Interactive Multimodal Learning Environments

Interactive Multimodal Learning Environments

1. by Roxana Moreno & Richard Mayer

2. published in 2007 in Educational Psychology Review

3. five design principles

   • guided activity
     • -similar to the guided discovery principle in multimedia learning (de Jong, 2005) -structure and guidance, rather than open-ended exploration, is key in order to prevent extraneous processing
   • reflection
     • priming students to reflect is an example of dialoguing interactively
   • feedback
     • another example of dialoguing interactively
     • feedback principle
       • novice students learn better with explanatory rather than corrective feedback alone
   • pacing
     • -example of controlling type of interativity -benefits of pacing may reside on cognitive load reduction 
   • pretraining
     • form of dialoguing interactively
     • pretraining principle
       • students learn better when receiving pretraining that activates or provides relevant prior knowledge

4. directions for future IT research

   • games and simulations
     • Which features of games and simulations improve learning of which kinds of knowledge for which kinds of learners?
   • pedagogical agents
     • research is needed that pinpoints the features of agents that hurt learning and those that improve learning
     • internal vs. external properties
       • -internal: methods used during instruction -external: voice/image charateristics
   • digital libraries
     • the examination of interactivity methods that are germane to any engine or hypermedia program, such as searching and navigating
   • case-based learning
     • investigating the conditions for designing effective learning from interactive multimodal environments that include cases in video and other formats
   • embedded authentic assessment
     • -learners take part in a simulation of an authentic task -research is needed to determine whether this type of interactive learning environment can serve as a venue for valid, reliable, and efficient assessment of student knowledge

5. two views of learning

   • information acquisition
     • -Behaviorist -knowledge flows from the instructor to the student -environments tend to be non-interactive
   • knowledge construction
     • -Constructivist -learner is a "sense-maker" who incorporates new knowledge with existing knowledge; goal of instruction is to guide the learner through the process of making sense of the instructional materials
     • interactive multimodal learning environments
       • cognitive-affective theory of learning with media (CATLM)
         • Moreno (2005a) (a) humans process different information modalities differently (b) within each channel, only a few pieces of information can be processed at any one time (c) meaningful learner occurs through selecting, organizing, and integrating new information with existing knowledge (d) long-term memory = dynamic & evolving; holds memory for past experiences and memory for general knowledge (e) motivational factors increase/decrease cognitive engagement (f) learning is mediated by metacognitive processes (g) how much a student learns with specific media may be determined by their past knowledge/abilities
         • processing
           • extraneous processing
             • originates from a poorly designed learning task
             • representational holding
               • the holding of a mental representation in working memory during meaning-making process
           • essential processing
             • required to mentally select new information presented in working memory
           • generative processing
             • making sense of new information
       • present content knowledge verbally and non-verbally
         • Paivio (1986)
         • multimedia principle
           • student understanding is improved by adding a non-verbal representation of knowledge to complement the verbal representation; the "tell me AND show me" idea
         • modality principle of instructional design
           • the most effective learning environments are those that combine verbal and non-verbal representations of the knowledge using mixed-modality presentations
       • what happens depends on the actions of the learner
         • interactivity
           • between student and instructor, student and other students, etc.; as opposed to a one-way interaction between insructor and learner
           • the goal of interaction = to foster learning
           • five types
             • dialoguing
               • learner can ask/answer questions and receive feedback
             • controlling
               • learner determines pace and/or order of learning episode
             • manipulating
               • learner can control aspects of presentation
             • searching
               • learner can engage in information seeking
             • navigating
               • learner can determine content of a learning episode by selecting from various available sources (e.g. a menu)

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