The Coherence Principle simply states that e-learning courses should be built without the use of

extraneous materials (Clark, 2011, p154). By extraneous the authors mean anything which does not contribute
to the particular lessons instructional goal. According to the text this principle is one which is very often
violated and results in a detrimental learning process (p.151). The three parts of the Coherence Principle are: 1)
Avoidextraneous audio; 2) Avoid extraneous graphics; and 3) Avoid extraneous words. The author quotes
Dewey several times, who declares that the addition of these extra components will not make learning
interesting if one is not interested in the first place (p.156). Chapter 8 ends with questions about the validity of
the Coherence Principle since it is based on research which was very narrowly focused and did not uniformly
consider all types of learners.
I think the use of the coherence principle is dependent upon the subject matter, the context of the
learning, as well as the particular learning aptitude of the student. For the visual learner, what might be termed
extraneous can be the one thing that hooks them into exploring the content. One prime example, albeit extreme,
of using video to educate about something while exposing something terrible happened recently. For instance,
the shock value was productive when actual videos of baby body parts in Planned Parenthood abortion mills
were portrayed for everyone to see. For those people who were disinterested and previously ignored the
abortion rhetoric - but still had a sensitivity to wrong - what they actually saw produced action in the form of
crying for legislation. While this is still a far cry from outlawing abortion, it struck at the heart of the practice
money. The videos had a strong impact by exposing the selling of the aborted limbs, etc. but they also educated
the public about something happening behind closed doors the killing of innocent children not blobs of tissue.
In reality we can tone down on the videos, pictures, etc. but they do have their place in e-learning,
whether it is formal or informal. First, that there is no scientific evidence of effectiveness of extraneous
materials does not mean that it is not effective. Not everything of value can be measured in scientific terms. If
we were training robots this might be a valid case in point but since the goals is not to teach to the test but to
educate well-rounded students, there must be some balance in educational circles related to the Coherence
Theory and scientific theory in general.
Second, all deep learning does not just occur in the cognitive realm. It encompasses the whole soul
which is the mind, will and emotions. If God gave us emotions then He intended us to find the proper ways to
use them in every arena, including education. When we dont consider the will and emotions in the learning
process we have a deficient education. An excellent example of this can be seen in a worship service.
Primarily it begins with music. Why? Because a wise leader knows that music opens and softens the door of the
soul, lowering human defenses and setting the stage for the soul to be more receptive to the Word which is
preached.
Reference
Clark, R., & Mayer, R. (2011). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and
designers of multimedia learning (3rded.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 9780470874301.
VitalBook file.

Extra:
This isnt necessarily true, adding graphics helps the visual learner by grabbing their attention and
focusing them on the content. Also, it depends on what you mean by extraneous material. This principle is not
always right. For instance, the shock value was productive when actual videos of baby body parts in Planned
Parenthood abortion mills were portrayed for everyone to see. For those people who were disinterested and
choose to ignore the abortion topic, but still had a sensitivity to wrong, what they actually saw often produced
action against it in the form of crying for legislation. While this is still a far cry from doing away abortion, it
struck at the heart of the practice money. The videos had a strong impact in exposing the selling of the

aborted limbs, etc. but they also educated the public on something that was really happening behind closed
doors.