skip intro cognitive overload in multimedia learning edp 504 tutorial by andrea sanyshyn janine...

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Cognitive Overload in Multimedia Learning

EDP 504 Tutorial byAndrea SanyshynJanine Batchelor

Patricia Peresand Peter Vierno

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This tutoring system was designed to give you a quick but thorough description of what cognitive overload is and how it can be avoided.

Introduction

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By the end of this tutorial we hope to give you the ability to evaluate multimedia learning tools. As teachers we want our students to be engaged and learning yet not over stimulated.

Before we get started let's do an activity...

Introduction

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On the following slides we are going to show you some examples of some webpages. Pretend you are a student using the webpages to gather information for a school project. All we want you to do is answer a question about the webpages.

Introduction

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Go to this site: http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.html

Once you open the page you need to follow these two steps:

1st: Click on the Viking Voyage option

2nd: Click on the Enhanced Site option

Now just look over the page. Once you think you are ready click the next button below for your question. Now

This is the page you should be looking at.

Introduction

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http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.html

Question: Where does the Viking

journey begin and end?

Click the next button to see the answer.

Introduction

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Answer: The journey begins at the

Homelands and Ends at the

Land of Legend.

Were you right? Let’s try one more.

Introduction

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From the Viking webpage you are on right now, click #7 on the map to go to the Land of Legends. (Here’s the link again if you closed the page: http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.html )

This is what the page should look like.

When you are ready, click the next button for your question.

Introduction

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Question: What were three ideas about

the Vikings that are competing

for supremacy?

Click the next button for the answer.

Introduction

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Answer: Any three of the following would be correct:

1. humorous Viking cartoon strips

2. serious genetic studies of Viking descendants

3. historically accurate novels

4. archeological hoaxes

Did you get this one right?

Introduction

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If you thought something like…

Wait! The ship

moves!!

Oh, there is too much info!

This webpage is a

mess!

Everything is so

confusing!

Why are they asking me these questions?

you aren’t the only one.

Introduction

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The cognitive overload which you are experiencing can happen for two main reasons:

1. Extraneous Factor: the information is not presented well (This factor can be

controlled by creators of multimedia resourses.)

2. Intrinsic Factor: the complexity and amount of

informational units to hold in working memory

to comprehend information

Brunken, Plass, & Leutner, 2003

Introduction

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You have just experienced how cognitive overload can affect learning. Now we will move onto what cognitive load is and how it can be reduced. We suggest that if this is your first time using this tutoring system to follow the links down the page in order on the next slide.

Cognitive Overload

The Mind

Examples

Introduction

Cognitive Load- What is it?

What’s the Importance?

How the Mind Works

Ways to Reduce Overload

Let’s Review

Glossary

Reference List

Home Page

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The definition of cognitive overload in multimedia learning refers to the excessive level of cognitive processing required for learning through the presentation of words and pictures

To fully understand this definition we need to know what multimedia learning is...


Mayer, Richard E. & Moreno, R. 2003

Multimedia learning is learning from words, which can be printed or spoken, and, from pictures, which can be either static such as illustrations, graphics, maps or photos or dynamic such as animations, vidoes or interactive illustrations.


According to Mayer and Moreno,


To understand how cognitive overload occurs, we first need to understand how the mind

works.

How the Mind Works

There are three assumptions on how the mind works:


How the Mind Works

The information enters by two channels:

processes auditory and verbal information

processes written and graphical information

Auditory/verbal

channel

Visual/pictorial channel

How the Mind Works

Each channel has a limited capacity to process information

How the Mind Works

The information processing is active since

the information is:

SelectedPaying attention to the material

OrganizedOrganizing the material into

a coherent structure

IntegratedTying the material to

a prior-knowledge

Meaningful learning

How the Mind Works

Keep in mind these three assumptions as we explore how the mind works.

How the Mind Works

Let’s use an example:

It is Valentine’s day and you have received a beautiful card from your mate.

The card is musical, has a colorful

illustration, and a nice written message.

How the Mind Works

All the information presented in the card such asthe illustration, the writing and the music will

be processed in your mind like this:

How the Mind Works

*Words

Picture

Ears

Eyes

Sounds

Images

VerbalRep

PictorialRep

Selectingwords

SelectingImages

Organizingwords

Organizing images

Integrating

Card Sensory Memory

Working Memory

The words and the picture are captured by youreyes whereas the words, from the song, are captured

by your ears

Long-term

Memory

Pri

or

kn

ow

led

ge

*written and sung words

Modified figure from Mayer, Richard E. & Moreno, R. 2003

How the Mind Works

Words

Picture

Ears

Eyes

Sounds

Images

VerbalRep

PictorialRep

Selectingwords

SelectingImages

Organizingwords

Organizing images

Integrating

Card Sensory Memory

Working Memory

All the information coming from the ears and eyes is selected on the way to the working memory. That is, you are paying attention to some of the auditory information from the ears as well as to some of the visual information

from the eyes

Pri

or

kn

ow

led

ge

Long-term

Memory

How the Mind Works


Words

Pictures

Ears

Eyes

Sounds

Images

VerbalRep

Pictorial

Rep

Selectingwords

SelectingImages

Organizingwords

Organizing images

Integrating

Card Sensory Memory

Working Memory

The selected information is organized into coherentverbal and pictorial representations

Long-term

Memory

Pri

or

kn

ow

led

ge

How the Mind Works


Words

Pictures

Ears

Eyes

Sounds

Images

VerbalRep

PictorialRep

Selectingwords

SelectingImages

Organizingwords

Organizing images

Card Sensory Memory

Working Memory

Long-term

Memory

The pictorial and verbal representations are integratedto a prior knowledge, and when this happens,

all the information of the card becomes meaningful.

Integrating

Pri

or

kn

ow

led

ge

How the Mind Works


There are five different types of cognitive

overload.


Type of Overload Scenario

Load Reducing Method

Type 1: Essential processing

in visual channel

The visual channel is overloaded by essential processing demands.

Off-loading: Move some essential processing from the visual channel to the auditory

channel.

www.cellsalive.com/mitosis.htm

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/video/dockanim_qt.html


Modified table from Mayer, Richard E. & Moreno, R. 2003

Examples:

http://www.cellsalive.com/mitosis.htm






Type 2: Essential processing

(in both channels)

Both channels are overloaded by essential processing demands.

Segmenting: allow time between successive bite-size segments


Pretraining: provide pertaining names and characteristics of components

www.amazing-kids.org/bouncingball.html




http://www.amazing-kids.org/bouncingball.html




Type 3: Essential processing + incidental processing (cause by extraneous material)

Weeding: eliminate interesting but extraneous material to reduce processing of extraneous material

Signaling: provide cues for how to process the material to reduce processing of extraneous material

www.renaissanceconnection.org

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/alienempire/hardware.html



http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/





Type 4: Essential processing + incidental processing (cause by confusing presentation)

Aligning: place printed words near corresponding parts of graphics to reduce need for visual scanning

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/anatomy.html

Eliminating Redundancy: avoid presenting identical streams of printed and spoken wordshttp://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/co

gnitiveaudio/index.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/alienempire/multimedia/bee.html

http://www.nickjr.com/home/just_for_me_stories.jhtml ->Click on Please, Baby, Please and Rumble Grumble Gurgle Roar links


Modified table from Mayer, Richard E. & Moreno, R. 2003.



http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/cognitiveaudio/index.htm




http://www.nickjr.com/home/just_for_me_stories.jhtml




Synchronizing: present narration and corresponding animation simultaneously to minimize need to hold representation in memory

Individualizing: make sure learners possess skills at holding mental representations

Type 5: Essential processing + representation holding (cause by confusing presentation)

http://www.zebu.uoregon.edu/animate.htmlwww.nickjr.com/home/please_baby_please/jhtml

Match high-quality multimedia design with high-spatial learners.

One or both channels are overloaded by essential processing and representation holding.



http://www.zebu.uoregon.edu/animate.html


http://www.nickjr.com/home/please_baby_please/jhtml

http://www.nickjr.com/home/please_baby_please/jhtml

Why should teachers know about cognitive load?


Teachers need to present instructional materials so working memory load is reduced. This can be accomplished through:

a learning environment that provides helpful instructions

breaking a task into smaller parts so the load of information can be handled better

providing learning aids such as advance organizers, notes, and summaries


Glossary

Essential Processing: cognitive processes that are required for making sense of the presented material(ex. selecting words, selecting images, organizing words, organizing images, and integrating)

Incidental Processing: cognitive processes that are not required for making sense of the presented material but are primed by the design of a learning task(ex. adding background music)

Long-term Memory: memory over long periods of time, ranging from hours to days and years

Glossary

Representational Holding: cognitive processes aimed at holding a mental representation in working memory over a period of time

Sensory Memory: a system that briefly holds stimuli in sensory registers so that perceptual analysis can occur

Sensory Registers: buffer where perceptual information is momentarily stored until it is recognized or forgotten

Working Memory: portion of memory containing “current contents” of consciousness

Glossary

On the following screens you will find a few multiple choice review questions covering the material you have just learned. To see the answer to a review question just click to the next screen. The correct answer will be circles in red.

Let’s Review

1. Teachers can use instructional materials to reduce the load on a student’s working memory in all of the following ways except:

A. using advanced organizers

B. present all parts of a task at one time

C. give helpful instructions

D. provided notes and summaries

Let’s Review

2. We process information in…:

A. Three channels, which are the auditory, verbal and

visual channels

B. Three channels, which are the verbal, visual and

pictorial channels

C. Two channels, which are the auditory/verbal and visual/pictorial channels

D. One channel, which is the verbal channel

E. None of the above

Let’s Review

3. Off-loading is a load reducing method defined as:

A. allowing time between successive bite-size segments

B. providing cues for how to process the materials to

reduce processing of extraneous material

C. moving some essential processing from the visual

channel to the auditory channel

Let’s Review

4. Which statement is true:

A. The information processing is active since the information is integrated, selected and

organized into the working memory

B. The information becomes meaningful when it is selected, organized and integrated into the

working memory

C. The visual channel does not have limited capacity for

processing information

D. New information is not tied to prior knowledge

Let’s Review

5. Eliminating interesting but extraneous material in an example of what load reducing method?

A. aligning

B. weeding

C. off-loading

Let’s Review

6. A teacher is designing a web-based activity and wishes to present narration and corresponding animation simultaneously to minimize her student’s need to hold representations in memory. She is engaging in which type of load reducing method?

A. synchronizing

B. segmenting

C. aligning

Let’s Review

References

Bruning, R.H., Schraw, G.J.,Norby, M.N.,& Ronning, R.R. (2004). Cognitive Psychology and Instruction (4th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson Education Inc.

Brunken, R., Plass, J. L. & Leuter, D.(2003). Direct measurement of cognitive load in multimedia learning. Educational Psychologist,38(1), 53-61.

Doolittle, P.E. & Tech, V.(2002). Multimedia learning: empirical results and practical applications. Virginia polytechnic Institute and State University. Retrieved March 16, 2004 from, http://www.ipfw.edu/as/tohe/2001/Papers/doo.htm

Grace-Martin, Michael.(2001)How to design educational multimedia: a “loaded” question. Journal of Educational Multimedia,10(4), 397-410.

Joy, D. Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. Audio: How much is too much? Retrieved March 14, 2004, from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/cognitiveaudio/index.htm

Mayer, R.E. & Moreno, R.(2003). Nine ways to reduce cognitive overload in multimedia learning. Educational Psychologist,38(1),43-52.

University of New South Wales, Australia,(1998,December). Research into cognitive load theory and instructional design at UNSW. Retrieved April 22, 2004, from http://www.education.arts.unsw.edu.au/CLT_NET_Aug_97.html

References

http://www.ipfw.edu/as/tohe/2001/Papers/doo.htm


Websites used as examples:


www.spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/video/dockanim_qt.html

www.amazing-kids.org/bouncingball.html

www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.html

www.renaissanceconnection.org

www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/alienempire/hardware/html

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/anatomy.html

www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/alienempire/multimedia/bee.html

www.nickjr.com/home/just_for_me_stories.jhtml

www.zebu.uoregon.edu/animate.html

www.coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/cognitiveaudio/index.html

References





http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/alienempire/hardware/html





http://www.coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/cognitiveaudio/index.html

skip intro cognitive overload in multimedia learning edp 504 tutorial by andrea sanyshyn janine...

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