Multimedia Learning Theory, which falls under the theory of Cognitivism, consists of three assumptions. The first states that humans possess dual channels, namely audio and visual, for information processing. This is known as the multimedia principle, which states that learners may learn better with both words and pictures, rather than just words. The next assumption is that each channel has a limited capacity for information processing. Human’s working memory can only handle 7 units (+/-2) at any given time. The final assumption maintains that humans learn through an active processing of filtering, selecting, organizing and integrating these new models with existing knowledge. All of this plays into how teachers instruct with multimedia, especially presentations. Richard Mayer originally developed Multimedia Learning Theory and posited 12 principles, which include: Coherence, Signaling, Redundancy, Spatial Contiguity, Temporal Contiguity, Segmenting, Pre-Training, Modality, Multimedia, Personalization, Voice, and Image.
Multimedia Learning Theory should be considered when teachers create instructional videos and tutorials so as to provide an effective learning tools. The Modality Principle suggests that if there are on-screen images, the instructor utilizes narration instead of text as it overwhelms the visual channel. Think: words and pictures, instead of words and text. The Redunduncy Principle suggests that instructors should include pictures and spoken word, rather than pictures, text and spoken word. This also can overwhelm the cognitive load, impeding learning. Finally, the Coherence Principle suggests that instructors design multimedia presentations with the least amount of extraneous information, such as information that will not be assessed. It is important to think about how we convey information to our students.
Overall, I find this theory to be quite illuminating as it makes me think about how to present information to students. Thinking back on past lectures, I have to say that I tend to become overwhelmed by my cognitive load. As someone with a sensory processing disorder, I do not learn very well from auditory teaching as it takes me too long to process while the instructors speak too quickly without break. An interesting idea would be to go to the next slide, pause to give people time to read the slide and then continue instructing orally. I do think it is dependent on the students in the class.
H5P is an interactive HTML-5 video content type that allows users to add multiple choice questions, fill in the blanks, pop-up text, and other interactions to create engaging learning content. For middle school, this is a great tool to create content for students to interact with and learn from. As a way to make sure students attend to the information in the video, I would add different question types. The great part is that you can make it pause the video when an interaction pops up. A possible assignment that would make use of video editing would be either in Science or Social Studies. An example of a BC Grade 7 Social Studies assignment would be to make a short video about anthropological origins of humans. I really enjoy the idea of the students filming themselves acting it out. I do not believe that it would be as useful for younger grades, especially the primary grades. A pop-up text would be fun and interactive, but may be more distracting than informative.
BC SPCA is a great resource when looking to add a new pet to your family. Here is a short tutorial on how to find specific types of adoptable animals, such as guinea pigs. To create this video, I utilized H5P and screencasting.
References:
- Davis, G., & Norman, M. (2016). Principles of multimedia learning. Wiley Education Services.
- Joubel. (2013). Interactive video. H5P.
- Yana, W. K. (n.d.). Multimedia learning theory. In J. Egbert & M.F. Roe (Eds.), Theoretical models for teaching and research.
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