the psychology of learning and motivation - Percepts and Concepts ...

Applying the Science of Learning to Multimedia Instruction 93performed better on transfer tests when they learned from a narratedanimation explaining how some system works than from the same narratedanimation along with concurrent on-screen text that was identicalto the words in the narration. The median effect size was d = 0.72 favoringthe nonredundant lessons (i.e., narration and animation without onscreentext). For example, students learned better with a narratedanimation on lightning formation than from the same narrated animationwith concurrent on-screen text (Mayer, Heiser, et al., 2001,Experiments 1 and 2; Moreno & Mayer, 2002a, Experiment 2).Similarly, students learned better from an on-screen agent in a botanycomputer game when the agent narrated an animation rather than whenthe agent narrated an animation with concurrent on-screen captions(Moreno & Mayer, 2002b, Experiments 2a and 2b). There is somepreliminary evidence that the redundancy principle is strongest whenthe on-screen text is long and placed far from the graphic (Mayer &Johnson, 2008) or when the spoken text is presented before the printedtext (Kalyuga, Chandler, & Sweller, 2004). Sweller (2005b) has a broaderdefinition of the redundancy principle in multimedia learning, but reportssimilar findings.4.2.4. Spatial Contiguity PrincipleConsider a lesson consisting of graphics and printed text, presented eitheras an annotated narration on a computer screen or a series of annotatedframes in a book. Common practice is to place the words at the bottom ofthe screen or figure as a caption or to present the words in a paragraph withdirections to ‘‘see the figure.’’ According to the cognitive theory ofmultimedia learning, this can create an extraneous overload situation inwhich the learner must visually scan back and forth between the printedwords and the corresponding part of the graphic. The required scanning isa form of extraneous processing that leaves less cognitive capacity foressential and generative processing. A solution to this kind of extraneousoverload situation is to move segments of the printed text next to the partof the corresponding part of the graphic, so the need for visual scanning isreduced.The spatial contiguity principle is that people learn better from a multimedialesson when corresponding words and pictures are placed nearrather than far from one another on the screen or page. In five out of fiveexperimental comparisons, students learned better from integrated lessons(with words placed near the part of the graphic they described) than fromseparated lessons (with words placed as captions or in paragraphs far from thegraphic). The median effect size was d = 1.12 favoring the integrated lessons.For example, students learned better from an annotated animation onlightning when the on-screen text was placed within the graphic next tothe element it described rather than at the bottom of the screen as a caption