Representational and decorative pictures in science and mathematics tests: Do they make a difference?

Lindner, Marlit Annalena

doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101345

Cited by 34 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Students who learned from text and graphics generated more accurate inferences than students who learned from text, resulting in better learning outcomes. Other studies report a similar pattern of findings (Ainsworth & Th Loizou, 2003 ; Cromley et al, 2010 ; Lindner, 2020 ). This research suggests visuals support learning by helping students more accurately build connections among the ideas presented in the text and their existing knowledge—critical processes in mental model construction.…”

Section: Problem: Materials Contains Only Textsupporting

confidence: 68%

Five Strategies for Optimizing Instructional Materials: Instructor- and Learner-Managed Cognitive Load

et al. 2021

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Researchers of cognitive load theory and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning have identified several strategies to optimize instructional materials. In this review article we focus on five of these strategies or solutions to problematic instructional designs in multimedia learning: (a) the multimedia principle (use visualizations and drawings to complement texts); (b) the split-attention effect or spatial contiguity principle (show texts contiguously or integrated with visualizations); (c) the redundancy effect, alike the coherence principle (remove nonessential learning information); (d) the signaling principle (cue or signal essential learning information); and (e) the transient information effect or segmenting principle (segment or control the pace of animations and videos). Usually, both cognitive theories have investigated solutions that instructors, teachers, and designers should pursue to optimize students’ learning. Here, in a novel approach, we show that these strategies can also be used by learners who want to self-manage their cognitive load and learning process. We provide several examples of both instructor- and learner-managed solutions aligned with these strategies. When assessing which agent, either the instructor or the learner, was most effective, we observed mixed results in the literature. However, the expertise reversal effect may help predict the direction of these effects: novice students may learn better under instructor-managed conditions, whereas more expert students may learn more under learner-managed conditions.

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Section: Problem: Materials Contains Only Textsupporting

confidence: 68%

Five Strategies for Optimizing Instructional Materials: Instructor- and Learner-Managed Cognitive Load

et al. 2021

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“…Representational pictures that illustrate relevant text content and therefore help students to do better in tests (Lindner et al, 2017) were shown to be more motivating than pictures that instructors consider visually appealing. Representational pictures were therefore shown to have a motivational function (Lindner, 2020).…”

Section: Dekker Et Al (2012)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Misconceptions About Multimedia Learning Questionnaire: An Empirical Evaluation Study With Teachers and Student Teachers

Eitel

Prinz

Kollmer

et al. 2021

Psychology Learning & Teaching

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In this study, we present the newly developed Misconceptions about Multimedia Learning Questionnaire (MMLQ), we evaluate its psychometric properties (item difficulties, scale reliabilities, and internal structure), and we use it to examine the prevalence of four different misconceptions about multimedia learning in student teachers and teachers. A total of 311 participants (176 teachers and 135 student teachers) responded to the items of the MMLQ. The results revealed moderate reliabilities of the MMLQ scales. Moreover, an a priori assumed four-factor structure of misconceptions about multimedia learning was most compatible with teachers’ and student teachers’ answers to the MMLQ items. These four factors were learning styles (multimedia instruction needs to be adapted to students’ learning styles [visual or auditory]), hemispheric isolation (multimedia instruction enables hemispheric communication), naïve summation (multimedia instruction is more effective the more sensory channels are used), and motivation primacy (multimedia instruction is mainly effective because it is motivating). The majority of teachers and student teachers endorsed three of the four misconceptions about multimedia learning (i.e., learning styles [78.1%], hemispheric isolation [58.8%], and naïve summation [81.4%]) as assessed by the MMLQ. This finding may provide valuable information for teacher education and training regarding this specific issue.

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“…Both the multimedia effect in testing (e.g., Cooper et al, 2018; Lindner, 2020; Lindner, Ihme, et al, 2018; Lindner, Lüdtke, et al, 2017; Saß et al, 2012) and the role of response formats for task difficulty (e.g., Martinez, 1999; Rodriguez, 2003) are important aspects of test design that have been investigated to some extent but only independently from each other. Their potential combination and/or interaction is not yet understood.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A multimedia effect for multiple-choice and constructed-response test items.

Lindner

Schult²,

Mayer

2022

Journal of Educational Psychology

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This classroom experiment investigates the effects of adding representational pictures to multiple-choice and constructed-response test items to understand the role of the response format for the multimedia effect in testing. Participants were 575 fifth- and sixth-graders who answered 28 science test items—seven items in each of four experimental conditions in a balanced 2 × 2 within-subject design, with the factors being multimedia (text-only vs. text-picture) and response format (multiple-choice vs. constructed-response). Consistent with multimedia and generative learning theory, there was a multimedia effect for testing in which students were more successful in solving the items, gave higher metacognitive ratings of expected success, and gave higher satisfaction ratings for test items that contained text and corresponding pictures than text alone both for multiple-choice and constructed-response items. Consistent with problem solving theory, there was a response format effect in which students were more successful and gave higher metacognitive and satisfaction ratings for multiple-choice items than constructed-response items. Furthermore, pictures were slightly more beneficial for improving students’ performance on constructed-response items as compared with multiple-choice items. Thus, the addition of pictures and multiple-choice response options to word problems can be employed to adapt item difficulty by design and support instructional control.

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Representational and decorative pictures in science and mathematics tests: Do they make a difference?

Cited by 34 publications

References 43 publications

Five Strategies for Optimizing Instructional Materials: Instructor- and Learner-Managed Cognitive Load

Five Strategies for Optimizing Instructional Materials: Instructor- and Learner-Managed Cognitive Load

The Misconceptions About Multimedia Learning Questionnaire: An Empirical Evaluation Study With Teachers and Student Teachers

A multimedia effect for multiple-choice and constructed-response test items.

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