Multimedia Learning Research Research Articles

A systematic review of emotional design research in multimedia learning

AbstractThis study provides a current systematic review of emotional design research in the multimedia learning domain and explores how emotional design is studied in multimedia learning. All studies on emotional design in multimedia learning published until 2023 were examined thoroughly. In this study, 51 journal articles were identified based on PRISMA guidelines and reviewed regarding emotional state parameters, emotional design techniques, emotional and other measurements, learning materials, research methodologies, and learning outcomes. The analysis provided several salient findings. Firstly, there has been growing interest in emotional design. Secondly, the impact of emotional design on learning outcomes, emotional states, motivation, and cognitive load was explored. Thirdly, most studies preferred subjective measurements or indirect objective measurements. Fourthly, there was a tendency to examine the effects of shape and color elements in the emotional design techniques. Lastly, the studies reported contradictory results on learning outcomes but agreed that emotional design had a positive impact on motivation and emotional state. This review highlights research gaps and provides recommendations for future studies in the field of emotional design in multimedia learning.

Signaling cues and focused prompts for professional vision support: The interplay of instructional design and situational interest in preservice teachers’ video analysis

In teacher education, video representations of practice offer a motivating means for applying conceptual teaching knowledge toward real-world settings. With video analysis, preservice teachers can begin cultivating professional vision skills through noticing and reasoning about presented core teaching practices. However, with novices’ limited prior knowledge and experience, processing transient information from video can be challenging. Multimedia learning research suggests instructional design techniques for support, such as signaling keyword cues during video viewing, or presenting focused self-explanation prompts which target theoretical knowledge application during video analysis. This study investigates the professional vision skills of noticing and reasoning (operationalized as descriptions and interpretations of relevant noticed events) from 130 preservice teachers participating in a video-analysis training on the core practice of small-group instruction. By means of experimental comparisons, we examine the effects of signaling cues and focused self-explanation prompts on professional vision performance. Further, we explore the impact of these techniques, considering preservice teachers’ situational interest. Overall, results demonstrated that preservice teachers’ professional vision skills improved from pretest to posttest, but the instructional design techniques did not generally offer additional support. However, moderation analysis indicated that training with cues fostered professional vision skills for preservice teachers with low situational interest. This suggests that for uninterested novices, signaling cues may compensate for the generative processing boost typically associated with situational interest. Research and practice implications involve the consideration of situational interest as a powerful component of instructional design, and that keyword cueing can offer an alternative when interest is difficult to elicit.

Previewing test items prior to learning and receiving decorative pictures during testing: Impact on listening comprehension for English as a Foreign Language students

AbstractIn multimedia learning research, pictures are commonly used to visually represent corresponding written texts, generating substantial research on how to apply multimedia principles to more effectively design instructional materials. However, it is still unclear what types of pictures presented in testing, with or without additional instructional supports, enhance learning from spoken messages. To address this gap, the present experiment recruited 184 university students and employed a 2 (representational vs. decorative pictures) × 2 (cueing vs. no cueing) between‐subjects factorial design. Specifically, this study investigated the effects of adding decorative (aesthetic, interest enhancing), as compared to representational (content depicting) pictures, to test items with or without the opportunity to preview such items (cueing) on learning and learning judgments. The results showed significant main effects of picture type and cueing, as well as a significant interaction effect on listening comprehension. That is, cueing neutralized the negative impact of decorative pictures, but did not improve learning when representational pictures were used. In addition, representational pictures led to significantly higher learning judgments than did decorative pictures. The detrimental effect of decorative pictures and the compensating effect of cueing on decorative pictures in testing were confirmed in the listening comprehension scenario.

The richer, the better? Effects of combining seductive and interpretational visuals in computer‐based learning

AbstractBackgroundThere are two major types of pictures that have been the focus of multimedia learning research, namely, seductive and interpretational pictures. Despite an increasing body of literature documenting the effects of either seductive or interpretational pictures added to text‐based materials, there is a paucity of research explicitly comparing them in a multimedia learning environment.ObjectivesTo address this gap, this study manipulated the picture condition by designing seductive pictures (SPs), interpretational pictures (IPs), and seductive plus interpretational pictures (SIPs) and investigated the multimedia effects of SPs, IPs, and SIPs on several cognitive and affective‐motivational variables.MethodsTwo computer‐based experiments were conducted where a scientific text about the blood circulatory system was presented with SPs, IPs, or SIPs. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions, and completed a subsequent learning test (comprehension and transfer questions) as well as a survey measuring their learning experience.Results and ConclusionsThe results of the two experiments were consistent in showing that our experimental manipulation was unsuccessful in influencing the learning outcome variables. Nevertheless, learning with seductive plus interpretational pictures appeared to yield better judgement accuracy, as compared to learning with seductive or interpretational pictures only. Most educational practitioners still include decorative elements based on their impression of aesthetics of motivation; this study encourages them to use these elements within their learning materials.

Focused self-explanation prompts and segmenting foster pre-service teachers’ professional vision - but only during training!

When analyzing classroom video, pre-service teachers can improve their professional vision, that is, their ability to notice important events in a classroom and to interpret them based on theoretical knowledge. However, learning with video is especially challenging for novice learners. Thus, video needs to be embedded into an instructional context to be effective. In an experimental study with 89 pre-service biology teachers, we investigated the effect of a short professional vision training and whether two design principles from multimedia learning research—namely segmenting and self-explanation prompts—could additionally increase training effects. In a one-hour training session on small-group tutoring strategies, participants watched practice video examples either as a whole or segmented. After each video or video segment, respectively, they received either open or focused self-explanation prompts to analyze the scene. We assessed participants’ professional vision skills before and after training. Overall, participants’ performance substantially increased from pretest to posttest. Moreover, during training, both segmented video examples and focused self-explanation prompts led to increased noticing of relevant strategies. This advantage during training, however, did not result in higher professional vision improvement in posttest scores compared to participants who worked in the less supported training phase conditions. We discuss possible explanations why additional support increased training performance but not learning gains and suggest an additional fading phase as a means to achieve persistent effects.

Learning From Multiple Representations: Prior Knowledge Moderates the Beneficial Effects of Signals and Abstract Graphics.

Multimedia learning research addresses the question of how to design instructional material effectively. Signaling and adding graphics are typical instructional means that might support constructing a mental model, particularly when learning abstract content from multiple representations. Although signals can help to select relevant aspects of the learning content, additional graphics could help to visualize mentally the subject matter. Learners’ prior knowledge is an important factor for the effectiveness of both types of support: signals and added graphics. Therefore, we conducted an experimental study situated in a university course of computer science with N = 124 participants. In our 2 × 2 factorial design, we investigated the effects of signals and illustrating graphics on learning outcomes and their potential interplay. Based on our regression analysis, we revealed prior knowledge as a significant moderator. Although learners with low levels of prior knowledge can profit from all types of help but still gain rather weak learning outcomes, learners with medium levels of prior knowledge profit from the synergy of both helps. With higher levels of prior knowledge, signals were particularly hampering. To improve the understanding of these supportive or hampering effects, a more fine-grained analysis of these processes and motivational effects is necessary.

Cognitive load in multimedia learning environments: A systematic review

The purpose of this study was to review articles involving cognitive load and multimedia learning between 2015 and 2019 in a systematic way. 94 articles were reviewed in terms of the types of cognitive load, multimedia learning principles, cognitive load measurements, the investigated dependent and independent variables, cognitive processes, the types of multimedia learning environments and the demographic characteristics of the studies. The results revealed that reviewed studies indicated the type of cognitive load seem to have investigated the extraneous cognitive load more frequently. The most studied multimedia learning principles in reviewed articles were modality principle, seductive details effect and signaling/cueing principle respectively. Most reviewed cognitive load studies on multimedia learning were conducted by researchers in Europe, especially in Germany, followed by Asia, America, Australia, and Africa. Research results showed that most cognitive load studies in multimedia learning environments conducted thus far have utilized STEM subjects. Higher education students were the primary participant group in the cognitive load in multimedia learning research as well. There was a tendency to use subjective methods more often than objective methods to measure cognitive load in investigations. In addition to cognitive load, learning, prior knowledge, and motivation were measured most frequently in these studies. In the reviewed studies, multimedia design, material type, presentation format, and individual differences were the most selected focus of research. Research results were interpreted and a number of gaps in cognitive load research relating to multimedia learning were identified.

Heart rate variability reflects the effects of emotional design principle on mental effort in multimedia learning

Recent studies have indicated that there are benefits to be derived from incorporating emotional design principles into multimedia lessons. However, the results of how this principle affects the amount of mental effort that is exerted in learning have been mixed. In this study, the effect of the emotional design principle on individuals' mental effort investment was examined using effort-related physiological measures (i.e., heart rate variability). Sixty college participants, of whom 30 were in a positive emotional design group and the remaining 30 in a neutral emotional design (control) group, received a six-minute-long set of biology multimedia instructions. Compared to the participants in the neutral design group, the participants in the positive emotional design group performed better on a subsequent retention test and had a stronger decrease in the high-frequency band of heart rate variability in the instruction session. These findings are consistent with the affective mediation assumption of Cognitive Affective Theory of Learning with Media and indicate the potential importance of including affective and motivational factors in multimedia learning research.

A systematic review of eye tracking research on multimedia learning

This study provides a current systematic review of eye tracking research in the domain of multimedia learning. The particular aim of the review is to explore how cognitive processes in multimedia learning are studied with relevant variables through eye tracking technology. To this end, 52 articles, including 58 studies, were analyzed. Remarkable results are that (1) there is a burgeoning interest in the use of eye tracking technology in multimedia learning research; (2) studies were mostly conducted with college students, science materials, and the temporal and count scales of eye tracking measurements; (3) eye movement measurements provided inferences about the cognitive processes of selecting, organizing, and integrating; (4) multimedia learning principles, multimedia content, individual differences, metacognition, and emotions were the potential factors that can affect eye movement measurements; and (5) findings were available for supporting the association between cognitive processes inferred by eye tracking measurements and learning performance. Specific gaps in the literature and implications of existing findings on multimedia learning design were also determined to offer suggestions for future research and practices.

Verbal redundancy in a procedural animation: On-screen labels improve retention but not behavioral performance

Multimedia learning research has shown that presenting the same words as spoken text and as written text to accompany graphical information hinders learning (i.e., redundancy effect). However, recent work showed that a “condensed” form of written text (i.e., on-screen labels) that overlaps with the spoken text, and thus is only partially redundant, can actually foster learning. This study extends this line of research by focusing on the usefulness of on-screen labels in an animation explaining a procedural task (i.e., first-aid procedure). The experiment had a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject design (N = 129) with the factors spoken text (yes vs. no), written text (yes vs. no), and on-screen labels (yes vs. no). Learning outcomes were measured as retention accuracy and behavioral performance accuracy. Results showed that on-screen labels improved retention accuracy (but not behavioral performance accuracy) of the procedure, especially when presented together with spoken text. So, on-screen labels appear to be promising for learning from procedural animations.

The instructor’s face in video instruction: Evidence from two large-scale field studies.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 107(3) of Journal of Educational Psychology (see record 2015-17245-001). In the article, “value” was inadvertently included after “p” in the first column of both Tables 2 and 3.] Multimedia learning research has established several principles for the effective design of audiovisual instruction. The image principle suggests that showing the instructor’s face in multimedia instruction does not promote learning, because the potential benefits from inducing social responses are outweighed by the cost of additional cognitive processing. In an 8-week observational field study (N = 2,951), online learners chose to watch video lectures either with or without the instructor’s face. Although learners who saw the face reported having a better lecture experience than those who chose not to see the face, 35% watched videos without the face for self-reported reasons including avoiding distraction. Building on these insights, the authors developed a video presentation style that strategically shows the face to reduce distraction while preserving occasional social cues. A 10-week field experiment (N = 12,468) compared the constant with the strategic presentation of the face and provided evidence consistent with the image principle. Cognitive load and perceived social presence were higher in the strategic than in the constant condition, but learning outcomes and attrition did not differ. Learners who expressed a verbal learning preference experienced substantially lower attrition and cognitive load with the constant than the strategic presentation. The findings highlight the value of social cues for motivation and caution against one-size-fits-all approaches to instructional design that fail to account for individual differences in multimedia instruction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Introducing the familiarity mechanism: A unified explanatory approach for the personalization effect and the examination of youth slang in multimedia learning

Several approaches have been used to explain how the personalization effect operates in multimedia messages. This paper aims at unifying these statements in a core concept of familiarity and its influence on social cues. By amplifying the scope of possible forms of personalization, the study explores additionally how youth slang as a new factor of conversation influences learning. Secondary school children (N=166) were randomly assigned to experimental groups and provided with materials about photosynthesis in two different experiments (audio vs. text message). Each experiment consisted of performance tests and a questionnaire concerning the newly found mechanism of familiarity. The results of each single factor between-subject design show that youth slang fosters learning. Strong effects among transfer task performance (d1=1.19; d2=1.26) confirm the personalization effect. Moreover, the outcomes deliver valid empirical evidence for the proposed familiarity mechanism. These findings are discussed as well as the confirmation of all presumptions for the familiarity mechanism as incorporated in the explanatory approach, resulting in clear theoretical implications and future directions for the field of multimedia learning research.

Twelve tips for the effective use of videos in medical education

Videos can promote learning by either complementing classroom activities, or in self-paced online learning modules. Despite the wide availability of online videos in medicine, it can be a challenge for many educators to decide when videos should be used, how to best use videos, and whether to use existing videos or produce their own. We outline 12 tips based on a review of best practices in curriculum design, current research in multimedia learning and our experience in producing and using educational videos. The 12 tips review the advantages of using videos in medical education, present requirements for teachers and students, discuss how to integrate video into a teaching programme, and describe technical requirements when producing one’s own videos. The 12 tips can help medical educators use videos more effectively to promote student engagement and learning.

An overview of multimedia learning findings for developers of behavioral health interventions

AIMs Although technology-based interventions are increasingly used in the field of behavioral health, including addiction, many developers remain unaware of relevant findings documenting how people learn from multimedia. This presentation will describe evidence-based findings from multimedia learning research that may help developers make more effective use of technology. METHODS This presentation will synthesize important multimedia learning findings relevant to intervention developers. Extensive research exists regarding how technology can facilitate learning without overwhelming clients' ability to process new information.

Using findings in multimedia learning to inform technology-based behavioral health interventions

Clinicians and researchers are increasingly using technology-based behavioral health interventions to improve intervention effectiveness and to reach underserved populations. However, these interventions are rarely informed by evidence-based findings of how technology can be optimized to promote acquisition of key skills and information. At the same time, experts in multimedia learning generally do not apply their findings to health education or conduct research in clinical contexts. This paper presents an overview of some key aspects of multimedia learning research that may allow those developing health interventions to apply informational technology with the same rigor as behavioral science content. We synthesized empirical multimedia learning literature from 1992 to 2011. We identified key findings and suggested a framework for integrating technology with educational and behavioral science theory. A scientific, evidence-driven approach to developing technology-based interventions can yield greater effectiveness, improved fidelity, increased outcomes, and better client service.

PowerPoint in the Psychology Classroom: Lessons from Multimedia Learning Research

Teaching in higher education often involves giving a lecture that is accompanied by PowerPoint slides. It is common practice for slides to adhere closely to PowerPoint's defaults, but these and other similar designs violate principles of multimedia learning. In this article, the psychological theories that apply to slide comprehension processes are described, with an explanation as to how ‘common-practice’ slides do not incorporate recommendations that arise from them. The authors identify ways in which an alternative structure, called the Assertion-Evidence (A-E) slide structure, better embodies these principles. They present introductory steps for instructors who are interested in redesigning their slides. Figures are used to illustrate both common-practice and A-E slide structures.

Multimedia learning: beyond modality

The technical means to develop informational and instructional resources are now at everybody’s fingertips (e.g., by using MS PowerPoint, the most widely used multimedia and instructional “authoring tool”, although by design only a presentation (sic!) tool). It also has become very easy to distribute multimedia materials: one does not need to press CD-ROMs and ship them via mail, all that is needed is to upload resources to a web server; modern browsers can render all kinds of media, from text and pictures to animated 3D models. Having the hurdle of technical and logistical problems moved out of the way, issues of learning and didactics become more prominent again: how does multimedia learning work? Under what conditions does it help to present content with multiple media? How can students become engaged in active learning, in interacting with media? What are the well-founded (general) design principles? The contributions in this Special Issue address these and a number of related questions in great depth and with scientific rigor. All of the papers make important contributions not only to current issues in multimedia learning research, but also result in insights that are of relevance for practical applications—for designing multimedia-based instructional messages and learning environments. It is notoriously difficult to write for both purposes in a single paper— to foster research and to contribute to instructional practice. Most of the contributions speak primarily to the researcher. Because I find it important that readers with an interest in instructional design can profit from this Special Issue as well, one objective for this commentary is to identify and summarize the instructional messages contained in the research papers. My second objective is to try to identify central theoretical issues and to speculate upon further research directions. In order to reach these objectives, I will first step through the individual contributions and state what I see as their central points. In doing so, I shall not follow the exact sequence of articles. Of all the papers, the one by Richard Mayer is most clearly directed towards the