Have you seen instructions like this in an online course? Seems like it belongs in the syllabus, right? This opening to an online course about homeland security would do better to focus more on the purpose and urgency of the course. Adding more information than is relevant can inhibit learning and demotivate students from the beginning! The Coherence Principle’s “single most important recommendation to to keep the lesson uncluttered.” (Clark, Mayer, 2008).
This is not a case of trying to embellish the learning with extraneous material, but maybe the other end of the spectrum, simply up-fronting learners with administrative content that does not contribute to the learning. Either way, the coherence principle says, “don’t do it”.
I probably erred against this principle in my podcast in this course. I really wanted to experiment with adding music, which I did. In retrospect, the music may have interfered with the audio and the overall message. For example, as we were wrapping up with my guest speaker, I think it would have been more useful to reiterate the resources she offered instead of repeating bars of music.
Many of the faculty I work with struggle with Coherence Principle #3: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Words. I am working on a humanities course that contains fabulous content. The instructors have gathered amazing resources to expose students to challenging concepts. Unfortunately, their narrated PowerPoint’s are full of words that are better explained by narration, and in fact, they are narrated, but verbatim! This demonstrates both a lack of the coherence principle and the visual split-attention principle.
Here is an example of an assignment for an economics course, well written and without extraneous information. The student is provided with a simple tool to complete the assignment. This exemplifies the temporal contiguity principle by providing an immediate link to the tool that student is expected to use.
This is not a case of trying to embellish the learning with extraneous material, but maybe the other end of the spectrum, simply up-fronting learners with administrative content that does not contribute to the learning. Either way, the coherence principle says, “don’t do it”.
I probably erred against this principle in my podcast in this course. I really wanted to experiment with adding music, which I did. In retrospect, the music may have interfered with the audio and the overall message. For example, as we were wrapping up with my guest speaker, I think it would have been more useful to reiterate the resources she offered instead of repeating bars of music.
Many of the faculty I work with struggle with Coherence Principle #3: Avoid e-Lessons with Extraneous Words. I am working on a humanities course that contains fabulous content. The instructors have gathered amazing resources to expose students to challenging concepts. Unfortunately, their narrated PowerPoint’s are full of words that are better explained by narration, and in fact, they are narrated, but verbatim! This demonstrates both a lack of the coherence principle and the visual split-attention principle.
Here is an example of an assignment for an economics course, well written and without extraneous information. The student is provided with a simple tool to complete the assignment. This exemplifies the temporal contiguity principle by providing an immediate link to the tool that student is expected to use.
It is challenging to integrate each of the principles of e learning into a single course, especially when you use outside resources. For example, as I was reading the Mayer article, I found it confusing to follow because many of the figures and tables were not connected to the relevant content (Mayer, 2008, p 615, 618). I am working on a faculty-training course for competency-based education. Our goal with the subject matter experts is to help them apply the chunking principle and see where they can provide information in short segments, combining verbal and visual information. For example, the original course contained a long, scrolling page of information about the topic, “What is competency-based education?” Then, an audio, with visuals was presented. We recommended breaking the “What is…” into smaller segments, with audio and/or visual to reinforce the chunked information. It was a difficult process without a common understanding of how people process information.
The Clark and Mayer textbook overall psychology is that humans process information through different channels. The research presented supports that better learning occurs when learners can use multiple channels to process and absorb knowledge. Overloading either the verbal or visual channel inhibits learning. The Coherence Principle, in particular, purports that extraneous information “can interfere with the process of sense-making because learners have a limited cognitive capacity for processing incoming material.” (Clark & Mayer, 2008, p161). The text lists three ways learning is disrupted: distraction, disruption, seduction - direct attention away, prevent learners from building connections, or provide inappropriate existing knowledge – all interfering with learning.
The overriding question with all of this research and resulting principles, is: how do they apply to the way individuals really learn today? The text readily acknowledges that the research was primarily applied to novice learners and that the recommended “instructional design techniques that are effective for beginners may not be effective for more experienced learners.” (Mayer, 2008, p 173). My experience has been to assess the learner first, then determine what principles, whether multimedia, or other learner theory apply. Latest theory might suggest that constructivist learning is effective in building mental models and coherence principles can facilitate that, but does that apply when the instruction is a based on an immediate need to learn and apply skills in a work setting? Also, in the last six years, has the pendulum swung toward the millennium, who expects several multimedia through one channel?
I believe the Coherence Principle is relevant for instructors and instructional designers and I consider it my work. It will be developed over the years, will continue to evolve, and instructional design, instruction and delivery along with them. But given the variety of courses, students, and learning environments in which we all work, we have to be aware that the principles of multimedia must be considered in context, always asking the question, will it result in the best learning outcome?
Applying the Coherence Principle aligns with AECT Standard 3 - Learning Environments: Candidates facilitate learning (p. 41) by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments. (p. 1)
Indicators:
References
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction, 2nd edition. Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA.
The Clark and Mayer textbook overall psychology is that humans process information through different channels. The research presented supports that better learning occurs when learners can use multiple channels to process and absorb knowledge. Overloading either the verbal or visual channel inhibits learning. The Coherence Principle, in particular, purports that extraneous information “can interfere with the process of sense-making because learners have a limited cognitive capacity for processing incoming material.” (Clark & Mayer, 2008, p161). The text lists three ways learning is disrupted: distraction, disruption, seduction - direct attention away, prevent learners from building connections, or provide inappropriate existing knowledge – all interfering with learning.
The overriding question with all of this research and resulting principles, is: how do they apply to the way individuals really learn today? The text readily acknowledges that the research was primarily applied to novice learners and that the recommended “instructional design techniques that are effective for beginners may not be effective for more experienced learners.” (Mayer, 2008, p 173). My experience has been to assess the learner first, then determine what principles, whether multimedia, or other learner theory apply. Latest theory might suggest that constructivist learning is effective in building mental models and coherence principles can facilitate that, but does that apply when the instruction is a based on an immediate need to learn and apply skills in a work setting? Also, in the last six years, has the pendulum swung toward the millennium, who expects several multimedia through one channel?
I believe the Coherence Principle is relevant for instructors and instructional designers and I consider it my work. It will be developed over the years, will continue to evolve, and instructional design, instruction and delivery along with them. But given the variety of courses, students, and learning environments in which we all work, we have to be aware that the principles of multimedia must be considered in context, always asking the question, will it result in the best learning outcome?
Applying the Coherence Principle aligns with AECT Standard 3 - Learning Environments: Candidates facilitate learning (p. 41) by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments. (p. 1)
Indicators:
- Creating - Candidates create instructional design products based on learning principles and research-based best practices. (pp. 8, 243-245, 246)
- Using - Candidates make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and resources to provide optimal conditions for learning (pp. 122, 169) based on principles, theories, and effective practices. (pp. 8-9, 168-169, 246)
References
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction, 2nd edition. Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA.
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