Effects of Text Illustration on Children's Learning of a School Science Topic

S ummary . The effect of text and illustration on the learning of a school science topic by 13‐year‐old children was investigated. 272 children studying integrated science in the second year of two comprehensive schools were given texts with varied picture content. Learning was measured by a criterion‐referenced objective items test which differentiated between the effects of pictures on their own, text on its own, the general effect of pictures when added to text and the specific effect of pictures associated redundantly with parts of the text. The results indicate that there is no general motivational effect of pictures on the learning of text, but that with higher ability levels the effect of specific pictures is beneficial whilst with less able children they distract. In addition, there is some evidence to indicate that when materials are presented in traditional worksheet mode they might be learned more efficiently than the same materials presented in microcomputer mode.