How We Learn

In Education, we study how people learn in order to be able to create better learning experiences – experiences that resonate with learners and promote effective learning. Cognitive Load Theory proposes that learners have finite cognitive resources. Designing learning experiences that make efficient use of these resources will ultimately create more effective learning. 

As we study the theory of interactive and multimedia learning and practice integrating the principles and promising practices that are being actively researched, think about what resonates for you as a learner and what doesn’t. What seems intuitive about these principles and what surprises you? Is there anything that seems to be missing? How are these principles being applied in the design of this course? In other courses you’ve taken?

Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) is founded on three cognitive science principles:

1.Limited capacity (Cognitive Load Theory)

Image source: Scott H Young (2022) Cognitive Load Theory and its Applications for Learning

Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory proposes that different types of memory, particularly working memory, have limited capacities. Overloading these capacities leads to inefficient and ineffective learning. This limited capacity compels us as learning designers to come up with strategies for using it efficiently.

2. Dual Coding Theory

Allan Paivio’s theory suggests that there are two separate systems in our brains – one that handles language and verbal information and another that handles images. This separation gives us two channels in which we can process information at the same time. This gives us some additional capacity that we can make use of as a learning designer.

Image source: Fauziah Mohammad (2019)
THE DEVELOPMENT OF “I-GEP” (INFOGRAPHIC OF ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN)

3. Active Processing

Mayer theorizes that we create logical representations in our minds through an active process of filtering, selecting, organizing, and integrating information. This is called Active Processing. Learning designers can help support this process by designing lessons that encourage students to engage in these activities.    

Principles of Multimedia Learning

Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning is based on the idea that the brain doesn’t interpret a multimedia presentation of words, pictures, and auditory information separately. Instead, we select elements and organize them dynamically to produce logical mental representations (Active Processing). When you learn something new, you integrate it with this existing mental representation, or you make a new one. And since language and images are processed separately (Dual Coding Theory), you can provide more information at the same time without overwhelming someone’s cognitive capacity (Cognitive Load Theory). In order to make use of this theory to design media and multimedia, we need to take a look at the kind of cognitive load that different types and different presentations of media create.

An image of three brains illustrating the difference between instrinsic, extraneous and germane cognitive load.
Image source: Jamila (2018)

Extraneous Cognitive Load

Extraneous load is cognitive load caused by poor design – for example, a web site without a coherent menu, software that doesn’t have intuitive labels for its buttons, a block of text that lacks headers and subheadings – anything that draws on cognitive resources without contributing to learning. 

These four principles from Mayer’s theory are focused on reducing extraneous cognitive load:

  • Redundancy principle: Adding unnecessary text to something that is already narrated, can create extraneous load. Avoid repeating information in more than one channel in your multimedia learning objects. People learn better from graphics and narration or graphics and text than they do from graphics, narration and text. For example, when giving a lecture using PowerPoint slides, it’s better to use visual aids (images, diagrams, or keywords) on the slides and rely on narration for detailed explanations. If you show a slide with full paragraphs of text while also explaining the same content aloud, it creates redundancy, causing cognitive overload. Instead, simplify the slide to a few key terms and let the narration provide the details.
  • Coherence principle: If you stay focused on the topic, and leave out irrelevant or tangential information, better learning results. Resist the urge to add interesting but off-topic material. This keeps the multimedia learning object coherent.
Signaling with headers and subheaders reduces extraneous cognitive load
  • Signaling principle: When cues are added that highlight the key information and its organization, learners don’t have to use cognitive resources to find the essential material or to discern what’s important. Use headings and subheadings to organize material and highlight key information.
  • Contiguity principles: Keeping words and pictures close to each other at the same time is more effective that spreading them apart. Keep labels next to diagrams and show them at the same time, not one after the other.

Intrinsic Cognitive Load

We just looked at Mayer’s principles and their application as a means of removing extraneous cognitive load – that is, load that is not related to learning. Now we take a look at intrinsic load, sometimes referred to as essential load, which is related to how difficult the learning task is for the learner.

Challenging tasks have a lot of learning value so we don’t want to eliminate intrinsic load entirely. We just want to make sure that we manage it by supporting learners effectively when we create multimedia learning materials. It’s important to note that the same task might have a different intrinsic load for different people in different circumstances. So, giving them control over the pace of their learning is an important strategy.

Here are the three principles related to managing intrinsic (or essential) load:

  • Segmenting: This is also known as ‘chunking’ in the world of Instructional Design. Break big ideas or complex systems down into smaller steps so that you can gradually add complexity to the picture and let users control the pace. Look at the hand structure diagram below and take note of the design choices. How well does this support the intrinsic load of the learning objective?
Hand structure diagram #1

Rather than showing every part of the hand at the same time, the hand structure diagram example below (#2) starts with just the bone structure. Later on you can overlay other structures one at a time so that the learner has an opportunity to build a mental model of the hand. If it were part of an interactive slide show you could include a set of controls so that learners can control the speed at which new information is introduced or go back and review earlier structures. (Note that the designer also removed some extraneous load in Diagram #2 by colour coding the categories of bones in the hand and making sure that the labels and structures of the hand are matched. They also follow the Contiguity principle by keeping the labels close to the structures they represent and the Coherence principle by ensuring that the content is focused and relevant.)

Hand structure diagram #2

Diagrams from Patti Shank, Graphics in Learning, 2022 (see Bibliography)

  • Pretraining: Pretraining lays the foundation for learning by making sure that the terminology is clear up front. Rather than jump into a complex diagram of a hand with a lot of new information, Diagram #2 defines the names for the bones and explains their role in the system. With that foundation, you can move on to add more complexity to the information knowing that learners can connect it to what they’ve already learned.
  • Modality: And finally, the modality principle holds that narration and a diagram, rather than labels and a diagram create more effective learning. In other words, saying the words and showing the picture is more effective than showing the words and the picture. Although some of these principles are still in the process of being researched and tested the Modality principle actually has the strongest evidence of any of the principles. Think about the dual coding theory that we looked at last week and the two separate channels for visual and audio input. The evidence also shows that this narration without text works best when the material is complex, the presentation is fast-paced, and the learners are familiar with the words. You may not want to do this with a new concept, using language that’s unfamiliar to your audience, or with an audience who may not speak your language fluently. 
from Water Bear Learning (2023)

In our hand structure diagram example #2 above, if you were presenting this to first year medical students, words like ‘phalange’ and ‘metacarpal’ may not be familiar to the audience and you probably would want to show the words on the screen. But if you were presenting this to a room full of hand surgeons, it might be fine to narrate instead of labeling these structures. The intrinsic load of the hand surgeons will not be the same as the intrinsic load of a first year medical student. 

Social Cues

There are a few final principles from Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning related to social cues that have also been found to be effective in managing intrinsic cognitive load and promoting learning:

  • Personalization Principle: Research shows that people learn better when information is presented using conversational language, rather than more formal speech. That means using contractions (e.g., ‘it’s’ vs. ‘it is’) and speaking in the first or second person (e.g., I, we, our, you). It’s also important to use polite speech (e.g., ‘you might like to’, ‘let’s’) and speak as naturally as possible. This is harder than you might think when there’s a camera pointing at you.
  • Voice Principle: When narration is spoken in a human voice, rather than a machine voice, the research shows that more learning takes place. But machine language has progressed to the point where many people can’t tell the difference anymore. There may be a need to test this principle again given the new developments in this area. What do you think? Can you always tell a machine voice from a human one?
Presenter onscreen with slide. Research shows that this has no positive effect on learning.
  • Image Principle: When recording screencasts or presentations, people sometimes decide to put their own image on the screen as well as the slide. This may serve a purpose if there’s a need to reinforce the instructor presence in a course. But the research shows that this does not add to learning. In fact, it may distract from the message in your presentation.

Germane Cognitive Load

Germane load refers to the mental effort that a learner dedicates to processing and integrating new information into their long-term memory. Germane mode is a desirable and productive type of cognitive load. It is the work a learner’s mind does to build meaningful connections, personalize information, create mental models, and form schemas.

Just like intrinsic load, germane load is individual – what I need and what you need to create new schema in our long-term memories might be quite different. We all have different experiences and background knowledge to draw on and connect to as we build new schema or connect to existing schema in our long-term memory.

When extraneous and intrinsic cognitive loads are too high, it leaves little, if any, room for germane cognitive load. Without enough germane cognitive load, the learner may be overloaded and unable to retain the new information or skill.

When you reduce the extraneous cognitive load there is more room for germane and intrinsic load and therefore, a greater likelihood that the learner will be able to encode something new.

Extraneous, intrisic and germane cognitive load illustrated as a share of working memory
Image source: Scott H Young (2022) Cognitive Load Theory and its Applications for Learning

Read/Watch

Here is a list of media and multimedia illustrating and expanding on the ideas and techniques introduced. Although there may be some repetition between sources, looking at a variety of examples can greatly help your understanding of the underlying theories.

Resources

Mayer’s Multimedia Principles – Bookmark this summary of Mayer’s principles – it will help you apply them to your reflections throughout the term, a key learning outcome.

The Reflector’s Toolkit – Are you new to this mode of reflective learning? Concerned about what’s expected of you as a student? This toolkit will help orient you to the process of answering reflective questions as part of your learning and assessment.

Reflection Questions

These questions are here to prompt your thinking about the content. Hint: you can elaborate in your substantive post.

  • Of all the principles of Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning we looked at in this module, which seem most intuitive to you? Which ones surprised you?
  • Which principles do you have in mind for creating your project? Which do you imagine are easy to employ and which more challenging to follow?
  • Who did you imagine as the audience for your project? How does this impact your design choices?
  • Provide an example of a multimedia learning principle that you have intuitively followed in the past, and an example of a multimedia learning principle that you have not followed in the past. What will you do differently now?

This has been adapted from Mary Watt’s post: https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2024/08/03/module-1-how-do-we-learn-theories-of-multimedia-learning-sept-17-30/