Typographical cuing in conventional and programed texts.

This study assessed the instructional effectiveness of simple and complex forms of typographical cuing in both conventional and programed texts. 118 pretested, 8th-grade students read an 8th-grade history lesson and were later retested. Analysis of gain scores revealed that: (a) simple typographical cuing distinguishing core from enrichment content enhances the ratio of important to unimportant content learned without affecting the total amount learned; (b) complex typographical cuing distinguishing 5 categories of lesson content fails to increase learning of either core or enrichment content; (c) the programed or quizzed text is more effective than the conventional text; (d) the effects of simple typographical cuing and programed quizzing appear independent and additive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)