The Cognitive Theory Of Multimedia Learning

     

Designed by Richard E. Mayer, The Cognitive Theory Of Multimedia Learning(CTML) explains how multimedia learning works and how we can best use it. Its goal is to instructional media based on how human mind works. Brain takes in information and process it in multiple channels. The first channel is for auditory information which includes spoken words, verbal sounds. The second channel is for visual information and it includes pictures, videos and charts. These channels help learners make connections between the text and the graphics, or sounds, and this is called The Dual Coding Assumptions. Another assumption presented by Mayer is that we don’t have limitless capacity for information. He says that since our memory have finite space, we should be careful about the information that we pay attention to. So while teaching our students, we shouldn’t overload informatin on what we teach them. We should use simpler picture, decreasing amount of the text that present them. The last assumption made by Mayer is the active processing assumption. In this assumption, Mayer suggests that humans don’t learn merely by absorbing information. He says that humans need to engage in cogntive process actively. To do so, we need visual or verbal models while learning something new and pay attention to these maaterails. Also, we need to organize them accordingly and  integrate those new models with the our previous knowledge. Thus, meaningful learning occurs when learners engage in selecting relevant words for processing if they have verbal working memory, selecting relevant images for processing if they have visual working memory, organizing selected words for a model and integrate the new knowledge with the previous knowledge. Also, he suggests some principles to deliver a qualified learning. To reduce extraneous processing, he firstly,talks about coherence principle which says that people learn better when irrevelant material is excluded. Secondly, he talks about signalling principle which says that people learn better when crucial words are emphasized. Thirdly, redundancy principle says that people learn best when the text or material is short and on to the point. Fourthly, he talks about spatial contiguity principle and it says that people learn better when they are near to the page or screen that the knowledge is presented on. Fifthly, temporal contiguity principle and it talks about that people learn better when they correspond with the narration simultaneously. To manage essential processing, Mayer talks about three principles. The first one is pretraining principle and it talks about that people learn better when they know the essentials of the animation that is presented to them. Second one is segmenting principle and it talks about that people learn better when narrated animation is presented in learner paced segment. Third one is modality principle and it talks about that people learn better from graphics with spoken texts. To foster generative processing, he talks about four principles. The first one is multimedia principle and it says that people learn better from words with pictures, rather than words alone. The second one is personalization principle and it says that people learn better when words are conversational style and so they can feel more engaged in a conversation. The third one is embodiment principle and it gives credit for gestures and body language. The last principle is image principle and it says that static image of narrator can be distracting for students. So, we can say that CTML, using the technology,  focuses on a qualified teaching ,which is constructed with taking into account that how the brain works,