Multimedia Learning

by Richard E. Mayer

• ISBN13: 9780521787499
• ISBN10: 0521787491
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-23
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

For hundreds of years verbal messages - such as lectures and printed lessons - have been the primary means of explaining ideas to learners. In Multimedia Learning Richard Mayer explores ways of going beyond the purely verbal by combining words and pictures for effective teaching. Multimedia encyclopedias have become the latest addition to students' reference tools, and the world wide web is full of messages that combine words and pictures. Do these forms of presentation help learners? If so, what is the best way to design multimedia messages for optimal learning? Drawing upon 10 years of research, the author provides seven principles for the design of multimedia messages and a cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In short, this book summarizes research aimed at realizing the promise of multimedia learning - that is, the potential of using words and pictures together to promote human understanding.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
The Promise of Multimedia Learning	1	(20)
What Is Multimedia?	2	(1)
The Case for Multimedia Learning	3	(2)
Three Views of Multimedia Messages	5	(3)
Two Views of Multimedia Design	8	(4)
Two Metaphors of Multimedia Learning	12	(3)
Three Kinds of Multimedia Learning Outcomes	15	(2)
Two Kinds of Active Learning	17	(4)
Multimedia Instructional Messages	21	(20)
What Are Multimedia Instructional Messages?	21	(1)
How Lighting Storms Develop	22	(8)
How Brakes Work	30	(5)
How Pumps Work	35	(4)
Conclusion	39	(2)
A Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning	41	(22)
Three Assumptions of a Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning	42	(11)
Five Steps in a Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning	53	(5)
Examples of How Three Kinds of Presented Materials Are Processed	58	(3)
Conclusion	61	(2)
Multimedia Principle	63	(18)
Introduction	64	(8)
Research on Multimedia	72	(6)
Implications	78	(3)
Spatial Contiguity Principle	81	(15)
Introduction	82	(6)
Research on Spatial Contiguity	88	(5)
Implications	93	(3)
Temporal Contiguity Principle	96	(17)
Introduction	97	(5)
Research on Temporal Contiguity	102	(9)
Implications	111	(2)
Coherence Principle	113	(21)
Coherence Principle 1: Student Learning is Hurt When Interesting but Irrelevant Words and Pictures Are Added to a Multimedia Presentation	115	(8)
Coherence Principle 2: Student Learning is Hurt When Interesting but Irrelevant Sounds and Music Are Added to a Multimedia Presentation	123	(5)
Coherence Principle 3: Student Learning is Improved When Unneeded Words Are Eliminated from a Multimedia Presentation	128	(4)
Implications	132	(2)
Modality Principle	134	(13)
Introduction	135	(6)
Research on Modality	141	(3)
Implications	144	(3)
Redundancy Principle	147	(14)
Introduction	147	(7)
Research on Redundancy	154	(3)
Implications	157	(4)
Individual Differences Principle	161	(22)
Questions about Multimedia Learning	162	(1)
Individual Differences Principle 1: Role of Learner's Existing Knowledge	163	(9)
Individual Differences Principle 2: Role of Learner's Spatial Ability	172	(7)
Implications	179	(4)
Principles of Multimedia Design	183	(12)
Seven Principles of Multimedia Design	183	(3)
Five Questions About Multimedia	186	(6)
The Contributions and Challenges of Research on Multimedia Learning	192	(3)
References	195	(8)
Author Index	203	(4)
Subject Index	207