Running head: CLARK-KOZMA DEBATE 1

Clark-Kozma Debate

Jon Wilson

University of West Georgia

CLARK-KOZMA DEBATE 2

Introduction

The issue of instructional use of media in the classroom and its effectiveness as well as its

impact on learning has long been a matter of debate. While the increasingly popular opinion in

many education circles champion the use of media and technology in the classroom and argue its

value in helping students understand content, critics point to numerous research studies that have

shown no relationship between media and learning benefits. This debate is the heart of the

argument between Richard Clark and Robert Kozma. Clark (1994) argued in his writings that

media do not influence learning nor is responsible in motivating the learning process. While this

seems counter to what many school systems believe and compel to their teachers, Clark pointed

out that there has not been any conclusive evidence to support a positive correlation between

media and the learning process. Kozma (1994) argued that the question to be asked is not

whether media do currently influence learning but rather will media influence learning and is the

reason there is not a relationship between the two because one has not been made. While a hotly

contested issue with both sides having evidence to corroborate their stances, Kozmas argument

is the most compelling as he looks at the question of how media can be used to influence

learning rather than if media already influences learning.

Body

The use of media for instructional purposes has been a major push in many public

schools across the country for more than a decade as technology continues to develop at a higher

and more advanced rate than ever before. Students are often on the cutting edge of the latest

technological waves which has most recently included various forms of social media as well as

other internet based modes of media. It is widely believed that through engaging students in

various forms of media that teachers will be able to unlock the key to success in the classroom.
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Clark (1994) uses the analogy of likening media delivering instruction to that of a truck

delivering groceries. No matter what type of truck is delivering the groceries, it does not impact

the nutrition of the fruits, vegetables, or other various items being transported. In the same way,

Clark argues that media is no more than a vehicle being used to deliver instruction rather than

yield any influence over student progress. This could be true in the classroom of a teacher who

heavily utilizes tools such as Microsoft Office applications like PowerPoint to deliver instruction

via lecture. In this instance, the media being used is no more than just a delivery service of

content, providing text on a board for students to see and copy down in their notes.

This example would be a prime argument used by Clark (1994) in what he deemed the

replaceability test (p. 22). He stated that if a medium or its attributes could be replaced by

another mode of media any yield the same or similar results, then the cause of the results comes

from some shared properties (Clark, 1994, p. 22). In the above example, Clark would argue that

the PowerPoint presentation could be replaced by a Prezi, a Microsoft Word document being

displayed, or a simple slide show and still yield the same results. The results are not tied to the

mode of media, but rather through the instruction. To Clark, instruction method and the medium

used are separate.

On the other hand, Kozma attacked the issue of media and learning through another lens.

While he agreed with Clark that there had not been any definitive research done in the past seven

decades outlining a correlation between instruction media and its influences on learning, he

proposed that the issue in question was under what conditions will media influence learning

(Kozma, 1994). The relationship had not been found to exist yet because the relationship

between media and learning had not yet been made (Kozma, p. 2, 1994). Kozma attacked this

position by defining learning as, an active, constructive, cognitive, and social process by which
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the learner strategically manages available cognitive, physical, and social resources to create new

knowledge by interacting with information from the environment and integrating it with

information already stored in memory (Kozma, p. 3, 1994). Using this definition, Kozma stated

knowledge and learning are a result of a learners contact between cognitive resources and the

external environment that surrounds them, which is further influenced by the manner in which

the internal and external sources correspond (Kozma, p. 3, 1994).

Kozma made valid points that described the potential for a correlation between media and

learning as being a potential interaction between cognitive process and characteristics of the

environment (Kozma, 1994). The works of Richard Mayer with the Cognitive Theory of

Multimedia Learning and John Swellers Cognitive Load Theory support Kozmas ideas of a

relationship between the cognitive process and characteristics of the environment influencing

learning through the use of media. Cognitive load is defined as the amount of mental effort used

in working memory. Sweller made the case that the design of a teachers instruction can be done

in a manner which can reduce the cognitive load of a student (Sweller, 1988). An example of this

can be using a combination of pictures and words rather than just text, or replacing the text with

diagrams to prevent a heavy cognitive load. For instance, if a student is learning about how a bill

becomes a law in government class, rather than reading a text description of the process from the

courses book, a student who engaged the material through viewing an interactive flow chart or

diagram on an iPad would have a lighter cognitive load and therefore allow the student to

concentrate more heavily on learning the content of the flow chart rather than increasing the

work load from the text.

Mayer continued to develop the notion of a possible relationship between the cognitive

process and environment on learning through media with his Cognitive Theory of Multimedia
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Learning. Building upon Swellers notion of reducing cognitive load, Mayers theory placed

emphasis on building mental representations from words and pictures (Sorden, 2012). This

principle of multimedia stated that students learn more effectively and develop a better

understanding of content if words and pictures are paired together, rather than learning coming

from solely text, allowing for learners to create a mental image or representation of these words

or pictures in their minds eye (Sorden, 2012). Incorporating technology, Mayer further stated

that these visual images may stem from not only traditional illustrations but through animation or

video as well. Through interpreting the images and text, the goal is for the student to build

significant connections between the two and take an active role in the learning environment,

which would lead to the development of new knowledge (Sorden, 2012).

While Clark stated that there is no relationship between the use of media in the classroom

and learning outcomes, instead seeing it as just a tool for delivery, Kozma decided to dig deep to

find a future relationship between media and learning. Instead of simply saying a relationship did

not exist, Kozma went hunting for a correlation between media and learning. Through the

research of Sweller and Mayer, a correlation in the use of media in cognitive load development

and mental association with images from media can start to be found. The use of images in the

classroom from various modes of media to replace textual examples and information to allow

students to more deeply connect with content show that media is having an influence in

classrooms across the country. As various county, city, and private school systems push for

further technological and media integration in the classroom, there is no doubt the work of

Kozma, Sweller, and Mayer will all be further cited and expanded as newer research comes

available.
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References

Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology, Research and

Development, 42(2), 21 - 29.

Kozma, R. B. (1994). Will media influence learning? Reframing the debate. Educational

Technology, Research and Development, 42(2), 7 - 19.

Sorden, S. D. (2012). The cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Retrieved from

http://sorden.com/portfolio/sorden_draft_multimedia2012.pdf

Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: effects on learning. Cognitive

Science, 12: 257285. Retrieved from

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4/epdf