The instructor’s face in video instruction: Evidence from two large-scale field studies.

Abstract

Multimedia learning research has established several principles for the effective design of audiovisual instruction. The image principle suggests that showing the instructor’s face in multimedia instruction does not promote learning, because the potential benefits from inducing social responses are outweighed by the cost of additional cognitive processing. In an 8-week observational field study (N = 2,951), online learners chose to watch video lectures either with or without the instructor’s face. Although learners who saw the face reported having a better lecture experience than those who chose not to see the face, 35% watched videos without the face for self-reported reasons including avoiding distraction. Building on these insights, the authors developed a video presentation style that strategically shows the face to reduce distraction while preserving occasional social cues. A 10-week field experiment (N = 12,468) compared the constant with the strategic presentation of the face and provided evidence consistent with the image principle. Cognitive load and perceived social presence were higher in the strategic than in the constant condition, but learning outcomes and attrition did not differ. Learners who expressed a verbal learning preference experienced substantially lower attrition and cognitive load with the constant than the strategic presentation. The findings highlight the value of social cues for motivation and caution against one-size-fits-all approaches to instructional design that fail to account for individual differences in multimedia instruction.

The Effects of Lecture Diversity on Germane Load

“…Some support its facilitating effect to promote a better understanding of the content over still images (Lowe, 1999;Sims & Hegarty, 1997), while others claim that deeper cognitive processing associated with still images is actually more beneficial to gaining a better understanding of the content (Schnotz & Rasch, 2005). Additionally, videos of professors speaking accompanied by text has been promoted for better understanding of the content by some researchers (Day, Foley, & Catrambone, 2006;Kizilcec, Bailenson, & Gomez, 2015), and discouraged by others as possibly causing students to use unnecessary cognitive processing by splitting their attention between the video and the text (Kalyuga et al, 1999;Sweller, 1999;Mayer & Moreno, 2003). Finally, discrepancies within research involving the use of auditory media exist as well, with some claiming that music and sound added to the lecture contributes to more learning (Sun & Cheng, 2007), and others claiming that it serves as a cognitive distraction, negatively affecting the comprehension of the content being delivered at that specific time (Mayer & Moreno, 2003).…”

“…Within an e-learning lecture, the use of the professor's voice to deliver instruction is supported by the personalization principle, which suggests explanation of content through a human voice that emphasizes social cues and has a less formal speaking style is beneficial for learning (Austin, 2009). This is based on the human need to socially interact with other humans, and doing so within computer mediated learning should be helpful in evoking learned social responses that are useful for learning (Kizilcec et al, 2015). When auditory words of the professor speaking are given added emphasis, it should also be more effective for retaining information through a process known as signaling (Mautone & Mayer, 2001;Mayer & Moreno, 2003).…”

“…Multimedia that requires use of the auditory channel includes music, sound effects, spoken text, instructor's voice, and narration (Kizilcec et al, 2015;Mayer & Moreno, 2003;Moreno & Mayer, 1999). It has been theorized that using narration to deliver the content rather than text, creates an advantage when cognitively transferring information from working memory to long-term memory (Mayer & Moreno, 2003;Moreno & Mayer, 1999).…”

“…Visual multimedia is represented by a variety of forms including, illustrations, graphs, photos, maps, animations, and video (Kizilcec et al, 2015;Mayer, 2014;Mayer & Moreno, 2003;Schmidt-Weigand & Scheiter, 2011;Schnotz & Rasch, 2005). Some theories advocate the use of visual media within elearning environments to promote a better learning experience.…”

“…This effect can come into play when both audio and visual media is presented to the students. Kizilcec et al (2015), for example, discuss the problem of not fully comprehending the content when students split their attention between auditory and visual media, such as a video with the instructor's voice and text complimenting each other. In this situation, learners may not fully comprehend the lectures because they cannot focus on important aspects of the lecture or may be distracted by the variety of media.…”