MayersDesignPrinciples

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HeatherHoskinson

Discussion #2
Group C
Dan Rand, Heather Hoskinson

ChoosetwoofMayer'sprinciplesonp.177ofthe
Integrating
book.Explainthemandthengivetwoideas
onhowtousetheminteachingwithtechnology.Supportyourdiscussionwithatleast2articles.

Dan
Oksotomakesenseofthis.Mayersworkisessentiallyasetofdesignprinciplesthatshouldbefollowed
topreventcognitiveoverload.Sowhendealingwithhypermediaanddesigninglearningenvironmentswe
needtodesignconsideringthefollowingthreeguidelines:

Reduceextraneousprocessing

Manageessentialprocessing

Fostergenerativeprocessing
EachofthetenprinciplesandtheirimplicationforInstructionalDesignisincludedinthechartonpage177.

OksooneotherthingIthinkisworthmentioninghereandwehavebeentalkingaboutitquiteabitbetween
thisclass(ourbookreports)andinourotherclass(howpeoplelearn):theresearchandimpactof
hypermediaoneducation.Ifeltlikeafterreadingabunchofthebookreports,therewasthisnegative
energysurroundingtechnologiesuseineducation:superficialadhocuse,lackofevidencedigital
worldofstudentsisoutsideofschoolsandisundisciplinedputtinganiPadormobiledeviceinthehands
ofstudentsisntpedagogykidsaretechnologicalwhizzeswhenitcomestothetoolbutpedagogically
cluelesswithrespecttogettingthebestoutofit.Imeantalkabouttakingthewindoutofthesails.Ifelt
defeatedafterreadingsomuchnegativestuff.

MichaelFullan,theguywhosebookIread,hadanawesomequoteandhewastalkingabouttechnologyas
anabsolutemonsterpowerhouse(duh)andasaperil(duh).Histakewastheprosfaroutweighthecons
andwhileweshouldbeawareoftheconsletsnotbeconsumedbythem.Focusinsteadonwhatwewant
technologytodoforus.Fullanspointwaseventhemostsophisticatedtechnology,mustbeguidedby
strongpedagogyandthereisnodenyingthatgoodtechnologyunderthedirectionofagreatpedagoguecan
dowonders!SothepointIamtryingtomakeisIthinkmaybeMayerschartisprettysignificantforusas
teachers.Toavoidtheperpetuationandpromotionofineffectivepracticesmaybeweshouldbringa
heightenedsenseofawarenesstothesedesignprinciples.Ithinktodesigntheoptimallearningexperience
weshouldseriouslyconsiderthechartonpg177.Incorporatingthissetofguidelineswillallowustopresent
informationinawaythatdoesn'toverwhelmorinhibitthelearner.

Oksothatwasmymorningrant.Iwillstepdownfrommysoapbox,andleavethemiconforyou.Thesoap
boxislessnuancedwithsomeStarbucks!:)

Heather:
IfirstlearnedaboutMayersdesignprinciplesinaMultimediaDesignandDevelopmentcourseItooklast
spring.Iwouldagreethattheyareausefulsetofguidelinesthatteacherscanincorporatewhendesigning
instruction,andalsowhenevaluatingwhichmultimediaresourcestouseintheirclassroom.Ialwayshad

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greatsuccesswithawebsitecalled

Brainpop
inmyscienceandmathclassroomanditsnowevidentthat
thisisbecausethevideostheyproduceareinlinewithMayersprinciplestoagreatdegree.

IguesswerevieweddifferentbookreportsasIdidnotcomeacrossthenegativeaspectsomuch.NowIwill
havetogobackandtakealookatafewmore.Minewasdefinitelypro,pro,pro.Theauthor,Douglas
Thomas,seesthepotentialofmassivemultiplayeronlinegamesforlearningtacitknowledgethrough
collectivecommunities.Itsprettyinterestingstuff.IwillgobackandcheckoutFullanforsure.

ReduceExtraneousProcessing
RedundancyPrinciple
:providenarrationandanimationwithoutadditionalexplanatorytextonthescreen

Ithinkthiscanbetricky.Imeanthereisnothingworsethansittinginalectureortrainingseminarand
someonethrowsupaslidethatisinsize10fontandhasthreeparagraphsofinformationonit.Definitelya
surefirewaytoturnyouraudienceoff!

Ithinkthisisafinelinethoughbecauseyouwanttherightamountoftextandexplanationsothelearnercan
makesenseofthematerial,especiallyiftheyrefertoitalaterdate.Generallythenarrationisgoodfora
bulletizedlistbutwhathappensifthematerialisreceivedinanasynchronousmanner?Itcanbehardto
capturetheessenceofapresentationwhentheexplanatorytextislimited,thenarrationisgone,andallthat
remainsisabroadbrushbulletlistofconcepts.

Iveheardthissentimentechoedfrommystudents.AndImeanwehaveallbeenintheirshoes,afull
courseloadincollege,(1518+credits)massiveamountsofstudyingforotherclasses,work,sociallives,
etc.Sometimeswewantthemtobeabletoreferbacktothematerialandunderstandit.Andifwedon't
offeranexplanationorsometypeofsubstanceourstudentsmaynotquitegraspwhatwewantthemto.

Ithinkthereisatwostepapproachtothis,firstandforemostobligeyourinclasslearners.Dontcrushtheir
soulandkeepthetexttoaminimumasMayersprincipleclearlystates.Youcanaddalittleextratextifyou
highlightorbringattentiontocertainheadlines.Hetalksaboutthisinoneofhisotherprinciples,
Signaling
.
Secondly,Iwouldrecommendtakingwhateverexcessiveexplanatorytextthereisandnestitsomewhere
else.InPP,ineitherslideoroutlineview,youhavetheoptionofinsertingyournotesbelowtheactualslide.
EssentiallywhatIdoistakemyinstructornotesfrommylessonplanandIenclosethematthebottomofthe
presentation.Thegoalistoprovidethestudentssomesubstancesowhenthenarrationisgonethe
materialisstillalive(instructive).Ivealsoseensomeinstructorswhoprefertoassembleanoutlineoftheir
presentationbutdelveintoeachtopicalittlemoredeeplythanthePP.Onthehandouteachtopichasa
somewhatlengthierexplanationhelpingtodescribeandillustratepointsingreaterdetail.EitherwayIthink
theredundancyprincipleneedstobeincorporatedbutwealsoneedtoincludesupplementalmaterial.

Heather:
Iagreethatthereisstillaneedforadditionalsupportivetext,especiallyatthecollegelevel.Ifeellike
Mayersredundancyprincipleismostlyapplicablewhenintroducingnewconcepts.Itismerelythat,
introductory.Inordertogainadeeperunderstanding,heavytextinclusionisnecessaryandinevitable.I
thinkwehavecomealongwayinlearningthatdeathbyPPismuchsoonertocomewhenslidesare
supertextheavy.Thenotesfeatureissokey!ThatisoneofthestrugglesIhavewhendesigningonline
presentationsforcourseworkhowtopresentenoughinformationforbasiccomprehensionwithoutmaking
itsupertextheavy,becausethereisnooralboostyoucangivetotheinformationlikeyoucanwhenyouare
teachingaclass.

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IcameacrossthisresearcharticlethatexaminedMayersprinciplesandtheireffectoncognitiveload(CL)
buttookamorenuancedviewoflearning.Itwasntwhetherthesubjectslearnedordidntlearn,butrather
variouskindsofknowledgeresultsfromdifferentcombinationsofverbalandvisualpresentationforms.
(Schar&Kaiser,2006,p.1070).Theresultsoftheirstudyexaminedthedifferentmediacombinationsand
howwellthosecombinationsfitwiththelearninggoal.Theyfoundthatverbalprocessingislessaffected
fromsplitattention(text+voice)thanvisualsplitattention(text+picture).CLisnotdetrimentallyaffected
acrosstheboardthroughredundancybutrather,itdependsonthelearningtaskandmeasures.
Ithoughtitwasinterestingtoothatthepresentationformsmostfavoredbyparticipantsinthisstudywerent
necessarilythemosteffectiveones.Butthenagain,wedontalwayspreferwhatsbestforusdowe?

HaveyoueverseentheRSAAnimateseriesonYouTube?Thereisaparticularlygreatoneby

Ken
Robinson
thatIhighlyrecommend.IbringitupbecauseIthinkthesketchanimatedpresentationsareso
riveting,yettheytendtogoagainstMayersprinciples,especiallyasitpertainstoredundancy.Andthereis
somuchgoingon!Drawing,talking,andsometext!ButnowthatIthinkaboutit,thereisntreallyallthat
muchtext.Justenoughsothatyougettheverybasicideaataglance.

DesignprinciplestofosterGenerativeProcessing:
Multimedia
:useacombinationofwordsandpicturesthisencouragesmoreengagementthanwordsalone.

Icompletelyagreewithincorporatinghyper/multimedia.Theideaofmoreengagementthroughwordsand
mediaisknownasthe
contiguityprinciple
,itstatestheeffectivenessofmultimediainstructionincreases
whenwordsandpicturesarepresentedcontiguouslyintimeorspace(ratherthanisolatedfromone
another)(Maer&Anderson,1992).Thearticleiskindofdatedbutitsgroundedinsoundresearchand
empiricalevidenceandsupportsthetwopointsImmaking.

Theauthorsnotethatforhypermediainstructiontoworkitmustfollowthecontiguityprinciple(timeand
space).

Theresultspresentedinthisarticledemonstratethatanimationpersedoesnotnecessarilyimprove
studentsunderstandingofhowapumporabrakeworks,asmeasuredbycreativeproblemsolving
performance.Forexample,intwoexperimentsweconducted,studentswhoreceivedanimationbeforeor
afternarrationwereabletosolvetransferproblems
nobetterthan
studentswhohadreceivedno
instruction.Incontrast,when
animationwaspresentedconcurrentlywithnarration
,students
demonstratedlargeimprovementsinproblemsolvingtransferoverthenoinstructiongroup.Weconclude
thatoneimportantcharacteristicofaninstructiveanimationistemporalcontiguitybetweenanimationand
narration(timeandspace).
(Note:BacktomyearlierpointaboutPPbeingusedoffline)
.Wehypothesize
thatcontiguityofwordsandpicturesduringinstructionencourageslearnerstobuildconnectionsbetween
theirverbalandvisualrepresentationsofincominginformation,whichinturnsupportsproblemsolving
transfer
(Maer&Anderson,1992).

WhatsimportanttonotehereisMayersprinciplesfocusonwaystostructureenvironmentstomaximize
productiveprocesses.Ifeelliketheinstructionalprinciplesrevolvearoundthesageonthestage.Whenin
reality,especiallythisprinciple,designshouldincludesomethingabout
allowingforthecreationof
multimediaproducts
.Mayerallowedforthe
Segmenting
principletobelearnercontrolled,whynotthisone?
Ifthegoalisengagementandmeaningfullearningwhatbetterwaytofostergenerativelearningthantoput
kidsinthedriversseat?PerhapsonewaytoreachthosehigherlevelsinBloomsTaxonomyistoallowfor

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thecreationofproducts.InourtextBrown(2007)suggests,Multimediadesignisacomplexandgenerative
activityforlearnersandsupportsthedevelopmentofmetacognitiveskills,problemsolvingstrategies,
creativefreedom,andselfawareness.

Soinsum,thisprinciplewillbebestutilizedintheclassroomwhenitisincorporatedwiththecontiguity
principle
and
theinstructorstandsabetterchanceofyieldingengagedlearningifthelearningenvironment
isstudentcentricandallowsforthestudentstocreateproductsandbeatthecenteroftheirlearning.

Idefinitelythinkyouareontherighttrackhere,Dan.LearnercontrolledcontentIfeellikeismutually
beneficial.AteachercantbeexpectedtoproduceMayerprincipleadherentpresentationsonallthecontent
beingtaught,especiallysincethemultimediacomponentofgenerativeprocessingemphasizesthe
importanceofpersonalization,somethingthatcanbequiteatimecommitmenttogenerate.Thisisgreatin
theorybutunrealisticformostteachers,
if
theexpectationisselfproducedcontent.Thereare,asI
mentioned,amazingservicessuchasBrainPopthatnowproducehighqualitycontentforyou.Butif
studentscangeneratepresentationsthatshowanunderstandingoflearningobjectives,theyalsothenhave
theopportunitytoexercisetheircreativity,whichisoftenignoredinthemoderncurriculum.Asyouclearly
pointout,itdefinitelykeepsthestudentatthecenteroftheirlearning.Ithoughtthetextbookprovidedsome
prettygooddesigncriteriaforstudentcreatedhypermediapresentations.Inoticedtoowithmymiddle
schoolersthattheyseemedtoworkmuchharderonanythingthattheyhadtopresenttotheirpeers,versus
justsomethingturnedintome.Theybecamemoreinvestedinthattypeofwork.

Okay,thisisgoingtosoundtotallykooky.ButImthinkingalotaboutthispersonalizationcomponentand
whatthatwouldlooklike.Oneofthereasonsthat

Brainpop
issopopularandeffectiveisbecausestudents
lovetherobot.Andhedoesntevenspeak!Ithinkitwouldbesofunatthemiddleschoolandmaybeupper
elementaryleveltotaskstudentswithapersonalizationcomponentofmultimedialearning.Atthebeginning
ontheyear,theycoulddesigntheirowncharacteroralteregoandpresenttheirideastotheclass.The
classwouldessentiallybecreatingtheirownBrainpoprobotfortheyearandusethatcharacterinmany
classcreatedmultimedialearningpresentations!Ithinkthatwouldbesofunforthemandalsomakethem
lessselfconsciousaboutpersonalizinganyoftheirpresentations.Thismaysoundtotallyoffthewall,butIm
justtryingtobrainstormfunwaystokeepthingslearnercentered.Themultimediaprincipleitselfishardto
expandupon,mainlyjustbecauseitseemssoobvious.

Havingstudentscreateprojectdeliverablesisawinwinonsomanylevelsbecausetheyareenhancing
technologyskillsandapplicationknowledge,utilizingcreativethinking,andaccessinghigherlevelsof
Bloomstaxonomybecauseaswewellknow,makingcontentunderstandableanddigestibleforothersisa
farstepabovejustknowingit.

References:

Edwards,E.(2014).Whydowecontinuetoperpetuateandpromoteineffectivelearning?Retreivedfrom:
http://www.astd.org/Publications/Blogs/LearningTechnologiesBlog/2014/07/WhyDoWeContinuetoPerpe
tuateandPromoteIneffectiveELearning?mktcops=c.lt&mktcois=c.deliveringtraining~c.designinglearning
~c.elearning&mkttag=c
.

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GuttormsenSchr,S.,&Kaiser,J.(2006).Revising(multi)medialearningprinciplesbyapplyinga
differentiatedknowledgeconcept.
Internationaljournalofhumancomputerstudies
,
64
(10),10611070.

Maer,R.E.,&Anderson,R.B.(1992).Theinstructiveanimation:Helpingstudentsbuildconnection
betweenwordsandpicturesinmultimedialearning.
JournalofEducationalPsychology
,84(4),444452.