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Results
The variables under analysis were training time, mental
effort spent on the instructions, on the retention test and
on the transfer test, and retention and transfer score.
Except for training time, all scores were analysed with
two-factor analyses of variance (ANOVAs), with
modality (audio vs. visual text) and pacing of the
instructions (system pacing vs. user pacing) as the
between-subjects factors. For all statistical tests, a
significance level of .05 was applied. Table 2 shows the
Figure 2a: Screen example of the audio-user version of average scores on the dependent measures for all four
the multimedia instructions. groups.
The measurements were the same as in the first With regard to the time spent on the instructions,
experiment, only this time all tests were presented on only the two user-groups were compared, because in the
the computer. Moreover, the retention test consisted of system groups time was equal for all students (about 30
40 items taken from the retention test of the first minutes). It showed that the students in the visual-user
experiment. The sum of the 40 items formed the total group had spent significantly more time on the
retention score (Cronbach's alpha = .68). After the instructions than the students in the audio-user group
experiment, two independent raters scored the transfer (t(40) = -2.7, p < .01, two-tailed).
tests, showing an inter-rater agreement of .92. There were no significant differences between the
groups on mental effort during instructions. The same
Procedure The experiment was carried out in four goes for the mental effort spent on the retention test,
sessions of about two-and-a-half hour, and in each and for the mental effort spent on the transfer test.
session between fifteen and twenty-four students were The results on the retention test showed a significant
tested simultaneously. These sessions took place in a interaction effect (F(1,77) = 7.99, MSE = 20.16, p <
classroom that had twenty-four multimedia computers .01). In the two system groups, the audio group did
connected to the Internet through the university better than visual text, while in the user groups this
network, with six computers for each experimental effect was reversed, with visual text outperforming the
group. The procedure was almost identical to the first audio group. The scores on the transfer task showed a
experiment. Only this time, students could immediately significant main effect for the modality of the text
(F(1,77) = 4.67, MSE = 23.07, p < .05), with the Acknowledgements
students in the audio groups scoring higher than the
This research project is partly funded by SPC Group, a
students in the visual groups (M = 17.8, vs. M = 15.5,
multimedia company from s Hertogenbosch, The
respectively). Inspection of the separate group means
Netherlands.
shows that especially the students in the visual-system
group did worse that their colleagues in the audio
groups. However, this interaction was statistically not References
significant. Baddeley, A. (1992). Working Memory. Science, 255,
556-559.
Discussion Jeung, H., Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1997). The role
The results show that in the system-paced groups, a of visual indicators in dual sensory mode instruction.
modality effect is found in terms of improved learning Educational Psychology, 17, 329-343.
outcomes, but not in mental effort. This is a little Kalyuga, S., Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1999).
different from the results in the first experiment in Managing split-attention and redundancy in
which the audio group spent less mental effort but did multimedia instruction. Applied Cognitive
not have better test scores. This reversal might be Psychology, 13, 351-371.
accounted for by the fact that the second experiment Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (1998). A split-attention
was part of a regular course, and that the students in the effect in multimedia learning: Evidence for dual
audio condition were more prepared to invest the freed processing systems in working memory. Journal of
memory resources in the learning process itself, Educational Psychology, 90, 312-320.
resulting in higher test scores with equal mental effort. Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (1999). Cognitive
However, in the two groups in which the students set principles of multimedia learning. Journal of
the pace of the instructions, no modality effect is found Educational Psychology, 91, 358-368.
at all. Not only do the students in the visual-user group Mousavi, S. Y., Low, R., & Sweller, J. (1995).
perform almost equally well on the transfer test, on the Reducing cognitive load by mixing auditory and
retention test they even outperform the students in the visual presentation modes. Journal of Educational
audio-user group. The visual-user group has taken more Psychology, 87, 319-334.
time to study the instructions, which confirms our idea Paas, F. G. W. C., & van Merrinboer, J. J. G. (1994).
that the modality effect in the system-paced condition is Instructional control of cognitive load in the training
at least partly the result of a lack of time to relate the of complex cognitive tasks. Educational Psychology
text to the diagrams in the visual-system group. Review, 6, 351-371.
Paas, F. G. W. C., van Merrinboer, J. J. G., & Adam, J.
General Discussion J. (1994). Measurement of cognitive load in
instructional research. Perceptual and Motor Skills,
The results of both experiments show that replacing on- 79, 419-430.
screen text with audio will only increase the Park, I., & Hannafin, M. J. (1994). Empirically-based
effectiveness of multimedia instructions if the student guidelines for the design of interactive multimedia.
has no control over the pacing of the instruction and the Educational Technology, Research & Development,
pace is set by the time of the narration. In that case we 41, 66-85.
find either lower mental effort or better test results, Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem
even with a subject matter from a non-technical domain solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12,
like instructional design. However, with more time (or 257-285.
the possibility to let the student determine the pace) Sweller, J., van Merrinboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. G. W.
visual-only instructions can be just as effective as C. (1998). Cognitive architecture and instructional
bimodal instructions. design. Educational Psychology Review, 10, 251-296.
From a theoretical point of view, the results seem to Tindall-Ford, S., Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1997).
indicate that the modality effect as demonstrated in When two sensory modes are better than one. Journal
earlier experiments can be accounted for in other terms of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 3, 257-287.
than an increase in memory resources. One possible Van Merrinboer, J. J. G. (1997). Training complex
explanation is the lack of time to relate verbal to cognitive skills: A four-component instructional
pictorial information in visual-only conditions. One of design model for technical training. Englewood
the things we will do in our future research is get a Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
closer look at what actually happens when students are
studying multimedia instructions by measuring eye-
movements and look for different patterns in visual
search.