In the Age of Generative AI, an increasing number of faculty are turning to presentations (and other authentic assessments) to evaluate student learning. In this context, it is critical for faculty (and students) to understand the connections between cognition, presentations, and learning.
Although there are resources like "Create + prepare slides" from TED, Richard Mayer's seminal work on multimedia learning is particularly instructive. Specifically, Mayer highlights 12 principles to guide the development of educational multimedia:
" 1. Coherence Principle – People learn better when extraneous words, pictures and sounds are excluded rather than included.
2. Signaling Principle – People learn better when cues that highlight the organization of the essential material are added.
3. Redundancy Principle – People learn better from graphics and narration than from
graphics, narration and on-screen text. And when words are presented as narration rather narration and on-screen text.
4. Spatial Contiguity Principle – People learn better when corresponding words and
pictures are presented near rather than far from each other on the page or screen.
5. Temporal Contiguity Principle – People learn better when corresponding words and
pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively.
6. Segmenting Principle – People learn better from a multimedia lesson is presented in learner controlled segments rather than as continuous unit.
7. Pre-training Principle – People learn better from a multimedia lesson when students know names and behaviors of system components.
8. Modality Principle – People learn better when words are presented as narration rather than as on-screen text.
9. Multimedia Principle – People learn better from words and pictures than from words alone.
10. Personalization Principle – People learn better from multimedia lessons when words are in conversational style rather than formal style.
11. Voice Principle – People learn better when the narration in multimedia lessons is spoken in a friendly human voice rather than a machine voice.
12. Image Principle – People do not necessarily learn better from a multimedia lesson when the speaker’s image is added to the screen." (from New York University)
These principles are based on three assumptions about learning:
1. "The dual channel assumption: We primarily use two channels to learn: a verbal channel for spoken words and a visual channel for images.
2. The limited capacity assumption: We have limits on how much we can perceive at any given time.
3. The active processing assumption: Actual learning requires effort." (from University of California San Diego)
To learn more, check out the resources below:
References
Al Amoush, S., & Farhat, A. (2023, December 13). The power of authentic assessment in the age of AI. Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/the-power-of-authentic-assessment-in-the-age-of-ai/
Harvard University. (2014, July 8). Research-based principles for multimedia learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ3wSf-ccXo
Mayer, R. E. (2014). Introduction to multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (2nd ed., pp. 1–24). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139547369.002
Mayer, R. E. (2002). Multimedia learning. In Psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 41, pp. 85-139). Academic Press. https://www.jsu.edu/online/faculty/MULTIMEDIA%20LEARNING%20by%20Richard%20E.%20Mayer.pdf
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (1999). Cognitive principles of multimedia learning: The role of modality and contiguity. Journal of educational psychology, 91(2), 358. https://psycnet-apa-org.proxy.library.nyu.edu/fulltext/1999-03660-016.html
Mayer, R. E., & Fiorella, L. (2014). 12 principles for reducing extraneous processing in multimedia learning: Coherence, signaling, redundancy, spatial contiguity, and temporal contiguity principles. In The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (Vol. 279, pp. 279-315). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. https://www-cambridge-org.proxy.library.nyu.edu/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-multimedia-learning/principles-for-reducing-extraneous-processing-in-multimedia-learning-coherence-signaling-redundancy-spatial-contiguity-and-temporal-contiguity-principles/C98AB3A6CE760DD63C048936EA0B3B44
Rachel Mainero. (2020, October 6). Understanding the cognitive theory of multimedia learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxTbZffhIhQ
Wisc-Online. (2017, October 25). The multimedia principle [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbvpPdxoJiI
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