The modality effect tested in children in a user‐paced multimedia environment

Abstract

The modality learning effect proposes that learning is enhanced when information is presented in both the visual and the auditory domains (e.g. pictures and spoken information) compared with presenting information solely in the visual channel (e.g. pictures and written text). Most of the evidence for this effect comes from adults in a laboratory setting. Therefore, we tested the modality effect with 80 children in the highest grade of elementary school in a naturalistic setting. In a between-subjects design, the children either saw representational pictures with speech or representational pictures with text. Retention and transfer knowledge was tested at three moments: immediately after the intervention, one day after and after one week. The present study did not find any evidence for a modality effect in children when the lesson was learner-paced. Instead, we found a reversed modality effect directly after the intervention for retention. A reversed modality effect was also found for the transfer questions one day later. This effect was robust, even when controlling for individual differences.

Semantic Priming in Dutch Children: Word Meaning Integration and Study Modality Effects

“…We studied 10-13-year-old children whose reading ability was in the process of becoming adultlike (García & Cain, 2014). It is possible that younger children, with even less experience in reading, could show a benefit for studying definitions in the aural modality that, over time, changes to a benefit for the written study modality (see Witteman & Segers, 2010, for modality effects on retention in children).…”

Input modality and working memory: Effects on second language text comprehension in a multimedia learning environment

“…They used immediate tests only as the measure of comprehension (e.g., Mayer & Moreno, 1998;Moreno & Mayer, 1999) with a few exceptions (e.g., Segers, Verhoeven, & Hulstijn-Hendrikse, 2008;Witteman & Segers, 2010). Additionally, most of them were conducted in controlled laboratory settings where participants were engaged in a one-time brief learning experience (Moreno, 2006;Tabbers, 2002); instructions employed were either system-paced or paper-based and were limited to the total duration of the narration (Tabbers, 2002); and included learning materials from exact sciences (Tabbers, 2002).…”

The modality and redundancy effects in multimedia learning in children with dyslexia

“…This may be due to the fact that in all of the above studies, multimedia were presented in a systempaced learning environment. Studies investigating the effect in a user-paced system or over time showed no or even reversed modality effects (Savoji et al, 2011;Scheiter et al, 2014;Schmidt-Weigand, Kohnert, & Glowalla, 2010;Segers, Verhoeven, & Hulstijn-Hendrikse, 2008;Tabbers et al, 2004;van den Broek, Segers, & Verhoeven, 2014;Witteman & Segers, 2010). In a user-paced learning environment, students control the speed of the lessons.…”