Richard Meyer, Multimedia Learning
SED 618 Multimedia in the Classroom
Dr. Kenneth Berry
1. What is cognitive theory about?
Cognitive theory is about how the principles of multimedia design should be geared
towards how people are able to process the information. In some cases, the presenter is
providing information at a rate or in a design that many people cannot handle because they
have the assumption that people are all able to process this information in the same way that
it is being presented.
2. What are Meyers 3 assumptions of learners?
Meyers 3 assumptions of learners are the dual-channel assumption; the limited-capacity
assumption and the active-processing assumption. Dual channels means that humans have
separate channels to process visual and auditory information. Limited capacity refers to a
limit in the amount of information that can be processed by each channel individually.
Finally, active processing is where humans are engaged by attending to relevant incoming
information, organizing selected information into coherent mental representations, and
integrating mental representations with other knowledge.
3. What is a channel? What are the dual channels?
A channel is a processing path that takes information that is presented in a particular
manner and takes it through the various stages of memory until it is finally stored in the longterm memory. The dual channels are separate paths that are each responsible for a different
type of information. One is the auditory/verbal channel, responsible for sound-presented
information like verbal directions, and the other is the visual/pictorial channel, which handle
all the visual information including written words and pictures.
4. What are some of the limits on our short-term memory? Define what short term memory
is?
Short-term memory is also known as the working memory. This is the location where all
information that is presented to the individual is processed and links the verbal to the
pictorial. Its limitations are based on the principle that the working memory or short-term
memory can only process so much information at one time and must get that information into
the long-term memory for any kind of storage or risk losing what is being processed.
5. How does multimedia support learning? Describe how using one of the examples from
the chapter.
Multimedia supports learning by causing the learners to engage in 5 different cognitive
processes in order to process the information. First, they must select the relevant words to
process in the verbal working memory. Then, to select the relevant images for processing in
the visual working memory and third, to organize the words into a verbal mental model.
Fourth, to organize the selected the images into a visual mental model and finally to integrate
the verbal and visual representations with prior knowledge. As an example, should a student
choose to learn about lighting this would undergo the series of steps. In looking up lighting
in a multimedia encyclopedia, the student is presented with the definition, effects and
pictures, both static and dynamic. Any of the pictures will move into the images section of
the working memory until it forms a pictorial model that interacts with the prior knowledge.
The word can either go through the audio or visual processing. By moving through the audio
process, the words move into the sounds where the verbal model is activated to interact with
the prior knowledge. In the visual process, the words are taken through the eyes to create an
image, which is used to link a sound or series of sounds and organize into a verbal model to
interact with the prior knowledge. Unlike the last model, by going through a direct path to
the prior knowledge, the information is better understood and processed. The last model
provides a path that moves between both processing channels and can lead to difficulties in
understanding and comprehending.