UNESCO Educational Media Conference Recommendations

A. A. LUMSDAINE

The author, who has edited the AVCR department on Teaching Machines and Programed Instruction ]or the past two years, is Pro]essor of Education at the University oJ California, Los Angeles. He also serves as adviser on educational media to the American Institute ]or Research, and as chairman of the AERA-APA-DAVI joint committee on pro- grained instruction and teaching machines. As one of the ]our U.S. delegates to the UNESCO conference on new methods and techniques in education, he assisted in dra]ting the conference recommendations.

THIS REPORT SUMMARIZES the princi- pal recommendations made by the par- ticipants in the conference on new methods and techniques in education, held under auspices of UNESCO in Paris, March 1962. A brief general re- port on the conference proceedings has appeared in Audiovisual Instruction (1). A more complete report, including some of the working papers of the conference, is to be published by UNESCO (3). The recommendations were initially set forth in a UNESCO publication in April 1962 (2).

A major purpose of the conference was to examine the potential uses of the newer educational media for the reduc- tion of illiteracy. It was equally con- cerned, however, with the use of these

media--including films, individual pro- gramed instruction, and television---for other educational purposes. As indicated in the conference chairman's letter of transmittal for the report, "New meth- ods and techniques in education were thus seen as a great opportunity in all fields of education--in school, out of school, among adults, and for the funda- mental education of illiterates (2, p. 1)."

The recommendations formulated by the conferees dealt with five areas: (a) demonstration projects (including cen- ters for production and application of illustrative programs); (b) research and development (including basic research as well as the tryout, evaluation, and re- vision of materials) ; (c) development of facilities (including low-cost radio and

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television receivers); (d) training (in- cluding training of specialists in com- munication and evaluation techniques; and (e) bilateral or multilateral ex- change of information and materials. The extent to which these recommenda- tions will have force, will--as the writer has previously noted--depend on many factors that are difficult to predict (1). At a minimum, however, they provide some guidelines that should prove useful in an endeavor to help realize the poten- tially great contribution of the newer techniques and media of instruction to world-wide educational problems. In addition to work sponsored by UNES- CO, they could well apply to the pro- grams of national agencies concerned with these problems.

In the interest of brevity, some of the recommendations of the conference are here telescoped. Statements indicating that such-and-such "should" be done are to be interpreted in the pr.esent con- text as reflecting recommendations of the conference rather than merely the opinions of the writer. However, except when exact quotations are indicated--- the specific wording of the recommenda- tions has been edited somewhat.

Demonstration Projects

An immediate first step recommended to UNESCO was the creation of regional centers for demonstrating the systematic use of all media, materials, and methods for education. It was suggested that such centers be established in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The functions as- signed to each center would include demonstration of new media techniques, training of media specialists, experimen- tation and research, the development and evaluation of new materials, and the exchange of information with other re- gional and national institutions. It was

recommended that each center develop pilot projects, "on a restricted basis, yet of sufficient dimensions to be effective." Particular attention was drawn to the need to apply the principles of research and try-out, subsequently described, in developing center demonstration pro- grams. Experimental work, it was pointed out, should be related closely to the educational system and social organization of the locality. Programs of regional centers should be based on co- operation among educators, communica- tion specialists, and personnel involved in social and economic development. The total program of a center should seek to throw light on combinations of media and methods that could meet specific educational objectives.

The purpose of a regional approach is to foster a coordinated effort in a group of educational systems, with avoidance of duplication among them. National systems would be assisted by demonstra- tions of what can be done under circum- stances more or less similar to those found in each country. At the same time, UNESCO should play a role to insure an adequate series of exchanges between regions.

Several suggestions were made con- cerning regional projects, although it was recognized that the emphasis placed on these would depend on priorities and specific needs within each region. Three kinds of endeavor were suggested: (a) formal or controlled experiments em- ploying various techniques to use the newer educational media and methods for the different subject matters at vari- ous levels of formal education, including technical education; (b) similar formal experiments in teacher training (espe- cially for teachers of science and foreign language) and in the in-service training of primary school teachers; (c) a series

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of experimental activities carried out in association with on-going literacy cam- paigns, in which the use of television and of programed instruction to train instructors, to conduct literacy classes, and to stimulate follow-up reading, could be explored.

Research and Development

The meeting recommended that UNESCO initiate means to insure effec- tive coordination of research at the inter- national level through its own activities and, in particular, through research fa- cilities of its member states. A major purpose of such coordination would be to obtain greater knowledge concerning the contribution of the new media to education. Research should be so aimed as to foster the full development of edu- cational resources and materials. It was recommended that research and develop- ment programs should be guided by the following considerations and points of emphasis:

1. For maximum educational gain at minimum cost, particular attention should be given to the development and use of imaginative new ways of com- bining the resources of mass media with those of self-teaching programed mate- rials. Similar attention should be given to experiments using teacher teams con- sisting of one or more highly trained teachers reinforced by a number of teacher assistants. The fact that the latter can be more quickly trained is of special significance for improving and, espe- cially, for accelerating the development of instructional capabilities. Such com- binations should also focus on ways of adjusting teaching to individual differ- ences among students.

2. In order to eliminate as rapidly as possible existing illiteracy, the conference urged national authorities, UNESCO,

and other appropriate agencies to give full and careful study to the recent suc- cessful experience of some countries in eliminating or in greatly reducing illit- eracy. In the light of successful experi- ence in the use of television for literacy training (e.g., in Italy) it was recom- mended that:

The place of television and programed in- struction in literacy work should be fully investigated, a n d . . , study should be given to the most effective forms of organization and to new ways of training and using teachers and auxiliaries in conjunction with traditional and new media.

3. Programed instruction was also stressed: Special emphasis should be placed on de- veloping the potential of individual pro- gramed-instruction methods, whose unique advantages and relatively recent develop- ment provide a major addition to our edu- cational resources in the struggle against ignorance.

4. Practical research should be incor- porated into the development of all edu- cational techniques in order to improve their quality and effectiveness. The im- portance of try-out and revision proce- dures was especially emphasized: In particular, it is urged that whenever new printed or audiovisual media are intro- duced into the educational process, these should be tried out in a practical local setting so that defects may be detected and remedied before full-scale production pro- ceeds. Special emphasis should be placed on adapting to all media the techniques of feedback from individual students . . . . Such feedback to the producer should con- sider factors of acceptance and attitude as well as instructional efficiency.

5. The need for research of a funda- mental nature was recognized as a way to improve basic understanding of the learning process. It was suggested that such research include analysis of "inter- nal language" (or implicit-response) fac-

UNESCO MEDIA CONFERENCE RECOMMENDATIONS 341

tors which underlie the overt (outwardly observed) behavior of the learner.

6. The practical importance of ana- lyzing factors of time and cost for alter- native possible media applications was also recognized:

An intensive effort should be devoted to obtaining and collating data on compara- tive monetary costs and expenditures re- quired for alternative means that seem to be capable of attaining a particular kind of needed educational outcome. Factors taken into consideration in collecting such data should, however, not only be the monetary outlay, but also the effect on manpower, on the required [instructional] time, and on the improvement . . . of instruction.

7. Special emphasis was recommended on research into ways for speeding up and improving teacher training (both pre-service and in-service) through the better utilization of the newer media:

Such research should be conducted in teacher-training colleges and adequately equipped practising schools, as well as under normal in-service conditions, includ- ing the dispersal of teachers in remote rural areas.

The need to investigate possibilities for training auxiliary educational personnel through the use of the new media was also recognized.

8. The great economic importance of conserving resources by avoiding un- necessary duplication of effort among different regions, was stressed in these terms:

It is urged that research be undertaken on methods for adapting materials developed in one cultural or linguistic setting, when- ever possible, for use in new settings, so as to minimize wastage of effort due to unnecessary duplication and retracing of steps that have already been successfully taken by others.

9. In the light of the great importance of second- language learning, special

attention should be given to research on language laboratories and language- teaching lessons transmitted by radio and television (both broadcast and closed circut) in order to improve language teaching.

Development of Facilities Delegates felt that UNESCO should

take steps to encourage the reservation of appropriate bands or channels of the transmission frequency spectrum for radio and television, "necessary to assure for all [both] the transmission and re- ception of the full range of educational radio and television services, including at the appropriate time the eventual use of artificial satellite communcations sys- tems." As a ~omplementary effort, in order to make instructional radio and TV a practical reality in large areas of developing nations, it was urged that every effort be made to develop and make available, as rapidly as possible, reliable low-cost radio and television transmitting, recording and, especially, receiving equipment. The dependability of such equipment and means for its adaptation to locations lacking electric power mains are essential. It was sug- gested that:

Such efforts, which might also be extended to other basic facilities, should be under- taken by UNESCO in cooperation with the International Telecommunications Union, the regional economic commissions of the United Nations, and the governments and manufacturers concerned.

Training The meet ing r e c o m m e n d e d that

UNESCO take steps to insure that exten- sive facilities be offered for the training of personnel in several important cate- gories, including:

1. Specialists in research on com- munication, learning, instructional meth-

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ods, curriculum development, and the development of new instructional media, techniques, and materials

2. Specialists in the production of program materials both for the mass media and for individual instruction

3. Specialists in the evaluation of these methods and techniques

4. Teachers for both formal and in- formal instruction on the application of these methods and the use of these tech- niques

5. Administrators and specialists in educational planning, with especial ref- erence to broad aspects of the use and implications of these methods and tech- niques

6. Auxiliary personnel to assist in the educational application of the tech- niques

It was also recommended that train- ing facilities be offered through the following means in particular:

1. International and bilateral fellow- ship programs

2. Seminars, workshops, and courses organized by UNESCO and by individ- ual Member States in existing institu- tions, including the establishment of mass-media training and research facili- ties attached to universities and other institutions

3. Missions of experts for the training of specialists in their home country

4. Pilot projects in regional demon- stration centers referred to above.

Exchange of Information and Materials

The meeting's final set of recommen- dations, partly overlapping with some of the preceding, called for:

1. Periodic publication, in several languages, of results of research and development on the newer methods and techniques of education

2. Publication of lists of significant research projects in progress throughout the world, and of directories of relevant institutions and specialists

3. Circulation of information on ma- terials developed nationally that might be of significance to other countries, and promotion of the exchange of such ma- terials on a bilateral or multilateral basis

4. Publication of monographs on studies or experience in the elimination of illiteracy in individual countries

5. Conferences or panel meetings from time to time of specialists working in the various fields concerned with in- structional media.

REFERENCES

1. Lumsdaine, A. A. "UNESCO Confer- ence on New Media." Audiovisual In- struction, September, 1962, p. 469-70.

2. UNESCO. New Methods and Tech- niques in Education: Report of a Meet- ing of Experts; Paris, 12-20 March 1962. U N E S C O / E D / 1 9 0 . Paris: 3 Apri l 1962

3. UNESCO. Final report and working papers on March, 1962 conference on new methods and techniques in educa- tion (in press). UNESCO Publications Center, 801 Third Avenue, New York 22, N . Y .