Lida Cochran Papers 1946-1999; MSS-184

Lida Cochran Papers 1946-1999; MSS-184

The Lida Cochran Papers are comprised of four series: Series I: Instruction, Series II: Research, Series III: Teaching Aids, and Series IV: Visual Literacy Organizations.

Biographical Note:
Lida Cochran received her first Bachelor of Arts from Washburn University in 1934. Over the next thirty years she garnered three more degrees and became a professor in Psychological and Quantitative Foundations. She was instrumental in the International Visual Literacy Association from its early stages and acted as the organization’s president in the years 1978 and 1979. In 1980, Cochran and her associates broke new ground by publishing “Exploring Approaches to Researching Visual Literacy” in Educational Communication and Technology Journal. This article directed the field in new direction and conveyed visual literacy to a broader audience. In 1984, she received the John L. Debes Award and in 1998 she was honored for her longstanding membership in the Epsilon Chapter of PDK at the University of Iowa, where she was a professor.

Scope and Content Note:
The Lida Cochran Papers are comprised of four series: Series I: Instruction, Series II: Research, Series III: Teaching Aids, and Series IV: Visual Literacy Organizations.

Series I: Instruction contains course syllabi, exams, class exercises, and photographs from courses taught by Dr. Cochran. Folders have been arranged alphabetically by course name. Oversize materials from this series can be found in box 35.

Series II: Research consists of four sub-series: Bibliographies, Newsletters, Projects, and Research Articles. The Projects sub-series contains proposals and reports for projects Dr. Cochran was involved with throughout her career. The Research Articles sub-series has been arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.

Series III: Teaching Aids contains teacher’s guides, slides, filmstrips, visual literacy exercises, and educational media tools. This series has been divided into three sub-series: Film and Television, Photography, and Print Media. Oversize materials from this series can be found in box 35.

Series IV: Visual Literacy Organizations contains conference materials, meeting minutes, reports, budgets, committee records, and membership information. This series has been divided into three sub-series: Association of Educational Communications Technology (AECT), International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA), and Other Organizations.