e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning
By Ruth C. Clark and Richard E. Mayer
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About this ebook
e-Learning and the Science of Instruction is the ultimate handbook for evidence-based e-learning design. Since the first edition of this book, e-learning has grown to account for at least 40% of all training delivery media. However, digital courses often fail to reach their potential for learning effectiveness and efficiency. This guide provides research-based guidelines on how best to present content with text, graphics, and audio as well as the conditions under which those guidelines are most effective. This updated fourth edition describes the guidelines, psychology, and applications for ways to improve learning through personalization techniques, coherence, animations, and a new chapter on evidence-based game design. The chapter on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning introduces three forms of cognitive load which are revisited throughout each chapter as the psychological basis for chapter principles. A new chapter on engagement in learning lays the groundwork for in-depth reviews of how to leverage worked examples, practice, online collaboration, and learner control to optimize learning. The updated instructor's materials include a syllabus, assignments, storyboard projects, and test items that you can adapt to your own course schedule and students.
Co-authored by the most productive instructional research scientist in the world, Dr. Richard E. Mayer, this book distills copious e-learning research into a practical manual for improving learning through optimal design and delivery.
- Get up to date on the latest e-learning research
- Adopt best practices for communicating information effectively
- Use evidence-based techniques to engage your learners
- Replace popular instructional ideas, such as learning styles with evidence-based guidelines
- Apply evidence-based design techniques to optimize learning games
e-Learning continues to grow as an alternative or adjunct to the classroom, and correspondingly, has become a focus among researchers in learning-related fields. New findings from research laboratories can inform the design and development of e-learning. However, much of this research published in technical journals is inaccessible to those who actually design e-learning material. By collecting the latest evidence into a single volume and translating the theoretical into the practical, e-Learning and the Science of Instruction has become an essential resource for consumers and designers of multimedia learning.
Read more from Ruth C. Clark
Developing Technical Training: A Structured Approach for Developing Classroom and Computer-based Instructional Materials Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scenario-based e-Learning: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Online Workforce Learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Virtual Classroom: Evidence-based Guidelines for Synchronous e-Learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for e-Learning and the Science of Instruction
21 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruth Clark and Richard Mayer bring peer-reviewed research and a clean writing style to this well organized introduction to e-learning principles and practices. They make connections to earlier, decades-old learning formats including instructional films to show that “what we are seeing under the e-learning label is not new” (p. 20). They effectively use chapter headings and subheadings to offer helpful tips—“use words and graphics rather than words alone” (p. 51); “place corresponding words and graphics near each other” (p. 67); “present words as audio narration rather than onscreen text” (p. 83); and “use conversational style and virtual coaches” (p. 131)—as part of their own instructional techniques. Furthermore, their inclusion of numerous screenshots to provide examples of effective and ineffective e-learning serves as a model of how those providing or producing e-learning modules can approach their work. Their section on “how people learn from e-courses” (Chapter 2) serves as a brief introduction to a subject covered more thoroughly in James Zull’s "The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning," and Chapter 3 (“Applying the Multimedia Principle: Use Words and Graphics Rather than Words Alone”) is a brief introduction to a topic covered in greater detail in Cliff Atkinson’s '"Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® 2007 to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A must for e-learning developers
Book preview
e-Learning and the Science of Instruction - Ruth C. Clark
About This Book
Why is e-Learning and the Science of Instruction important?
This is a book about what works in e-learning. Increasingly, organizations are turning to e-learning to save travel costs and instructional time. In fact e-learning in both synchronous and asynchronous formats is on the rise, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all training delivery of workforce learning. However, dollars saved are only an illusion if the quality of the training suffers.
Many books on the market offer useful advice for design and development of e-learning. Unlike these books, the answers we present are not based on opinion and fads; they are based on empirical research. Much of this new research is inaccessible to those producing or evaluating online learning because it has been distributed primarily within the academic research community. This book bridges the gap by summarizing research-based answers to questions that practitioners ask about effective e-learning.
What’s new in the fourth edition?
The popularity of the previous editions of this book is testimony to consumer interest in evidence-based guidelines about how to best use visuals, text, audio, practice exercises, and examples in e-learning. In the fourth edition we have updated the previous edition by adding new research, guidelines, and examples. Based on Richard Mayer’s extensive research on serious games, we have a new chapter on the effects of games on learning. We also have a new chapter on engagement in e-learning that presents recent research on generative multimedia learning.
What can you achieve with this book?
If you are a designer, developer, evaluator, or consumer of e-learning, you can use the guidelines in this book to ensure that your courseware meets human psychological learning requirements. In particular you can learn evidence-based ways to:
Communicate your content with words and visuals
Use audio to describe visuals
Avoid overloading learners with extraneous media effects
Optimize social presence in your courseware
Apply new research on engagement to your e-learning products
Design examples and practice exercises that build job-relevant skills
Determine when and how to use networked collaborative activities
Build thinking skills through evidence-based methods
Apply recent evidence on serious games to your portfolio of multimedia products
How is this book organized?
Chapters 1 through 3 lay the foundation for the book by defining e-learning, describing how the methods used in e-learning can promote or defeat learning processes, and summarizing the basic concepts associated with evidence-based practice.
Chapters 4 through 10 summarize the multimedia principles developed over thirty years of research by Richard Mayer and his associates at the University of California. In these chapters you will read the guidelines, the evidence, and the psychology, as well as review examples of how to (1) best use visuals, text, and audio, (2) increase social presence in your lessons, and (3) segment and sequence content in e-learning.
Chapters 11 through 16 focus on evidence-based guidelines related to important instructional methods and approaches in e-learning, including use of examples, practice, and feedback, collaborative learning assignments, navigation tools, and techniques to build thinking skills.
Chapter 17 is new to this edition and summarizes the most recent research on the effects of serious games on learning. In this chapter you will see the evidence that answers three fundamental questions about games: (1) What features promote learning in games? (2) Do games affect basic cognitive aptitudes? and (3) Are games more effective than traditional instructional approaches?
Chapter 18 integrates all of the book’s guidelines into a comprehensive checklist and illustrates how they apply in concert to asynchronous and synchronous e-learning examples.
The book’s introduction gives you a summary of specific topics in each chapter.
e-Learning and the Science of Instruction
Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning
Fourth Edition
Ruth Colvin Clark • Richard E. Mayer
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Cover design: Wiley
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Colvin Clark and Richard E. Mayer. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Names: Clark, Ruth Colvin, author. | Mayer, Richard E., 1947- author.
Title: E-learning and the science of instruction : proven guidelines for
consumers and designers of multimedia learning / Ruth C. Clark, Richard E. Mayer.
Description: Fourth edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2016. | Revised edition of
the authors' E-learning and the science of instruction, 2011. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015037550 (print) | LCCN 2015045401 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119158660 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119158677 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119158684
(epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Business education—Computer-assisted instruction. | BISAC:
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Human Resources & Personnel Management.
Classification: LCC HF1106 .C55 2016 (print) | LCC HF1106 (ebook) | DDC
658.3/12402854678—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037550
To a new generation of e-learners:
Jacob, Avery, James, Emma, and Caleb (from RM)
Joshua, Matthew, Lennon, and Luke (from RC)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 e-Learning
Chapter Summary
What Is e-Learning?
Is e-Learning Better?
The Promises of e-Learning
The Pitfalls of e-Learning
Inform and Perform e-Learning Goals
e-Learning Architectures
What Is Effective e-Courseware?
Learning in e-Learning
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 2 How Do People Learn from e-Courses?
Chapter Summary
How Do People Learn?
Managing Limited Cognitive Resources During Learning
How e-Lessons Affect Human Learning
What We Don’t Know About Learning
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 3 Evidence-Based Practice
Chapter Summary
What Is Evidence-Based Practice?
Three Approaches to Research on Instructional Effectiveness
What to Look for in Experimental Comparisons
How to Interpret Research Statistics
How Can You Identify Relevant Research?
Boundary Conditions in Experimental Comparisons
Practical Versus Theoretical Research
What We Don’t Know About Evidence-Based Practice
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 4 Applying the Multimedia Principle
Chapter Summary
Do Visuals Make a Difference?
Multimedia Principle: Include Both Words and Graphics
Some Ways to Use Graphics to Promote Learning
Psychological Reasons for the Multimedia Principle
Evidence for Using Words and Pictures
The Multimedia Principle Works Best for Novices
Should You Change Static Illustrations into Animations?
What We Don’t Know About Visuals
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 5 Applying the Contiguity Principle
Chapter Summary
Principle 1: Place Printed Words Near Corresponding Graphics
Psychological Reasons for Contiguity Principle 1
Evidence for Contiguity Principle 1
Principle 2: Synchronize Spoken Words with Corresponding Graphics
Psychological Reasons for Contiguity Principle 2
Evidence for Contiguity Principle 2
What We Don’t Know About Contiguity
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 6 Applying the Modality Principle
Chapter Summary
Modality Principle: Present Words as Speech Rather Than On-Screen Text
Limitations to the Modality Principle
Psychological Reasons for the Modality Principle
Evidence for Using Spoken Rather Than Printed Text
When the Modality Principle Applies
What We Don’t Know About Modality
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 7 Applying the Redundancy Principle
Chapter Summary
Principle 1: Do Not Add On-Screen Text to Narrated Graphics
Psychological Reasons for the Redundancy Principle
Evidence for Omitting Redundant On-Screen Text
Principle 2: Consider Adding On-Screen Text to Narration in Special Situations
Psychological Reasons for Exceptions to the Redundancy Principle
Evidence for Including Redundant On-Screen Text
What We Don’t Know About Redundancy
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 8 Applying the Coherence Principle
Chapter Summary
Principle 1: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Words
Psychological Reasons to Avoid Extraneous Words in e-Learning
Evidence for Omitting Extraneous Words Added for Interest
Evidence for Omitting Extraneous Words Added to Expand on Key Ideas
Evidence for Omitting Extraneous Words Added for Technical Depth
Principle 2: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Graphics
Psychological Reasons to Avoid Extraneous Graphics in e-Learning
Evidence for Omitting Extraneous Graphics Added for Interest
Evidence for Using Simpler Visuals
Can Interesting Graphics Ever Be Helpful?
Principle 3: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Audio
Psychological Reasons to Avoid Extraneous Audio in e-Learning
Evidence for Omitting Extraneous Audio
What We Don’t Know About Coherence
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 9 Applying the Personalization and Embodiment Principles
Chapter Summary
Personalization Principle: Use Conversational Rather Than Formal Style, Polite Wording Rather Than Direct Wording, and Human Voice Rather Than Machine Voice
Psychological Reasons for the Personalization Principle
Promote Personalization Through Conversational Style
Promote Personalization Through Polite Speech
Promote Personalization Through Voice Quality
Embodiment Principle: Use Effective On-Screen Coaches to Promote Learning
Implications for e-Learning
What We Don’t Know About Personalization and Embodiment
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 10 Applying the Segmenting and Pretraining Principles
Chapter Summary
Segmenting Principle: Break a Continuous Lesson into Bite-Size Segments
Psychological Reasons for the Segmenting Principle
Evidence for Breaking a Continuous Lesson into Bite-Size Segments
Pretraining Principle: Ensure That Learners Know the Names and Characteristics of Key Concepts
Psychological Reasons for the Pretraining Principle
Evidence for Providing Pretraining in Key Concepts
What We Don’t Know About Segmenting and Pretraining
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 11 Engagement in e-Learning
Chapter Summary
What Is Engagement?
When Behavioral Engagement Impedes Learning
Engagement That Leads to Generative Processing
A New View of Engagement
What We Don’t Know About Engagement
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 12 Leveraging Examples in e-Learning
Chapter Summary
What Are Worked Examples?
The Psychology of Worked Examples
Evidence for the Benefits of Worked Examples
Principles to Optimize Benefits of Worked Examples
Principle 1: Provide Worked Examples in Lieu of Problem Assignments When the Essential Load of the Lesson Is High
Principle 2: Fade from Worked Examples to Problems
Principle 3: Promote Self-Explanations
Principle 4: Include Instructional Explanations of Worked Examples in Some Situations
Principle 5: Apply Multimedia Principles to Examples
Principle 6: Support Far Transfer
What We Don’t Know About Worked Examples
Chapter Reflection
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 13 Does Practice Make Perfect?
Chapter Summary
What Is Practice in e-Learning?
Is Practice a Good Investment?
Principle 1: Add Sufficient Practice Interactions to e-Learning to Achieve the Objective
Principle 2: Mirror the Job
Principle 3: Provide Effective Feedback
Principle 4: Distribute and Mix Practice Among Learning Events
Principle 5: Apply Multimedia Principles
What We Don’t Know About Practice
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 14 Learning Together Virtually
Chapter Summary
What Is Collaborative Learning?
What Is Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)?
Principle 1: Consider Collaborative Assignments for Challenging Tasks
Principle 2: Optimize Group Size, Composition, and Interdependence
Principle 3: Match Synchronous and Asynchronous Assignments to the Collaborative Goal
Principle 4: Use Collaborative Tool Features That Optimize Team Processes and Products
Principle 5: Maximize Social Presence in Online Collaborative Environments
Principle 6: Use Structured Collaboration Processes to Optimize Team Outcomes
What We Don’t Know About Collaborative Learning
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 15 Who’s in Control?
Chapter Summary
Learner Control Versus Program Control
Do Learners Make Good Instructional Decisions?
Principle 1: Give Experienced Learners Control
Principle 2: Make Important Instructional Events the Default
Principle 3: Consider Alternative Forms of Learner Control
Principle 4: Give Pacing Control to All Learners
Principle 5: Offer Navigational Support in Hypermedia Environments
The Bottom Line
What We Don’t Know About Learner Control
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 16 e-Learning to Build Thinking Skills
Chapter Summary
What Are Thinking Skills?
Can Thinking Skills Be Trained?
Principle 1: Focus on Explicit Teaching of Job-Relevant Thinking Skills
Principle 2: Design Lessons Around Authentic Work Tasks or Problems
Evidence for Problem-Focused Instruction
Principle 3: Define Job-Specific Thinking Processes
What We Don’t Know About Teaching Thinking Skills
Coming Next
Chapter 17 Learning with Computer Games
Chapter Summary
Do Games Have a Place in the Serious Business of Training?
Which Features Improve a Game’s Effectiveness?
Does Game Playing Improve Cognitive Skills?
Are Games More Effective Than Conventional Media?
What We Don’t Know About Learning with Computer Games
Coming Next
Suggested Readings
Chapter 18 Applying the Guidelines
Chapter Summary
Applying the Evidence-Based Guidelines to e-Courses
e-Lesson Guidelines Checklist
Review of Sample 1: Excel for Small Business
Review of Sample 2: Synchronous Excel Lesson
Review of Sample 3: Automotive Troubleshooting Simulation
Reflections on Past Predictions
Beyond 2016 in Multimedia Research
In Conclusion
References
Glossary
Name Index
Subject Index
About the Authors
EULA
List of Tables
Introduction
Table 1.1.
Chapter 1
Table 1.1
Table 1.2
Table 2.1.
Table 2.2.
Table 2.3.
Table 3.1.
Table 3.2.
Chapter 4
Table 4.1
Table 11.1.
Table 13.1.
Table 13.2.
Table 14.1.
Table 14.2.
Table 15.1.
Table 16.1.
Table 16.2.
Table 16.3.
Table 17.1.
Table 17.2.
Table 17.3.
Table 17.4.
Table 18.1.
Table 18.2.
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 A Screen Capture from an Asynchronous Excel Lesson.
Figure 1.2 A Screen Capture from a Synchronous Excel Lesson.
Figure 1.3 Adapted from Bernard et al., 2004. Electronic Distance Learning Versus Face-to-Face Instruction: Distribution of Effect Sizes.
Figure 1.4 Adapted from ATD State of Industry Report, 2014. Percentage of Learning Hours Available Via Instructor-Led Classroom and Technology.
Figure 1.5 With permission from Raytheon Professional Services. A Simulated Automotive Shop Offers Accelerated Learning Opportunities.
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.
Figure 2.2 Visual Cues Help Learners Attend to Important Elements of the Lesson.
Figure 2.3 Adapted from Mayer (2001a, 2005b) Screens from Lightning Lesson with Integrated Text and Graphics (Left) and Separated Text and Graphics (Right).
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 Eye-Tracking Data Shows Different Patterns of Attention in Different Layouts of Print and Visuals.
Figure 3.2 Criteria of Good Experimental Comparisons.
Figure 3.3 Means and Standard Deviations from Two Lessons.
Figure 3.4 A Calculation of Effect Size for the Two Groups Illustrated in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.5 Research Can Have Theoretical and Practical Goals.
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 A Screen from Ben’s First Draft of the Excel Course.
Figure 4.2 A Revision of Figure 4.1 with Visuals and Words.
Figure 4.3 A Decorative Graphic That Does Not Improve Learning.
Figure 4.4 An Organizational Graphic on Coaching Topics.
Figure 4.5 Use of Color and Tables to Illustrate Quantitative Relationships.
Figure 4.6 How a Bicycle Pump Works Explained with Words Alone. .
Figure 4.7 How a Bicycle Pump Works Explained with Words and Graphics.
Figure 4.8 Learning Is Better from Words Plus Graphics Than from Words Alone. .
Figure 4.9 A Series of Static Visuals to Teach How Lightning Forms. .
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Ben’s First Draft Storyboards for the Excel Lesson.
Figure 5.2 The Legend Placed on the Side of the Graphic Violates the Contiguity Principle.
Figure 5.3 From Clark and Lyons, 2011. A Screen Rollover Integrates Text Below Section 1 of Graphic.
Figure 5.4 Text and Graphic Separated on Scrolling Screen.
Figure 5.5 Text and Graphic Visible Together on a Scrolling Screen.
Figure 5.6 Ineffective and Effective Placement of Feedback.
Figure 5.7 Separating Exercise Directions from Application Screen Adds Extraneous Memory Load.
Figure 5.8 Text Placed at Bottom of Screen (Left) Versus Next to Visual (Right).
Figure 5.9 Text Is Viewed Separately from Animation. .
Figure 5.10 Screens from Lightning Lesson with Integrated Text and Graphics (Left) and Separated Text and Graphics (Right). .
Figure 5.11 Eye-Tracking Shows Better Integration of Text and Visual When Visuals Are Integrated into the Text. .
Figure 5.12 Separated Version of the Brakes Lesson. .
Figure 5.13 Integrated Version of the Brakes Lesson. .
Figure 5.14 Narration Is Presented Separately from Animation.
Figure 5.15 This Alternative to Figure 5.1 Applies the Contiguity Principle.
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 Visual Described by On-Screen Text.
Figure 6.2 Audio Explains the Animated Demonstration of the Telephone System.
Figure 6.3 Visual Described by Audio Narration.
Figure 6.4 Practice Directions Provided in On-Screen Text in a Virtual Classroom Session.
Figure 6.5 Overloading of Visual Channel with Presentation of Written Text and Graphics. .
Figure 6.6 Balancing Content Across Visual and Auditory Channels with Presentation of Narration and Graphics. .
Figure 6.7 Screens from Lightning Lesson Explained with Audio Narration. .
Figure 6.8 Screens from Lightning Lesson Explained with On-Screen Text. .
Figure 6.9 Better Learning When Visuals Are Explained with Audio Narration. .
Figure 6.10 Responses to Questions in Audio Narration (A) or in On-Screen Text (B). .
Figure 6.11 A Temperature Graph. .
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 Visual Described by On-Screen Text and Narration.
Figure 7.2 Graphics Explained Using Identical Text and Audio Narration.
Figure 7.3 Graphics Explained Using Audio Alone.
Figure 7.4 Overloading of Visual Channel with Graphics Explained by Words in Audio and Written Text. .
Figure 7.5 Better Learning When Visuals Are Explained by Audio Alone. .
Figure 7.6 When No Visuals Are Present, Content Can Be Presented with Text and Redundant Narration.
Figure 7.7 Use of Audio and Text Callouts Can Benefit Learning.
Figure 7.8 Screenshot from Narrated Video with and Without Subtitles. .
Figure 7.9 Visual Explained by On-Screen Text When Audio Off Is Selected.
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 A Screen to Add Interest to the Excel Lesson.
Figure 8.2 Extensive Text Elaborates on Spreadsheet Concepts.
Figure 8.3 Lean Text and Relevant Visual Explain Spreadsheet Concepts.
Figure 8.4 High and Low Interest Statements Added to a Lesson. .
Figure 8.5 High Interest Statements Added to a Lesson Depress Learning .
Figure 8.6 Learning Is Better When Non-Essential Text Is Excluded. .
Figure 8.7 Interesting But Irrelevant-to-Learning Information Should Be Excluded.
Figure 8.8 Interesting But Unrelated Graphics Added to Lightning Lesson. .
Figure 8.9 Text Accompanied by a Simple Visual (Left) Led to Better Understanding of Circulation Than an Anatomically Correct Detailed Visual (Right). .
Figure 8.10 Schematic Animations (Bottom) Led to Better Learning Than Video-Recorded (Top) Visuals of Mitosis. .
Figure 8.11 Standard and Enhanced Graphics for the Virus Lesson. .
Figure 8.12 Sounds of Explosions and Bullets Added to Narration of On-Screen Text.
Figure 8.13 Learning Is Better When Sounds and Music Are Excluded. .
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1 An Informal Approach Uses an Agent and Conversational Language.
Figure 9.2 A Formal Approach Omits the Agent and Uses More Formal Language.
Figure 9.3 Passive Voice Leads to a Formal Tone in the Lesson.
Figure 9.4 Use of Second Person and Informal Language Lead to a Conversational Tone in the Lesson.
Figure 9.5 How the Presence or Absence of Social Cues Affects Learning. .
Figure 9.6 Formal Versus Informal Lesson Introductions Compared in Research Study. .
Figure 9.7 Better Learning from Personalized Narration. .
Figure 9.8 On-Screen Coach Used to Give Reading Comprehension Demonstrations. .
Figure 9.9 Herman-the-Bug Used in Design-A-Plant Instructional Game. .
Figure 9.10 Agent Stands to Left in Slideshow on Solar Cells. .
Figure 9.11 The Puppy Character Plays No Instructional Role So Is Not an Agent.
Chapter 10
Figure 10.1 Two Organizational Sequences for the Excel Lesson.
Figure 10.2 Some Screens from Lightning Lesson. .
Figure 10.3 Cutting and Pasting Text in Word Is a Simple Task.
Figure 10.4 Constructing a Formula in Excel Is a Complex Task
Figure 10.5 Adding a Continue Button Allows Learners to Progress at Their Own Rate.
Figure 10.6 Pretraining Illustrates the Parts and Functions of the Virtual Classroom Interface. .
Figure 10.7 Pretraining Teaches Formula Format Before Procedure. .
Figure 10.8 This Lesson Applies Both Segmenting and Pretraining Principles. .
Figure 10.9 Part of a Multimedia Presentation on How Brakes Work. .
Figure 10.10 Pretraining on How Brakes Work. .
Figure 10.11 Pretraining Version Resulted in Better Learning. .
Chapter 11
Figure 11.1 A Narrative Game for Learning Electro-Mechanical Principles. .
Figure 11.2 The Engagement Grid. .
Figure 11.3 Learning from Verbal and Pictorial Summaries, Either Student-Generated or Instructor-Provided. .
Figure 11.4 Proportion of Productive Inferences Generated from Three Lesson Versions. .
Figure 11.5 Elements Provided for Supported Drawing. .
Figure 11.6 Gain Scores for One-on-One Tutoring, Observing Tutoring, or Observing a Lecture Among University or Middle School Students. .
Figure 11.7 Learning from Preparing to Teach Versus Preparing to Teach and Teaching. .
Chapter 12
Figure 12.1 A Worked Example of a Probability Problem.
Figure 12.2 A Modeled Worked Example from a Sales Lesson.
Figure 12.3 Worked Example Problem Pairs Result in Faster and Better Learning.
Figure 12.4 Test Scores for Easier and More Complex Problems with Examples or with Practice Exercises: Novice Learners.
Figure 12.5 Fading from a Full Worked Example to a Practice Problem.
Figure 12.6 A Faded Worked Probability Problem.
Figure 12.7 A Self-Explanation Question Focused on First Solution Step of Probability Problem.
Figure 12.8 A Self-Explanation Question Encourages Deeper Processing of the Sales Modeled Example.
Figure 12.9 Different Physician Profiles Vary the Sales Context.
Figure 12.11 Better Learning from Case Examples in Video or Animation Than Text or No Example.
Figure 12.11 A Worked Example with Steps Presented in Text, Audio, or Text and Audio.
Figure 12.12 Varied Context Worked Examples Resulted in More Correct Discrimination of Statistical Test Type.
Figure 12.13 Alternative Placement of Negotiation Strategy Worked Examples in Three Lesson Versions.
Figure 12.14 Best Learning from Active Comparisons of Examples.
Chapter 13
Figure 13.1 A Jeopardy Game Design for the Pharmaceutical Sales Lesson.
Figure 13.2 Practice Exercises Should Fall into Quadrant 4 of the Engagement Matrix.
Figure 13.3 This Multiple-Choice Question Requires the Learner to Recognize Correct Drug Facts.
Figure 13.4 This Multiple-Select Question Requires the Learner to Match Drug Features to the Appropriate Physician Profile.
Figure 13.5 Better Learning from e-Learning with Practice Interactions.
Figure 13.6 The Power Law of Practice: Speed Increases with Practice But at a Diminishing Rate.
Figure 13.7 This Feedback Tells the Learner That the Response Is Incorrect.
Figure 13.8 This Feedback Tells the Learner That the Response Is Incorrect and Provides an Explanation.
Figure 13.9 Better Learning from Explanatory Feedback.
Figure 13.10 Mixed Practice Leads to Poorer Practice Scores But Better Learning.
Chapter 14
Figure 14.1 Synchronous Collaborative Learning with Chat, Audio, Whiteboard in Breakout Room.
Figure 14.2 Asynchronous Collaborative Learning Using a Wiki.
Figure 14.3 Asynchronous Collaborative Learning Using a Discussion Board.
Figure 14.4 A Graphic Interface to Support the Group Problem-Solving Process.
Figure 14.5 Collaborative Versus Solo Learning from High- and Low-Complexity Tasks.
Figure 14.6 A Learning Portal with Synchronous and Asynchronous Functionality.
Figure 14.7 The Menu Structure of This Collaborative Application Supports Argumentation Processes.
Figure 14.8 Structured Argumentation Collaborative Learning Process.
Chapter 15
Figure 15.1 Navigational Elements Designed for High Learner Control.
Figure 15.2 A Lesson with Multiple Navigational Control Elements.
Figure 15.3 High Learner Control Over Manipulation of a Mechanical Device.
Figure 15.4 Default Navigation Options That Bypass Practice (Version 1) Led to Poorer Learning Than Default Options That Led to Practice (Version 2).
Figure 15.5 Three Navigational Map Layouts.
Chapter 16
Figure 16.1 Online Thinking Skills Training.
Figure 16.2 A Sample Thinking Test Item.
Figure 16.3 Part of an Introduction to an Online Tutorial on Argument Analysis.
Figure 16.4 The Thought Bubble Displays Expert Thinking Processes.
Figure 16.5 The Sales Representative Tells the Learner What to Watch for in the Video Example.
Figure 16.6 A Case Problem Used in PBL.
Figure 16.7 A Multimedia Interface for Automotive Troubleshooting.
Figure 16.8 A Comparison of Learner with Expert Problem-Solving Actions During Automotive Troubleshooting.
Figure 16.9 The Learner Moves Relevant Data into the Evidence Table in BioWorld.
Figure 16.10 A Branched Scenario Design to Teach Anesthesiology.
Figure 16.11 Intrinsic Feedback Given to an Incorrect Response During Automotive Troubleshooting.
Chapter 17
Figure 17.1 Value-Added Experiment Compares Base Group to Enhanced Group on Learning Outcome.
Figure 17.2 The Circuit Game.
Figure 17.3 The Circuit Game with Coaching Added.
Figure 17.4 The Circuit Game with Self-Explanation Questions Added.
Figure 17.5 The Design-A-Plant Game.
Figure 17.6 Cognitive Consequences Experiments Compare Game Group and Control Group on Cognitive Skill.
Figure 17.7 Tetris Game.
Figure 17.8 Media Comparison Experiment Compares Game Group and Conventional Group on Learning Outcome.
Figure 17.9 Cache 17 Game.
Chapter 18
Figure 18.1 What’s Wrong Here?
Figure 18.2 What Guidelines Are Applied in This Revision of Figure 18.1?
Figure 18.3 What Guidelines Are Applied in This Revision of Figure 18.1?
Figure 18.4 What’s Wrong Here?
Figure 18.5 What Guidelines Are Applied in This Revision of Figure 18.4?
Figure 18.6 Use of Self-Explanation Question to Promote Engagement with an Example.
Figure 18.7 Content Outline of Synchronous Excel Lesson.
Figure 18.8 Introduction to Synchronous Excel Lesson.
Figure 18.9 Guidance from Faded Worked Example and Memory Support.
Figure 18.10 Work Order Triggers Automotive Troubleshooting Case.
Figure 18.11 Computer Offers Technical Guidance During Troubleshooting Case.
Figure 18.12 Continuing High Idle Shows That the Correct Diagnosis Was Not Selected.
Figure 18.13 End of Troubleshooting Simulation Allows Student-Expert Solution Comparisons.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IN THIS FOURTH EDITION, we have been able to use many of the illustrative storyboard examples created by Mark Palmer for the third edition.
We acknowledge the many instructional researchers and practitioner colleagues throughout the world whose work has contributed to this book. In particular, we thank the following:
Dale Bambrick, Raytheon Professional Services
Andrew Corbett, U.C. Davis Health System
Knowledge Innovation and Technology and Learning in Motion
Susanne Lajoie, McGill University
Dan Suthers, University of Hawaii
Finally, we are grateful to support from the Wiley team, especially to Matt Davis, Dawn Kilgore, and Rebecca Taff for editorial support.
INTRODUCTION
GETTING THE MOST FROM THIS RESOURCE
Purpose
The training field is undergoing an evolution from a craft based on fads and folk wisdom to a profession that integrates evidence and learning psychology into the design and development of its products. Part of the training revolution has been driven by the use of digital technology to manage and deliver learning solutions. This book provides you with evidence-based guidelines for both self-study (asynchronous) and virtual classroom (synchronous) forms of e-learning. Here you will read the guidelines, the evidence, the psychological theory, as well as review examples to shape your decisions about the design, development, and evaluation of e-learning for workforce learning.
Audience
If you are a designer, developer, evaluator, or consumer of e-learning, this book is for you. You can use the guidelines in this book to ensure that your courseware meets human psychological learning requirements and reflects the most recent research on e-learning methods. Although most of our examples focus on workforce learning, we believe instructional professionals in the educational and academic domains can equally benefit from our guidelines.
Package Components
For this fourth edition, we have updated the instructor guide that includes resources that can be adapted to various courses that focus on design and development of multimedia learning. To access the instructor guide, use the following link: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119158664.html.
Our guidelines checklist found in Chapter 18 is also posted on the Wiley website and can be accessed the same URL.
Table 1.1 summarizes the content of the book’s chapters. In this fourth edition, two new chapters have been added. Chapter 11 describes recent evidence related to engagement in e-learning. Chapter 17 draws on Richard Mayer’s recent book, Computer Games for Learning, and summarizes research about serious games. We have updated research in all chapters and have been able to derive new guidelines based on the accumulation and analysis of many new experiments on the main principles of the book.
Table 1.1. A Preview of Chapters
Glossary
The glossary provides definitions of the technical terms used throughout the book.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
What Is e-Learning?
Is e-Learning Better?
The Promises of e-Learning
Promise 1: Customized Training
Promise 2: Engagement in Learning
Promise 3: Multimedia
Promise 4: Acceleration of Expertise Through Scenarios
Promise 5: Learning Through Digital Games
The Pitfalls of e-Learning
Pitfall 1: Too Much of a Good Thing
Pitfall 2: Not Enough of a Good Thing
Pitfall 3: Losing Sight of the Goal
Pitfall 4: Discovery Learning
Inform and Perform e-Learning Goals
Near Versus Far Transfer Perform Goals
e-Learning Architectures
Interactivity in the Architectures
What Is Effective e-Courseware?
Training Goals
Learner Differences
Context
Learning in e-Learning
CHAPTER 1
e-Learning
Promise and Pitfalls
CHAPTER SUMMARY
In this chapter we define e-learning as instruction delivered on a digital device that is intended to support learning. In e-learning the delivery hardware can range from desktop or laptop computers to tablets or smart phones, but the instructional goal is to support individual learning or organizational performance goals. Our scope includes e-learning designed for self-study available upon demand (asynchronous e-learning) as well as instructor-led e-learning presented at a fixed time (synchronous e-learning). Among these two forms of e-learning, we include e-courses developed primarily to provide information (inform courses) as well as those designed to build specific job-related skills (perform courses).
However, the benefits gained from these new technologies depend on the extent to which they are used in ways compatible with human cognitive learning processes and based on research-based principles of instructional design. When technophiles become so excited about cutting-edge technology that they ignore human mental limitations, they may not be able to leverage technology in ways that support learning. Instructional methods that support rather than defeat human learning processes are an essential ingredient of all effective e-learning courseware. The most appropriate methods depend on the goals of the training (for example, to inform or to perform); the learner’s related skills (for example, whether they are familiar with or new to the skills); and various environmental factors, including technological, cultural, and pragmatic constraints.
In this chapter we lay the groundwork for the book by defining e-learning and identifying both the potential and the pitfalls of digital training.
What Is e-Learning?
We define e-learning as instruction delivered on a digital device (such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, or smart phone) that is intended to support learning. The forms of e-learning we examine in this book have the following features:
Stores and/or transmits lessons in electronic form on external drives, the cloud, local internal or external memory, or servers on the Internet or intranet.
Includes content relevant to the learning objective.
Uses media elements such as words and pictures to deliver the content.
Uses instructional methods such as examples, practice, and feedback to promote learning.
May be instructor-led (synchronous e-learning) or designed for self-paced individual study (asynchronous e-learning).
May incorporate synchronous learner collaboration as in breakout rooms or asynchronous collaboration as on discussion boards.
Helps learners build new knowledge and skills linked to individual learning goals or to improved organizational performance.
As you can see, this definition has several elements concerning the what, how, and why of e-learning.
What. e-Learning courses include both content (that is, information) and instructional methods (that is, techniques) that help people learn the content.
How. e-Learning courses are delivered via digital devices using words in the form of spoken or printed text and pictures such as illustrations, photos, animation, or video. Some forms of e-learning called asynchronous e-learning are available on demand and designed for individual self-study. We show a screen shot from an asynchronous class on Excel in Figure 1.1. These courses are typically self-paced, allowing the individual learner to access training at any time or any location on their own. Other formats, called synchronous e-learning, virtual classrooms, or webinars, are designed for real-time instructor-led training. We show a screen shot from a virtual classroom in Figure 1.2. Synchronous e-learning allows students from New York to New Delhi to attend an online class taught by an instructor in real time. However, synchronous sessions are also often recorded, allowing them to be viewed by a single learner in a self-paced (asynchronous) manner. Synchronous and asynchronous forms of e-learning may support collaboration with others through applications such as wikis, breakout rooms, chat, discussion boards, media pages, and email. Many organizations combine instructor-led virtual classroom sessions, self-study sessions, and collaborative knowledge sharing opportunities in blended learning solutions.
Screen shot shows a tutorial for excel with course menu at the side, title, a spreadsheet and a brief description at the bottom.Figure 1.1 A Screen Capture from an Asynchronous Excel Lesson.
Screen shot shows a tutorial for excel with participant information, chat box, audio and speaker button including a board showing a topic and its description.Figure 1.2 A Screen Capture from a Synchronous Excel Lesson.
Why. e-Learning lessons are intended to help learners reach personal learning objectives or perform their jobs in ways that improve the bottom line goals of the organization.
In short, the e
in e-learning refers to the how
—the course is digitized so it can be stored in electronic form. The learning
in e-learning refers to the what
—the course includes content and ways to help people learn it—and the why
of e-learning is the purpose: to help individuals achieve educational goals or to help organizations build skills related to improved job performance.
Our definition states that the goal of e-learning is to build job-transferable knowledge and skills linked to organizational performance or to help individuals achieve personal learning goals. Although the guidelines we present throughout the book also apply to lessons designed for school-based or general-interest learning goals, our emphasis is on instructional programs that are designed for workforce learning. To illustrate our guidelines, we draw on actual training courseware from colleagues who have given us permission to use their examples. In addition, we have built two sets of storyboards: one with a focus on basic Excel skills intended to illustrate a typical technology training course and a second with a focus on sales skills intended to illustrate instructional techniques that apply to more strategic skills.
In the five years since we wrote the third edition of e-Learning and the Science of Instruction, digital technology has continued to evolve rapidly. Blended designs integrate the benefits of technology and in-person instructional contexts. Search engines and social media make learners receivers, producers, and distributors of knowledge. Popular digital applications such as online games have prompted the use of games for learning purposes. Likewise, platforms have shrunk and diversified, giving birth to a range of mobile learning devices. As we write this chapter, the new Apple watch offers the smallest portable device with a diverse array of applications and the new Oculus Rift allows for low-cost virtual reality. No doubt instructional and performance support applications will continue to become more portable, more flexible, and more context sensitive to needs of the worker.
Is e-Learning Better?
For many training goals, you may have a choice of several delivery media. One of the least expensive options is a traditional book in printed or digital format. In-person instructor-led training augmented with slides and the occasional video is another popular option, accounting for about 55 percent of all delivery in U.S. workforce learning in 2013 (ATD, 2014). Finally, e-learning in either self-study or instructor-led formats offers a third choice. As you consider your delivery options, you might wonder whether some media are more effective for learning purposes than others.
Although technology is evolving rapidly, much of what we are seeing today under the e-learning label is not new. Training delivered on a computer, traditionally labeled computer-based training or CBT, has been available since the 1960s. Early examples delivered over mainframe computers were primarily on-screen text with interspersed questions—electronic versions of behaviorist psychologist B.F. Skinner’s teaching machine. The computer program evaluated answers to the multiple-choice questions and prewritten feedback was matched to the learner responses. One of the main applications of these early e-lessons was to train workers to use mainframe computer systems. As technology has evolved, acquiring greater capability