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student achieves a sense of personal satisfaction from the learning and feels motivated to learn
more. You can achieve motivation early in a course of instruction by using IMM. The
continued use of IMM to make the instruction concrete and meaningful will sustain student
interest and motivation.
Increases Student Retention
Most of people forget what they hear in a relatively short time and have difficulty recalling
the information accurately. On the other hand, things they see make a more lasting impression
and help them to recall the object or process more accurately. Students can recall the mental
images created by pictures and models more easily because of their increased interest at the time
of reception. Students have a greater interest in the realistic and concrete than in the symbolic
and abstract. The average student will easily forget your verbal explanation of how an internal
combustion engine operates. However, an actual engine, a model, or a video tape shown with
your explanation will make a fixed impression on students that is easier to recall.
IMM uses the multiple-sense approach to learning to increase retention. The following
information supports the importance of using the sense of sight in learning:
STUDENTS WILL RETAIN
10% OF WHAT THEY READ
20% OF WHAT THEY HEAR
30% OF WHAT THEY SEE
50% OF WHAT THEY SEE AND HEAR
Increases Uniformity of Training
In classroom situations in which the instructor uses no aids, student learning depends on the
presentation method. While some instructors may express themselves fluently, others may be
somewhat inarticulate although they know their subject well. The use of standardized training
aids makes the presentations more uniform.
CHARACTERISTICS
All IMMs must have certain characteristics to be effective and to support the purposes for
using them. Course developers provide IMMs for established courses. Individual instructors
or training sites should not develop their own IMM without the approval of the curriculum
control authority (CCA).
However, as a classroom instructor, you must know what
characteristics IMMs should have.
You can then recognize an IMM’s shortcomings and
recommend changes through the proper chain of command. All IMMs should be accurate,
simple, visible, and necessary.
Accurate
First and foremost, visual aids must accurately depict the instructional intent. Use of
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