Multimedia Principles and Teaching
Multimedia is the use of images and words to promote learning. Mayer’s multimedia design theory is based on twelve principles:
Coherence – Don’t use extraneous information or images.
Signaling – Highlight the most important information in some way.
Redundancy – Don’t use on-screen captions for narrated graphics.
Spatial contiguity – Ensure that images and related words are near each other.
Temporal contiguity - Make sure the words and graphics presented together.
Segmenting – Break instruction into smaller parts that can be utilized at the learner’s pace.
Pre-training - Introduce key vocabulary and concepts first.
Modality - Spoken words are better than printed.
Personalization - Use conversational style speech instead of formal.
Voice - Real human narration is better than using computer generated voices.
Embodiment - Use people-like graphics.
Image - Don’t put an image of speaker on the screen (Mayer, 2014).
These principles for designing multimedia are useful in both pedagogy and andragogy.
Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching methods for children. When learning about pedagogy in an education course, the four basic learning styles are covered. These are: 1) Auditory, 2) Visual, 3) Tactile, and 4) Reading and writing (Promethean, 2021). I believe multimedia can be used in all four of these learning styles when teaching children. Children who learn best with auditory, visual, and reading/writing styles would benefit from the teacher using multimedia during instruction, and the tactile or kinesthetic learners could create their own multimedia with the content. For teachers currently in the classroom with students, the use of multimedia is a must because the Generation Z students live in a multimedia world (Promethean, 2021).
Andragogy is the study of the way that adults learn, which is different than the way children learn. Because adult learners have different needs and motivations in learning, multimedia is an important component of any training course. Adult learners are generally self-directed and seek to learn information that is relevant and useful to them immediately (Culatta, 2018). Mayer’s principles of multimedia fit very well within andragogy because they promote concise, targeted instruction that is done in chunks, which can be done at the pace the student desires. Using multimedia in workplace training allows adult learners to find the information they need, when they need it, and to apply it immediately. Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning is useful when designing professional development because adult learners have many things on their plate. Using his principles when designing multimedia trainings will help adult learners to receive information in both the visual and auditory channels (dual-channel assumption), reduce the amount of material to only what can be processed (limited-capacity assumption), and assist in integrating the new information with prior knowledge (active processing assumption) (Mayer, 2014).
Using Multimedia to Create Deeper Learning
The use of multimedia instruction has the capacity, if done well, to improve student learning and performance. Understanding how these principles work together, for both children and adults, will help teachers create learning materials that will enter the brain through multiple channels at once, focus the learner on what is most important, and assist them in making connections with their existing knowledge and past experiences. Correct usage of multimedia can help learners to be more motivated, learn more, and have a perception of less difficulty in learning (Mayer & Estrella, 2014). Multimedia can also be used to extend learning times because students are not tied to time in the classroom with the teacher in order to learn the content. A teacher can assign multimedia, such as a Content Acquisition Podcast (CAP), for a student to watch or listen to before class as a pre-training exercise, or after class as an extension activity (Kennedy et al., 2012).
The CAP also could be an effective tool to use with teacher professional development. A CAP is an audio podcast that is enhanced with graphics and on-screen text that is put online. They are also short in duration (5-10 minutes) and focus on one topic. These CAP’s are developed using Mayer’s principles of multimedia design. The study described in the article by Kennedy, et al. (2012) showed how the use of CAP in addition to a text-only based assignment resulted in significantly better recall performance than when a text-based assignment was used alone. Similar results were seen when students utilized a CAP compared with an audio-only podcast (Kennedy et al., 2012). This is an idea that I can use when creating professional development sessions for my teachers. In addition to the multi-media presentation and handouts, I can create a CAP for them to watch prior to coming. This will help get them thinking about the content before they arrive. I could also make them available after the session, so they can review what they’ve learned as they have time or need.
Putting the Principles to Use
After spending time learning about Mayer's principles and theory this week, much of the multimedia I created to use in my classroom as a teacher would not score well on a rubric of Mayer’s principles. I usually had way too much text on my presentation slides.
In my new role as an instructional technologist, I have been working to create training material for teachers. While some of the things I have created would be moderately effective, they definitely could use some revision to make them more effective. I will also be more intentional in my design process going forward.
One thing that was interesting to me in the assigned reading and videos this week was the ideas of personalization and embodiment. Much of the discussion centered around removing extraneous information and streamlining the graphics and text. However, in the article, Benefits of emotional design in multimedia instruction, it was shown how giving graphics human-like characteristics (host cells and viruses with faces) and inviting colors enhanced student learning because it involved the emotions of the learner. The study described in this article showed that students who were given these personalized graphics performed better on comprehension tests and had a lower level of perceived difficulty for the same amount of effort (Mayer & Estrella, 2014). This is definitely something to consider when creating or selecting graphics for a multimedia lesson. Personifying the graphics for the essential information and making them appealing to look at has a big return, and this should not be overlooked.
If you’d like more information, this video provides a great summary of the cognitive learning theory and Mayer’s principles of multimedia design.
References:
Culatta, R. (2018, November 30). Andragogy (Malcolm Knowles). InstructionalDesign.org. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/andragogy/
Davis, A. (2017, July 20). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. YouTube. Retrieved September 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn1p3qXuzQQ
Mayer, R. E. (2014). Research-based principles for designing multimedia instruction. In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.), Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. (pp. 59–70). Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
Mayer, R. E., & Estrella, G. (2014). Benefits of emotional design in multimedia instruction. Learning and Instruction, 33, 12–18. https://doi-org.wmlsrsu.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2014.02.004
Kennedy, M. J., Ely, E., Thomas, C. N., Pullen, P. C., Newton, J. R., Ashworth, K., Cole, M. T., & Lovelace, S. P. (2012). Using Multimedia Tools to Support Teacher Candidates’ Learning. Teacher Education and Special Education, 35(3), 243–257.
Promethean. (2021, October 7). Pedagogy: All you need to know about learning practices. Promethean Blog. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://resourced.prometheanworld.com/pedagogy-learning-practices/#chapter-1
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