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learning_theories:cognitive_theory_of_multimedia_learning [2013/09/11 12:31]
learning_theories:cognitive_theory_of_multimedia_learning [2023/06/19 18:03] (current)
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 +====== Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning ======
 +
 +
 +===== General =====
 +
 +
 +Cognitive theory of multimedia learning is one of the [[learning_paradigms:​cognitivism#​learning_theories|cognitivist learning theories]] introduced by an American psychology professor [[http://​www.psych.ucsb.edu/​people/​faculty/​mayer/​index.php|Richard Mayer]] in the 1990s. This theory is a sub-theory of [[http://​education.arts.unsw.edu.au/​staff/​john-sweller-726.html|John Sweller]]'​s [[learning_theories:​cognitive_load_theory|cognitive load theory]] applied especially for multimedia learning, and therefore has many similarities with it. Basic assumption of Mayer'​s theory is that the **human working memory** has **two sub-components** that **work in parallel** (visual and verbal/​acoustic) and that learning can be more successful if both of this channels are used for information processing at the same time. 
 +
 +
 +===== What is cognitive theory of multimedia learning? =====
 +
 +Mayer'​s theory is based on three assumptions suggested by cognitive research(([[http://​scienceview.berkeley.edu/​research/​agents/​02.Mayer.Moreno.EPR.pdf|Mayer,​ RE, and R Moreno. Animation as an aid to multimedia learning. Educational psychology review 14, no. 1: 87-99. March 2002.]]))(([[http://​books.google.hr/​books?​id=ymJ9o-w_6WEC&​printsec=frontcover&​dq=Mayer,​+Richard+E.+Multim%C3%A9dia+learning&​hl=hr&​ei=XMNrTeSmG43ItAbaprn3DA&​sa=X&​oi=book_result&​ct=result&​resnum=1&​ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Mayer,​ Richard E. Multimédia learning. Cambridge University Press, 2001.]])):
 +
 +[[  http://​t0.gstatic.com/​images?​q=tbn:​ANd9GcRcaVF1nGSYY3y-pqAPDUZVRDnN0Yz_trOQpuQXheq38cjc76Ix|{{ ​ :​images:​model.png| ​ Human working memory model Image borrowed from: http://​t0.gstatic.com/​images... Click on the picture to follow the link.}}]]
 +
 +  - **Dual-channel assumption** - The verbal and visual channels (similar to what Baddeley called //​phonological loop system// and //​visuospatial sketchpad//​(([[http://​books.google.hr/​books?​id=ymJ9o-w_6WEC&​printsec=frontcover&​dq=Mayer,​+Richard+E.+Multim%C3%A9dia+learning&​hl=hr&​ei=XMNrTeSmG43ItAbaprn3DA&​sa=X&​oi=book_result&​ct=result&​resnum=1&​ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Mayer,​ Richard E. Multimédia learning. Cambridge University Press, 2001.]]))) in our working memory are separated and can be used for processing information simultaneously thus enhancing process of learning. The suggestion that human working memory has more sub-components firstly came from the working memory models designed by [[http://​www.york.ac.uk/​psychology/​staff/​faculty/​ab50/​|Alan Baddeley]] and [[http://​www.york.ac.uk/​res/​wml/​ghitch.html|Graham Hitch]] in 1974(([[http://​dionysus.psych.wisc.edu/​Lit/​Articles/​BaddeleyA1974a.pdf|Baddeley,​ A. D., Hitch, G. J. Working Memory. In Bower, G.A. The psychology of learning and motivation: advances in research and theory. 8. New York: Academic Press. pp. 47–89. 1974.]])) and reviewed by Baddeley in 1992(([[http://​www.sciencemag.org/​content/​255/​5044/​556.abstract|Baddeley,​ A. Working memory. Science (New York, N.Y.) 255, no. 5044: 556-559. January 31, 1992.]])). These findings where further incorporated to the [[learning_theories:​Dual coding theory]] by [[http://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Allan_Paivio|Allan Paivio]](([[http://​www.ebook3000.com/​Mental-Representations--A-Dual-Coding-Approach_123738.html|Paivio,​ A. Mental representations:​ A dual coding approach. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1986.]])) and later by Mayer and his colleagues.
 +   - **Limited capacity assumption** - As Miller'​s [[http://​tip.psychology.org/​miller.html|Information processing theory]] has shown, these channels have limited capacity(([[http://​cogprints.org/​730/​1/​miller.html|Miller,​ G. A. The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychology Review 63: 81-97. 1956.]])) and limited time((Peterson,​ L. and Peterson, M. Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 193–198. 1959.)) they can hold information. Too much information can therefore cause //cognitive overload//​.(([[http://​www.uky.edu/​~gmswan3/​544/​9_ways_to_reduce_CL.pdf|Mayer,​ Richard, and Roxana Moreno. Nine Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning. Educational Psychologist 38: 43-52, March 2003.]]))
 +  - **Active-processing assumption** - Learning is an active process of collecting, organizing and integrating new information(([[http://​books.google.hr/​books?​id=ymJ9o-w_6WEC&​printsec=frontcover&​dq=Mayer,​+Richard+E.+Multim%C3%A9dia+learning&​hl=hr&​ei=XMNrTeSmG43ItAbaprn3DA&​sa=X&​oi=book_result&​ct=result&​resnum=1&​ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Mayer,​ Richard E. Multimédia learning. Cambridge University Press, 2001.]])). Similarities with [[learning_paradigms:​constructivism|constructivist learning]] may be noticed in this definition.
 +
 +Together with [[learning_theories:​cognitive_load_theory|cognitive load theory]], which offers a more detailed description of cognitive load types and possible causes of cognitive overload, the mentioned assumptions of cognitive theory of multimedia learning form a framework and **theoretical basis** for most contemporary research on learning. This research is mostly oriented on two goals:
 +
 +  * utilizing both information processing channels, and
 +  * managing cognitive load and avoiding cognitive overload.
 +
 +Research results have revealed a number of so called [[research_results:​principles and effects]] describing different phenomena related to learning, instructional aids and ways of reducing cognitive load.
 +===== What is the practical meaning of cognitive theory of multimedia learning? =====
 +
 +As mentioned, research in frames of cognitive theory of multimedia learning and [[learning_theories:​cognitive load theory]] has revealed a number of [[research_results:​principles and effects]] introduced by Sweller(([[http://​www.csuchico.edu/​~nschwartz/​Sweller_2008.pdf|Sweller,​ J. Human Cognitive Architecture. In Handbook of research on educational communications and technology, 369-381. Taylor & Francis, 2008.]])), Mayer(([[http://​books.google.hr/​books?​id=ymJ9o-w_6WEC&​printsec=frontcover&​dq=Mayer,​+Richard+E.+Multim%C3%A9dia+learning&​hl=hr&​ei=XMNrTeSmG43ItAbaprn3DA&​sa=X&​oi=book_result&​ct=result&​resnum=1&​ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Mayer,​ Richard E. Multimédia learning. Cambridge University Press, 2001.]])), and a number of other researchers. Simplified, these principles and effects suggest that students learn better:
 +
 +  * from **words and pictures** than from words alone,
 +  * from **animation and narration** together than only from animation or narration or on-screen text,
 +  * when corresponding words and pictures are presented **close** rather than far from each other on the page or screen,
 +  * when corresponding words and pictures are presented **simultaneously** rather than one after another,
 +  * when extraneous interesting but irrelevant material is excluded rather than included,
 +  * when important information in the learning material is marked or emphasized,
 +  * when animation or text are broken down into **smaller segments**,
 +  * when they are presented with worked examples before they try to solve a problem on their own,
 +  * when they are prompted to **self-explain** a step in a procedure,
 +  * when they study complex material in **collaboration** with other students,
 +  * when their **prior knowledge is activate**d prior to learning new material, and
 +  * when they receive amount of **guidance** depending on their expertise level.
 +
 +All of these design effects are stronger for low-knowledge learners than for high knowledge learners, and for high-spatial learners rather than for low-spatial learners.
 +
 +Still, all of the mentioned suggestions for more efficient learning should be implemented with caution, since real-life learning environments are always much more complex than laboratory conditions. For more details and research status on every of the mentioned suggestions visit the [[research_results:​principles and effects]] page. 
 +
 +===== Criticisms =====
 +
 +
 +Cognitive theory of multimedia learning is mostly subjected to same [[learning_theories:​cognitive_load_theory&#​criticisms|criticisms]] as the cognitive load theory since it is an extension of it.
 +===== Keywords and most important names =====
 +
 +  * **Cognitive theory of multimedia learning**, **dual coding theory**, **visual and verbal/​acoustic channel**
 +  * [[http://​www.psych.ucsb.edu/​people/​faculty/​mayer/​index.php|Richard Mayer]]
 +
 +
 +===== Bibliography =====
 +
 +[[http://​books.google.hr/​books?​id=ymJ9o-w_6WEC&​printsec=frontcover&​dq=Mayer,​+Richard+E.+Multim%C3%A9dia+learning&​hl=hr&​ei=XMNrTeSmG43ItAbaprn3DA&​sa=X&​oi=book_result&​ct=result&​resnum=1&​ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#​v=onepage&​q&​f=false|Mayer,​ Richard E. Multimédia learning. Cambridge University Press, 2001.]]
 +
 +[[http://​visuallearningresearch.wiki.educ.msu.edu/​file/​view/​Mayer,​+Heiser,​+%26+Lonn+%282001%29.pdf |Mayer, R. E, J. Heiser and S. Lonn. Cognitive constraints on multimedia learning: When presenting more material results in less understanding. Journal of Educational Psychology 93, no. 1: 187–198. 2001.]]
 +
 +
 +===== Read more =====
 +
 +[[http://​www.simplypsychology.org/​Is%20Working%20Memory%20Still%20Working.pdf|Baddeley,​ Alan D. Is Working Memory Still Working? European Psychologist 7, no. 2: 85-97. July 2002.]]
 +
 +[[http://​www.sciencedirect.com/​science/​article/​pii/​S0022066302002210|Moreno,​ R., and Mayer, Richard E. Cognitive Principles of Multimedia Learning: The Role of Modality and Contiguity. Journal of Educational Psychology 91, no. 2: p358-368. June 1999.]]
 +
 +[[http://​visuallearningresearch.wiki.educ.msu.edu/​file/​view/​Mayer+%26+Sims+%281994%29.pdf/​50533673/​Mayer+%26+Sims+%281994%29.pdf|Mayer,​ R. E, and V. K Sims. For whom is a picture worth a thousand words? Extensions of a dual-coding theory of multimedia learning. Journal of educational psychology 86: 389–389. 1994.]]