Visuospatial memory and phonological loop in learning from multimedia

Abstract

The dual-task paradigm was used to show how visuospatial working memory and the phonological loop are involved in processing scientific texts and illustrations presented via computer. In experiment 1, two presentation formats were compared: text-only and text-with-illustrations. With a concurrent tapping task, the beneficial effect of illustrations disappeared, while a concurrent articulatory task impaired performance similarly in both presentation formats. An analysis of individual differences revealed that this pattern of results was present in high, but not low spatial span subjects. These results support the selective involvement of visuospatial working memory in processing illustrated texts. In Experiment 2, the text-only presentation format was compared to an illustrations-only format. The concurrent articulatory task selectively impaired text-only processing, compared with processing illustrations-only. In addition, this pattern of results was found for high, but not low digit span subjects. These results suggest that individual differences define the extent to which the two subsystems of working memory are involved in learning from multimedia. These two subsystems would be mainly involved in the maintenance of a visual trace of illustrations and of a verbatim representation of linguistic information respectively, these representations being the basis for higher-level comprehension processes.

Surface and deep structures in graphics comprehension

“…Evidence for a distinction between visual and spatial components in processing of verbal and pictorial information was also found by Gyselinck and her colleagues (Gyselinck, Ehrlich, Cornoldi, de Beni and Dubois, 2000;Gyselinck, Cornoldi, Ehrlich, Dubois, & de Beni, 2002).…”

Exploring visuospatial thinking in chemistry learning

“…At the same time, many visuospatial learning tools are highly demanding of cognitive resources. Unfortunately, visualizations benefit those learners who have high spatial abilities more than those who have low visuospatial abilities (e.g., Gyselinck et al, 2002). Factors that reduce cognitive load are fundamental to help those students who need the most help.…”

“…This principle might be especially important in the context of chemistry learning because of the high spatial demands on chemistry tasks that are indicated by the correlational studies discussed above. As the use of multimedia tools increases, students with low spatial ability may be disadvantaged in learning chemistry, especially if the multimedia tools are poorly designed and thus add additional burden to their visuospatial processing resources (Gyselinck, Cornoldi, Dubois, De Beni, & Ehrlich, 2002).…”

Levels of Detail in Descriptions and Depictions of Geographic Space

“…While the majority of multimedia research examines the learning effectiveness of complementing texts with images, the converse is relatively under-researched (Stone & Glock, 1981;Gyselinck, 2002;Brunyé et al, 2006); that is, complementing stand-alone images with text, such as commonly seen when labels or short descriptions are placed on maps. Thus, the cognitive impact of systematic variation in labeling and/or graphic detail on maps (or in spatial descriptions) has not been determined.…”

“…Mayer's (1997) theory posits that the simultaneous processing of texts and images, and active selection of components from these presentations, are the two primary contributors to multimedia learning advantages. This theory has received repeated empirical supported in the context of both educational (Stone & Glock, 1981;Peeck & Jans, 1987;Mayer, 1989;Mayer & Gallini, 1990;Glenberg & Langston, 1992;Mayer et al, 1996) and cognitive psychology (Gyselinck & Tardieu, 1994;Gyselinck et al, 2002;Brunyé et al, 2006).…”