Dr. Richard Mayer’s
cognitive theory of multimedia learning originates from two different learning
theories: information processing theory
and cognitive load theory. There are three main assumptions of multimedia
learning theory. The first one is the “dual channel assumption” according to
which humans possess two separate channels for processing visual and auditory
information. The second is “limited capacity” according to which humans are
limited in the amount of information that they can process in a channel at one time.
The third assumption is “active learning” according to which humans engage in
active learning by attending to relevant information, organizing selected information
into a coherent mental representation, and integrating that mental representation
with other knowledge. Mayer’s theory based on these assumptions of information
processing by examining the cognitive processes involved in active learning
with multimedia (visual images, audio, and text). Multimedia learning is based
on a model of cognitive load that assumes people engage in three types of cognitive
processing – extraneous, essential, and generative- and they are limited to the
learner’s available cognitive capacity.
The first
principle of multimedia learning is to reduce extraneous cognitive processing that
does not serve the instructional goal. The coherence principal states people
learn better when extraneous words, pictures and sounds are excluded which
means only include the key words, sounds and images. The modality principle states
people learn better from graphics and narration than animation and screen text.
The redundancy principle states that people learn better from graphics and
narration rather than graphics, narration and on-screen text. The spatial continuity
principle states that if you use on-screen text, it should only include
keywords and they should be placed near the image rather than at the top or bottom
of the page. The temporal continuity principle states that in order for text
and images to count as one piece of information, they should be presented at
the same time.
Signaling principle
states people learn better when the essential words are highlighted. Segmenting
principle states that multimedia presentations should be short. Pre-training principle
states people should have knowledge about the vocabulary before being exposed
to topic. The voice principle states people learn better when narration is spoken
in a human and friendly voice rather than a machine voice. Finally, the image
principle states that people do not necessarily learn better when the narrator’s
image is added to the screen. According to a research, speaker’s image added to
the screen is an unnecessary distraction.
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