Formats to teach procedures were developed to in corporate appropriate learning strategies. The formats contain a preponderance of graphics with supporting text and include a foldout, or paper mock-up, showing the face of the equipment. Exercises are provided for recalling individual steps and for chaining steps. These materials, called learning aids, were developed and field-tested on two pieces of complex equipment: tuning an oscilloscope probe and starting a helicopter engine. Results showed the learning aids reduce errors and produce quicker learning compared with narrative manuals commonly used to teach procedures. TPHE manner in which operating procedures are organized -*■ and presented to technicians affects both learning time and subsequent job performance. Many questions still remain on how best to present procedural instructions. Booher wrote in 1975 [1]:There have been insufficient guidelines for designing for mats used in presenting information intended to com municate concepts, general information, or even simple procedures. This has been especially evident in attempts to present information of a technical or logical nature. Writers of technical manuals, designers of programmed instructions, and designers of equipment are continually faced with the problem of selecting among pictorial, schematic, and printed formats to communicate informa tion, with little or no knowledge of the format's effect on the understanding or comprehension of the informa tion presented.Booher proposed that pictures are effective in teaching loca tion tasks but that words must also be used to effectively teach complex procedures. Guidelines have recently been published for formatting procedural instructions for both military [2-4] and civilian [5] applications. The U.S. Army's "new look" manuals [6-8] use illustrations generously with simple text. They are a significant improvement compared to older military manuals.Still there is much to be learned about effective formats for presenting job-task information. The potential benefits are great for improving the effectiveness of technical information, given its tremendous volume and the continuing difficulty in using it.
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