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11 - The Multimedia Principle

from Part III - Basic Principles of Multimedia Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Richard E. Mayer
Edited by
Richard E. Mayer  and
Logan Fiorella
Richard E. Mayer
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Logan Fiorella
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
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Summary

The multimedia principle is that people learn better from words and pictures than from words alone. For example, a multimedia lesson consists of an animation depicting the steps in lightning formation along with concurrent narration describing the steps in the lightning formation, whereas a single-medium lesson consists of narration alone. Based on research carried out by myself and my colleagues, in 13 out of 13 tests, learners who received text and illustrations or narration and animation (dual representation group) performed better on transfer tests than did learners who received text alone or narration alone (single representation group), with a median effect size of d = 1.35.

Keywords

multimedia principle verbal mental modelvisual mental modellightning formationtransfer testcognitive theory of multimedia learning
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning , pp. 145 - 157
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

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