Research School Network: What does evidence tell us about multimedia learning?

By Andy Tharby

Richard E. Mayer is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research is very useful for teachers because it examines the intersection of, and relationship between, cognition, instruction and technology. In Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Press, 2001), Mayer proposes twelve principles that should shape the design and organisation of multimedia presentations. These form the basis of what has become known as the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. This is essential pedagogical knowledge for all teachers who integrate visual and verbal input in their delivery. 

Let’s start by considering how our brains process multimedia input. By way of example, we will look at a history lesson where the teacher has decided to use a map of Vietnam to explain the arenas of war and the principal armies that took part in the conflict. During the teacher’s presentation, students will listen to the teacher and look at the map which means that words and images will enter their sensory memories through their ears and eyes. After this, words and images will be selected by the learner from the sensory memory to enter the working memory where they will be incorporated into separate verbal and visual models. Finally, these will be integrated together to form newly acquired knowledge of the Vietnam War. This process occurs every time a teacher combines verbal and visual input in their explanation. (Follow this link for a very clear video explanation of the theory that practises what it preaches quite brilliantly.)

To ensure that these processes work smoothly, it is important to avoid cognitive overload – which occurs when the working memory has too much to think about in one go. Mayer’s principles are a useful guide for all teachers who regularly use or design slideshows, instructional videos or images to use in the classroom. Below are the first ten principles (the last two are less helpful for teachers):

1. Coherence Principle – Students learn better when extraneous words, pictures and sounds are excluded rather than included. For example, a map of Vietnam which was labelled with places unconnected to the war, or a slide show with unnecessary clip art, could lead to a potentially detrimental increase in cognitive load.

2. Signalling Principle – Students learn better when cues that highlight essential material are added. Arrows and highlighted key words would help to signal attention towards the main learning points on the map of Vietnam.

3. Redundancy Principle – Students learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration and on-screen text, except when the onscreen text is very short. Therefore, our history teacher should avoid presenting long, multiple-sentence written explanations next to the map on the slide. They should aim to narrate this information verbally instead.

4. Spatial Contiguity Principle – People learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented near, rather than far from, each other on the page or screen. When labels are used on a map, these should be positioned on the target locations or as close to them as possible. 

5. Temporal Contiguity Principle – People learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively. In other words, it would be more effective to include words and images on a single slide to present the key ideas about the Vietnam War rather than on multiple successive slides.

6. Segmenting Principle – Students learn better from a multimedia lesson is presented in learner-paced segments rather than as a continuous unit. The history teacher might segment their presentation into sections – e.g. places, events, combatants and communist/non-communist – and teach these in a logical sequence.

7. Pre-training Principle – People learn better from a multimedia lesson when they know the names and characteristics of the main concepts. It would be sensible, therefore, to introduce key terms – e.g. communism, Vietcong and guerrilla warfare – before sharing the map. 

8. Modality Principle – Students learn better from graphics and narrations than from animation and on-screen text. Avoid using too much on-screen text – use verbal explanations instead.

9. Multimedia Principle – Students learn better from words and pictures than from words alone. The history teacher who uses a map is more likely to be effective than her colleague in the classroom next door who does not.

10. Personalization Principle – Students learn better from multimedia lessons when words are in conversational style rather than formal style. Explanations should be engaging and personal (but this does not mean lowering expectations in terms of concepts and vocabulary).

These principles provide a simple guideline for planning and reviewing your multimedia resources. When they are employed thoughtfully and in tandem, they are likely to have a significant impact on learning.