Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

1. Eddie Mathews EDTI 6304 Cognition & Learning UTB Spring 2012 Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning Information Processing

2. Background of Cognitive Studies • Cognitivism replaced behaviorism in the late 1960’s as the dominant paradigm • Cognitivism focuses on the inner mental activities –the “black box” of the human mind • Researchers believed mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving need to be explored • In recent years, much has been learned about cognition and learning

3. Common Assumptions • Two separate channels for processing information: auditory and visual (some call this “Dual-Coding Theory”) • Each channel has a limited capacity for processing information (“Cognitive Load”) • Learning is the active process of filtering, selecting, organizing, and integrating information based upon prior knowledge

4. Cognitive Psychology Research Richard E. Mayer has developed a theory which involves cognition, instruction, and technology. Mayer’s research led to a theory called “Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning” that contribute heavily computer-based instruction Richard E. Mayer

5. What is C.T.M.L.? Channel 1 Channel 2 Better Understanding Basically, in a nutshell… Mayer’s “Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning argues that… “People learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone.”

6. What is Multimedia Learning?

7. Cognitive Components

8. CTML: Cognitive Processes Long-Term Memory Multimedia Presentation Sensory Memory Working Memory words ears sounds verbal model integrating prior knowledge media selection media organization pictures eyes images pictorial model

9. Processing Pictures Working Memory Long-Term Memory Multimedia Presentation Sensory Memory integrating prior knowledge media selection media organization pictures eyes images pictorial model

10. Processing Spoken Words Multimedia Presentation Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-Term Memory words ears sounds verbal model integrating prior knowledge media selection media organization

11. Processing Printed Words Multimedia Presentation Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-Term Memory words sounds verbal model integrating prior knowledge media selection media organization eyes images

12. Multimedia Principles(based on Mayer’s research) Now for some application…

13. 1. Multimedia Principle Students learn better from words and pictures than from words alone.

14. Example: Pump Lesson When the handle is pulled up, the piston moves up, the inlet valve opens, the outlet valve closes and air enters the lower part of the cylinder. When the handle is pushed down, the piston moves down, the inlet valve closes, the outlet valve opens, and air moves out through the hose.

16. 2. Spatial Contiguity Principle Students learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented near rather than far from each other on the page or screen.

19. 3. Temporal Contiguity Principle Students learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively.

20. Example: Weather Lesson Cool moist air moves over a warmer surface and becomes heated Warmed moist air near the earth’s surface rises rapidly. As the air in this updraft cools, water vapor condenses into water droplets and forms a cloud. The cloud’s top extends above the freezing level, so the upper portion of the cloud is composed of tiny ice crystals. Eventually, the water droplets and ice crystals become too large to be suspended by the updrafts. As raindrops and ice crystals fall through the cloud, they drag some of the air in the cloud downward, producing downdrafts. When downdrafts strike the ground, they spread out in all directions, producing the gust of wind people feel before the start of rain. Within the cloud, the rising and falling air currents cause electrical charges to build.

23. 4. Coherence Principle Students learn better when extraneous words, pictures, and sounds are excluded rather than included.

24. 5. Modality Principle Students learn better from animation and narration than from animation and on-screen text.

25. 6. Redundancy Principle Better transfer occurs when animation and narration are not combined with printed text. When pictures and words are both presented visually, it can overload visual working memory capacity.

26. 7. Individual Differences Principle Design effects are stronger for low-knowledge learners than from high-knowledge learners and for high-spatial learners than for low-spatial learners.

27. Credits & References • Retrieved from the Internet: • http://www.learning-theories.com/cognitivism.html • http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/mayer/index.php • Clark, R.C., & Mayer, R.E. (2008). Applying the multimedia principle. E-learning and the science of instruction (3rd ed., pp. 447-478). San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. • Mayer, R.E., & Gallini, J.K. (1990). When an illustration is worth then thousand words? Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 64-73 • Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (2003). Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning. Educational Psychologist,38(1). 43 – 52.