Cognitive Theory of
Multimedia Design
Instructional Message Design
John C. Bedward
Assistant Professor of Education-STEM
Buena Vista University, Iowa
Poll Questions
• What design rule did I break on the opening
slide? Wait 10 minutes before responding.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Spatial contiguity
Temporal contiguity
Redundancy
Coherence
Multimedia
• Learning from words (e.g., spoken and printed)
and representations (e.g., illustrations, photos,
maps, graphs, animation, simulations and/or
video)
• Environments (Static to Dynamic)
–
–
–
–
–
Online instructional presentations
Interactive lessons
E-courses
Simulation games
Virtual reality
Goal of Multimedia Learning
• Building coherent mental structures
– The construction of schemata (formation and/or
embellishment of new schemata)
– Automaticity of schemata
Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
Multimedia
Presentation
Words
Sensory Memory
Ears
Long-Term
Memory
Working Memory
Selecting
Words
Sounds
Organizing
Words
Verbal
Model
Integrating
Pictures
•
•
•
Eyes
Selecting
Images
Images
Organizing
Images
Prior
Knowledge
Pictorial
Model
Dual Channel: separate channels for processing auditory and visual information
Limited Capacity: limited in the amount of information each channel can process
Active Processing: attend to relevant incoming information, organize information
into coherent mental structures and integrate mental representations with other
information
Processing of Pictures
Multimedia
Presentation
Words
Sensory Memory
Ears
Long-Term
Memory
Working Memory
Selecting
Words
Sounds
Organizing
Words
Verbal
Model
Integrating
Pictures
Eyes
Selecting
Images
Images
Organizing
Images
Pictorial
Model
Prior
Knowledge
Processing of Spoken Words
Multimedia
Presentation
Words
Sensory Memory
Ears
Long-Term
Memory
Working Memory
Selecting
Words
Sounds
Organizing
Words
Verbal
Model
Integrating
Pictures
Eyes
Selecting
Images
Images
Organizing
Images
Pictorial
Model
Prior
Knowledge
Processing of Printed Words
Multimedia
Presentation
Words
Sensory Memory
Ears
Long-Term
Memory
Working Memory
Selecting
Words
Sounds
Organizing
Words
Verbal
Model
Integrating
Pictures
Eyes
Selecting
Images
Images
Organizing
Images
Pictorial
Model
Prior
Knowledge
Poll Questions
• What is the biggest challenge to learning in
rich media environments?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Inability to interact with information
Limited self-evaluation opportunities
Information design and composition
All of the above
Classic Principles of
Multimedia Design
Spatial
Contiguity
Modality
Temporal
Contiguity
Coherence
Redundancy
Individual
Differences
Spatial Contiguity
• Students learn better when corresponding
words and pictures are near rather than far
from each other
– Minimizes cognitive resources (i.e. visual search)
– Ability to hold both types of information in
working memory simultaneously
Template
Example
Natural monuments formed by erosion in Monument Park.
The monuments are formed of Dawson arkose, layers of which
have been hardened by a cement of iron oxides and have
resisted weathering, thus forming a cap that has protected the
softer rocks beneath. Two of these hard layers are shown in
monument at left. El Paso County, Colorado. 1914. Plate 12 in
U.S. Geological Survey. Folio 203. 1916.
Natural monuments formed by erosion in Monument Park.
The monuments are formed of Dawson arkose, layers of which
have been hardened by a cement of iron oxides and have
resisted weathering, thus forming a cap that has protected the
softer rocks beneath. Two of these hard layers are shown in
monument at left. El Paso County, Colorado. 1914. Plate 12 in
U.S. Geological Survey. Folio 203. 1916.
Temporal Contiguity
• Students learn better when corresponding
words (narration) and pictures (animation) are
presented simultaneously rather than
successively
– Ability to hold both representations in working
memory at the same time
– Fosters greater mental connections between
verbal and visual representations
– Meshes well with dual code theory of learning
– Minimizes cognitive load
Template
Example
Simultaneous narration with animation…
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Eruption of
Kilauea Volcano beginning in 1983. Geologist
measuring the height of a lava fountain. Photo by
J.D. Griggs, March 28, 1983.
Delayed narration with animation
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Eruption of
Kilauea Volcano beginning in 1983. Geologist
measuring the height of a lava fountain. Photo by
J.D. Griggs, March 28, 1983.
Coherence
• Extraneous material is removed rather than
included in the final design
– Minimize words, pictures, sounds and duration
– Helps learner focus and mentally organize key
elements
Erosion
Shorelines
Sedimentary Structures
Sedimentation
Coastal Processes
Water
Bedding Plane Irregularities
Sand Waves
Ripple Marks
Geomorphology
Photographer: Marli Miller University of Oregon
Caption: Ripples on sandy beach in southern Alaska.
Sedimentary Structures
Sand Waves
Ripple Marks
Photographer: Marli Miller University of Oregon
Caption: Ripples on sandy beach in southern Alaska.
Earth Science World Image Bank
Modality
• Students learn better from animation and
narration than animation and on-screen text
– Eliminates cognitive load
Narrated Text
On-screen text
• As the sphere
hit the ground
it compressed
transferring
some of its
energy……
Redundancy
• Students learn better from animation and
narration rather from animation, narration
and text
Narrated Text
Narrated Text
On-screen text
As the sphere hit the
ground it compressed
transferring some of its
energy……
Individual Differences
• Design effects are stronger for low knowledge
learners than for high knowledge learners,
and for high spatial learners rather than low
spatial learners
– High knowledge learners can leverage their
domain knowledge to build mental models even
w/poorly designed multimedia
Conversational versus
Formal Narration
Conversational:
• First or second person; resembles
human-to-human interactions;
• People work harder to understand
material when they are in conversation
• Primes appropriate cognitive processes
Formal:
• Impersonal
• perceived as simply receiving
information
Time Remaining
Four-Component Instructional
Design Model (4C-ID model)
Learning Task
Integrated
environments
Supportive Information
What content
knowledge do I
need to know?
Procedure Information
Step by step
processes or
heuristics
Part-Task Practice
Survival skills to
complete the
adventure or
sub-routines
Learning Task
• The learning environment
– Integrates real-life or simulated tasks that may
include problem solving aspects and reasoning
aspects
• Goal is schema construction
Design Principles
• Sequence: Sequence from simple to complex
• Fidelity: The realism/complexity of the environment; move from low to high fidelity environments
• Variability: Learning task must be sufficiently different from each other to promote abstract schemata
• Individualization: The learning difficulty adjust/adapts to the learner
• Training-wheels: Guiding the learner for process support (step-by-step); or constrain the learners
performance
• Completion-strategy: students study completed followed by partial then complete conventional problems
Supportive Information
• Builds a bridge between current student knowledge and
useful knowledge to complete the task
• Provide systematic approaches to problem solving
• Teaches theory by providing:
– Domain models: “what is this?”
– Conceptual models: “how is this organized?”
– Structural models: “how does this work?”
• Cognitive Feedback: opportunity to compare personal
solution with expert solution
Design Principles
• Redundancy: The presentation of redundant information has a negative impact
• Self-explanation: Elicit self-explanation from learners by using pre-questions, a cognitive tutor or
postponing feedback
• Self-pacing: Provide learners’ control over the pace of the learning experience (learner-controlled segments)
Procedural Information
• Providing just-in-time information useful in
completing a task
– How-to instruction
– Pre-requisite information (i.e. definitions)
– Corrective Feedback, based on the quality of the
performance
• Promotes schema automation
Design Principles
• Temporal, Split-attention: The simultaneous presentation of animation and narration/text and pictures
• Spatial-split attention: Text and images should be optically integrated within the learning task
• Signaling (attention-focusing): Drive the learners’ focus to critical aspects of the learning task, reducing
visual search (i.e. point to something)
• Modality: Encourage dual mode techniques (images and narration)
Part-Task Practice
• Additional exercises (practice problems) for
routine aspects of learning the task
– Promotes automaticity (i.e. drill & practice)
– Intermixed with learning tasks
Design Principles
• Component Fluency: Drill and practice used to promote automaticity
References
• Mayer, R.E. (2005). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia
Learning. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Clark, R.C. and Mayer, R.E. E-Learning and the Science of
Instruction. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.