Dual coding theory and its educational implications parallel the historical
3
emphasis on concretization of knowledge through imagery and pictures.
However, the mnemonists who inspired Campanella and Comenius learned about
the effectiveness of imagery from their own experiences and historical anecdotes.
They did not know whether it worked better than verbal methods advocated over
the centuries. Moreover, although Comenius envisaged a full-scale science of
education, he did not develop that science even as applied to the concretization
principle he espoused. Today we have ample scientific evidence and a more
explicit theoretical framework in which to embed the facts.