The cognitive basis for the split-attention effect.

Abstract

We would like to express our gratitude to Alex van Straaten, Sven Cammeraat, and Tudor Cristea for their help during the data collection. We would also like to thank prof. dr. Rolf Plötzner for providing the materials used in Experiment 3. This research was funded by the Excellence Initiative grant from the Erasmus University Rotterdam awarded to the Educational Psychology section. We also thank the Erasmus Behavioral Lab, especially Marcel Boom, for their continued help in the lab.

The influence of spatial distance and signaling on the split-attention effect

“…While these studies did not use typical multimedia learning tasks, a few studies exist in multimedia learning research which corroborate these findings using more educationally relevant materials (Bauhoff, Huff, & Schwan, 2012;Huff, Bauhoff, & Schwan, 2010). Together, these studies indicate the importance of distance and its effect on cognitive load, and are in accordance with the results of Experiment 1 and 2 reported by Pouw et al, 2019. In learning from spatially separated information sources one possible strategy to support learning is to signal corresponding pieces of information in both information sources (cf. De Koning & Jarodzka, 2017;De Koning, Tabbers, Rikers, & Paas, 2009).…”

“…In a recent study by Pouw et al, 2019 three experiments were conducted to investigate whether the split-attention effect is actually caused by the spatial separation of the information sources. In the first two experiments, participants had to judge the similarity of two spatially separated cards with symbols that could vary in form, number, and colour.…”

“…With a larger distance between text and picture, learners have to keep information active in working memory for longer periods of time, which increases cognitive load and reduces learning outcomes (Puma, Matton, Paubel, & Tricot, 2018). It is conceivable that these negative effects of increasing spatial distance were alleviated by the use of signaling in Experiment 3 of Pouw et al, 2019. To test this hypothesis, the present study aimed to investigate whether signaling reduces the negative effect of a large (vs. small) spatial distance between spatially separated text and picture on learning and mental effort, thereby gaining more clarity about the cognitive processes underlying the split-attention effect.…”

“…For example, there was variation in terms of the spatial distance between the textual and pictorial representations (e.g., very close to each other or at a larger distance) or the location where the text was presented (e.g., under the picture or next to the picture) (Pouw, Rop, de Koning, &Florax & Ploetzner, 2010). Recently, the precise role of varying spatial distance in learning from spatially separated text-picture materials is receiving increasing attention (Pouw et al, 2019). In the present study we build on this emerging research by empirically investigating the influence of varying spatial distance and using signaling (i. e., using labels to match text and picture elements) on learning from spatially separated text and integrated and picture materials.…”

Inspecting a picture before reading affects attentional processing but not comprehension

“…In the field of learning from instructional visualisations for example, de Koning, Tabbers, Rikers, and Paas (2010) showed that attentional cues designed to guide attention to task-relevant information in the visualisation helped learners to focus their attention on the relevant content, but this did not lead to better learning outcomes on a subsequent test than when having studied the visualisation without attention-directing cues. Similarly, in the field of multimedia learning, Pouw, Rop, de Koning, and Paas (2019) observed less integrative eye movements during learning of text-picture instructions when the spatial distance between text and picture was increased even though learning outcomes remained similar in the large and small spatial-distance conditions. The results of this study demonstrate that such effects also exist when processing narrative text after having inspected a picture.…”