This week I spent some time exploring Richard Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia Learning. You can access more on this theory here. This theory includes many different ideas and concepts and I enjoyed exploring them and thinking about real life examples I have seen in and outside of the classroom that connect to these ideas. Today I would like to talk about a few of the principles and discuss from my perspective whether I think they may or may not work in a classroom setting.

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The first principle I found to be engaging was The Redundancy Principle. This principle states that people often learn better when they are exposed to graphics and narration rather than graphics, narration, and printed text. What I initially thought of when I read this was subtitles in movies and TV. For me I find the printed words on the screen to be extremely distracting. I am always focused on reading the words instead of watching what is actually happening and as a result I always feel as though I miss important visual information. I think this may ring true for a lot of people, including students who may be learning in a classroom. That being said I also think there are times when this principle is not always true. For some having subtitles on helps them to better hear or simply better understand the words being said. I believe that having subtitles on when showing a film or clip to a class makes the learning more accessible to all. Isn’t that a goal of teachers anyway? To make sure all their students find the learning accessible and inclusive to their own needs? I sure think so!

 

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The other principle I would like to discuss is The Multimedia Principle which states that people learn better with pictures and words, rather than words alone. I think this is incredibly true in a classroom setting. Often times if I am having trouble teaching a concept in music, say for example subdivision, I find that once I add a visual students often grasp the concept much easier. I don’t think this is true for all learners, however, I do think that visuals won’t negatively impact a students learning. The inclusion of images may not significantly improve their understanding but they won’t worsen it, so what is the harm.

As a pre service educator it is essential to research and understand multiple theories in education and learning practices. The Principles of Multimedia Learning are just one of many out there, however, they are a great resource and important to consider in daily teaching practices.

 

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