Detail and background in audiovisual lessons and their effect on learners

Does complexity of detail, accuracy of scale, and use of background help subjects learn technical information? Apparently not — at least not the 80 soldiers who learned about bore sighting of tank machine guns in this study. Half the subjects used the existing self-contained learning package, a tape-filmstrip lesson containing a large number of complex visuals. The other half used lessons identical in the audio portion but containing simplified (but not deliberately improved) visuals. There were no significant differences between the two groups in achievement, and both were strongly favorable toward their respective lesson.