Last week we talked about the Pre-Training principle, and this week we look into another principle that will help us with essential processing. The Modality Principle means that “graphics and narration” are better than “graphics and text.”
Here is a video that explains the Modality principle.
If you only get one thing out of today’s FLC, it’s that when you have graphics, whether it’s a picture or a video, you want to use spoken word narration whenever possible. This is the shortcut into working memory, as the graphics are processed through the visual channel and the narration is processed in the auditory channel (at the same time and without interfering with each other).
When using graphics and spoken word narration, the learner will not have to integrate information as they would if they received two sources of information visually. It is so important not to split the learners attention, and this will help the student learn better and more efficiently.
Thanks for reading the Faculty Learning Corner (FLC) and I’ll see you next week with the Multimedia Principle.
