Message DesignFor the Math Classroom

K. HittPSHS

February 2011

What is Message Design?

• It’s the way you use signs and symbols to change the cognitive, affective or psychomotor behavior of the students.– Signs are the forms that instruction

takes• It describes anything that stands place for

something else

When do you use it?

• Whenever you create instructional materials in your classroom– Printed Material• Worksheets• Tests• Notes

– Electronic Material• PowerPoint• Webpage

Why Does Message Design Matter?

• It affects what the learner pays attention to and perceives

• Hopefully, but not necessarily, it will help student comprehension, retention or retrieval

Printed Materials• Type Size– Use 10, 11, or 12 point font– Most textbooks use these sizes– below 10 point is too small – above 12 point is too large (except as a

heading)

EXAMPLES:

This is way to small to read.

This is pretty good when on printed material.

This takes up too much space to be used for the entire page.

Printed Materials• Typeface– Consider the purpose of the text–Make sure the character set contains

mathematical symbols– Serif (finishing strokes on ends of

letters) versus San Serif– Consider how well it will stand up to

repeated copyingThis font is not good for tests.Neither is this one.This is a serif type font and this is a san serif type font.This is a good font to use.This is another good font.Remember: Math Symbols!! > < % $ ≠ ÷ ±

Printed Materials• Color– Extra colors need to be used sparingly– Watch for color combinations of text on

colored paper– Certain color combinations do not print well

in black and white

• Capital Letters– Should not be used for the entire paper

• Italics– Use for emphasizing words and variables only

IT WOULD BE HARD TO READ THIS IF I WROTE THE ENTIRE WORKSHEET LIKE THIS. It would be just as hard if I wrote the paper like this.

This is the best way to write on printed material.

SOLVING SYSTEMS OF EQUATIONS2x + 3y = 10 y = 2x + 32x + 3(2x + 3) = 10

Printed Materials• Spacing–Must have spacing between words.– Separate sections with a space.– Use of Justified or Unjustified

HowhardisittoreadthissentenceifIdon’tusespacingbetweenmyletters?OrQuadrilateralsKiteTrapezoidIsosceles TrapezoidParallelogramRhombusRectangleSquare

How hard is it to read this sentence if I don’t use spacing between my letters?

OrQuadrilaterals

Kite Parallelogram Rhombus

Trapezoid Rectangle Isosceles Trapezoid Square

Electronic Material• Type Size– Size 32 font or larger is recommended

• Typeface– Similar to Printed Material

• Color– Color and background need to be contrasting

• Capital Letters– Should not be used for the entire material

• Italics– Use for emphasizing words and variables only

• Spacing– Same as printed materials

Section 2-4: Deductive ReasoningVOCABULARY: Deductive Reasoning – the process of reasoning logically from given statements or facts to a conclusion

LAW OF DETACHMENTStep 1: Identify the hypothesis of the given true conditionalStep 2: Check that the second given statement matches the hypothesisStep 3: Make a conclusion

EXAMPLE

Summary Suggestions• Use consistent spacing• Beware of nonstandard typefaces,

capitals, italics and underlining that impair reading flow

• Be cautious with the use of color• Keep tables and graphs simple• Use signaling strategies• Remember to K.I.S.S.

References

• Chapter 17 in Anglin’s BOOK 2nd EDITION: Message Design-Issues & Trends by Grabowski

• Hartley, J. (2004). Designing instructional and informational text. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.) Handbook of Research in Educational Communications and Technology (2nd edition). Mahwah, N.J: Erlbaum. ISBN 0 8058 4145 8. Retrieved August, 28, from http://www.aect.org/edtech/34.pdf