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Multimedia learning: Testing & Assessment
According to the authors Richard E. Mayer and Roxana Moreno, the advantage of multimedia learning is that the learner is engages in three mutually reinforcing cognitive processes when learning something new. The first cognitive process is selecting, which "must be applied to incoming verbal information to yield a text base and then be applied to incoming visual information to yield an image base." In other words, the teacher matches the word with the image. (Mayer & Moreno, 2000, p.1) The second cognitive process, "organizing," must apply the image to the word base to "create a verbally-based model of the system." (Mayer & Moreno, 2000, p.1) In other words, the student matches the word to the image. Then, "finally, integrating occurs when the learner builds connections between corresponding parts of verbal and visual." (Mayer & Moreno, 2000, p.1) The student is finally able to apply the learned verbal and visual knowledge in other context.
When testing a specific multimedia learning module, such as teaching pre-kindergarten students the names of colors, one must first ask, does it serve the designated functions of the module, of separating, organizing, and integrating word names for colors with the colors themselves? At the end of the module, the students should not simply know the color words, but be able to match them to their appropriate physical representations in isolation, and also in the real world of images.
To assess the 'separation' function, namely the ability to separate color words from other words, in such a module of multimedia learning, it is often more effective few rather than many extraneous words and pictures? (Mayer & Moreno, 2000, p. 4) For example, when showing a picture of a blue ocean to...
Words must be aurally and visually paired with text in a mutually reinforcing fashion. For example, one study cited by Mayer and Moreno found that students who read a text about bicycle repair containing captioned illustrations placed near the corresponding words generated about 65% more useful solutions about repairing a bicycle in a subsequent problem-solving transfer test than did students who simply read a text about bicycles without such paired visual reinforcement. The experimental group thus demonstrated more functional understanding of the learning process. They were more able to mentally separate the visual components of the bike, organize them in an effective fashion, and then use the information in a holistic and constructive fashion.
Thus, one way to assess functionality and the module's ability to assess the different components of the multimedia learning process might be to first isolate proposed module improvements in the conventional learning process, then test the experimental group against children who are not engaged in a program with such improvements designed for multimedia learning. For example, can children who engage in the multimedia learning of the colors find all the 'blue' objects in a room, after the learning module, even if the blue objects are not the same objects shown in the model? Did the experimental group do so at a greater percentile than those not in the test case?
When assessing the module as well, one must ask if it makes effective use of the multimedia aspects of the module. Does it adhere to the contiguity principle, namely that when giving a multimedia explanation, it should present corresponding words and pictures contiguously…
Works Cited
Burton, Brad. (2005)"Tester Tips." Retrieved on 17 Mar 2005 at http://www.ravenware.com/factand/nofic/BetaTTips.html
Mayer, Richard E. And Roxana Moreno. (20000 "A Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning: Implications for Design Principles." Retrieved on 17 Mar 2005 at http://www.unm.edu/~moreno/PDFS/chi.pdf
"Teaching Ideas for PK and Kindergarten Classes." (2001). Tulso Primary School Website. Retrieved on 17 Mar 2005 at http://www.irvingisd.net/alphasmart/pre_K_and_Kinder_ideas.pdf
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