During the MET program, and, especially this course, I have come across many things that are different from the things I have seen and used in my day to day teaching practices. The latest principle for multimedia learning - the Coherence Principle - is no different as it is yet another example of how little I knew about multimedia before I started this course.
The Coherence Principle and its Criteria
Clark and Mayer’s book E-Learning and the Science of Instruction (2011) state the that any material (audio, graphic or words) that does not help in the instruction of the learning audience should be eliminated from the multimedia presentation. As well, Mayer and Moreno (2003) suggest “weeding out any words, graphics or sounds that are not central to the to the instructional goal of the lesson.” In other words, it is important to not spice up the presentation with irrelevant information. In fact, Clark and Mayer’s research has shown this can actually harm the learning process.
I have always thought adding interesting pictures and sounds, even if not all that relevant to the presentation, would engage the student and help in the learning process. Again, I was wrong. The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning stresses that adding irrelevant information - even it it engages the student - will not increase learning. It will actually cause an overload of the two channels of processing information (visual and auditory) and, in fact, interfere with the students ability to process the required material.
Examples of the Coherence Principle
Thinking back to all of the PowerPoint multimedia presentations I have viewed over my 20+ years of teaching, there have only been a few that have completely followed the Coherence Principle. Most of the presentations try so hard to get the learner involved they neglect to keep the information relevant. I would venture to say that most teachers do not have any idea about this principle and think they are doing a great job on their presentations. I would also suggest that if you did not reference the scientific research by Clark and Mayer, they would not even agree with this principle. I remember a particular presentation at our annual teacher’s convention. The topic, coincidentally, was something to do with adding multimedia to the classroom. At the time, I thought the slides were exceptionally well done. There were so many music clips, graphics, videos segments and text. Wow, did it look great. Today, I do not actually remember one bit of information from the presentation except how I was intimidated by the amount of work that must have gone into each and every slide. The extraneous information from the slides actually hurt in my learning process as I don’t remember the content of the presentation. As Clark and Mayer (2011) state, “adding interesting and unnecessary material to e-learning can harm the learning process.” The instructor tried so hard to make the presentation look good but there was no substance and the extra information on the slides overtaxed my ability to retain much of the information.
On the other hand, the presentation type I seem to learn and retain the most from is simple, to the point and has a limited amount of information on each slide. It needs to have graphics and narration (or text) but less is more. As I stated earlier in this post, in my experiences with PowerPoint the Coherence Principle is not followed as often as it should be. I do, however, recall a great presentation in which I remember the content extremely well. The topics included personal finance and what was happening in the world that was affecting the stock market after the recession. The presentation was so clear and to the point. There were no extra graphs, no background music, etc., just the facts, limited graphics and a great narration. Because of some of the positive learning experiences with PowerPoint presentations I have experienced, I agree with Clark and Mayer’s views on the Coherence Principle.
Relationship Between the Coherence Principle and other Multimedia Learning Principles
Many of the principles of multimedia learning are interrelated. If I could sum up all of the principles into one word, it would be less is more. The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning stresses the fact that we only have two channels to process information - auditory and visual - and each of these channels has a limited capacity to accept and organize the active learning of this information. Many of the principles of the readings so far in E-Learning and the Science of Instruction - including the Coherence Principle - tie in directly with the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. The others include the principles of Modality and Redundancy.
All of the above mentioned principles believe their can be an overload to either the visual or auditory channel. The Coherence Principle states that multimedia presentations should avoid the use of extraneous material (audio, graphics or words) to minimize the overload of the visual or auditory channel. The Modality Principle states that we learn better when audio narration is used in a multimedia presentation rather than on-screen text. The reading of the words and looking at the graphics are both visual and, thus, can overload the visual channel. Without the use of voice narration, the audio channel is not being utilized. The Redundancy Principle states that educators should not add on-screen text to narrated graphics. Again, there is an overload to the visual channel as text and graphics are both visual even though the audio channel is now being used as well.
The Coherence Principle and the Relationship to Fundamental Theories of Psychology
Clark and Mayer (2011) explain the importance of the Coherence Principle (adding unnecessary material to e-learning can harm the learning process) and can be split into three sub principles. These sub principles include the following:
- Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Audio.
- Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Graphics.
- Avoid e-lessons with Extraneous Words.
As stated earlier in the previous question, the Coherence Principle is directly related to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and the concepts of overloading either the audio or visual channel and active learning. Extra information on the presentation - regardless of how it engages the student - will adversely affect learning because the learner cannot select the relevant material needed for learning. Still, many developers feel they must spice up the presentation in order to engage students. Clark and Mayer (2011) define the Arousal Theory as “the idea that entertaining and interesting embedded effects cause learners to become more emotionally aroused and therefore they work harder to learn the material.” This theory predicts that students will learn more from multimedia presentations that contain interesting sounds and music, interesting but extraneous pictures and extra words than from presentations without this extraneous material. However the research shows that the extraneous material can overload either the visual or auditory channels or cause a disruption of active learning and cause an adverse effect on learning.
My Opinion of the Coherence Principle - Is It Missing Anything?
From a personal standpoint, I think the Coherence Principle is good for both the instructor and the learners. Firstly, the research shows more learning will occur if the Coherence Principle is followed. This is important as learning is the essence of education. From the instructor standpoint, it releases some pressure of time constraints trying to make each slide perfect by adding numerous graphics and sounds for the engagement of the learner. The Coherence Principle - along with other principles mentioned in this post - follow the less is more concept. From the learner’s point of view, the Coherence Principle is great because it allows presentations that are less confusing and easier to follow and understand.
I feel that some educators would argue against this principle because of the fact that the presentations may not look all that engaging. These instructors or students would say that motivation is the key to learning.
I myself have broken many of the Principles of Multimedia Learning, especially the Coherence Principle. I honestly would not have believed the information about student learning from our readings if Clark and Mayer hadn’t shown scientific evidence that these principles work. I have always thought that student engagement (motivation) was the key to learning and if it meant having to add extraneous material to a presentation to get students engaged, then so be it. I still think some learners prefer the glamorous presentation, even if it affects some of their learning. Who knows, it may be important as instructors to explain to the students why extra information is missing from the presentation.
References
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-learning and the science of instruction, 3rd edition. Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA.
Mayer, R. E. (1999). Multimedia aids to problem-solving transfer. International Journal of Educational Research, 31(7), 611-623.
Mayer, R.E., & Moreno, R. (2003). Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning. Educational Psychologist, 38, 43-52.
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). A learner-centered approach to multimedia explanations: Deriving instructional design principles from cognitive theory. Interactive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer-Enhanced Learning, 2(2). Retrieved from http://imej.wfu.edu/articles/2000/2/05/index.asp
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