sixth-grade science textbook. Comprehension was measured by gain scores calculated from pretest and posttest scores. Results indicated that formats which featured highly pictorial content and simplified English produced significantly higher mean gain scores than formats with less pictorial content and more complex English patterns. Differences were noted also between male and female participants. The study has general implications for the design of instructional materials developed for hearing-impaired learners.