When more isn't better: evidence for an instructional equivalence hypothesis in multimedia design.

ABSTRACT: Pedagogical theories suggest that effective multimedia can reduce extraneous cognitive load and help students create mental models of new learning. Theoretically derived and empirically supported design principles are widely assumed to improve learning outcomes, but most of the principles have been studied in relative isolation. This study was conducted as a strong test of multimedia design for learning controlling for content and pedagogy. We presented participants with short educational videos using three different multimedia formats: Rich multimedia, sparse multimedia, and no multimedia. Despite the strong theoretical and empirical foundations for this experiment, there was no significant effect of multimedia design on learning outcomes, F(2, 126) = 0.52, p = 0.60, η_p

SUBMITTER: Schmidt KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12675150 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature