What is a multimedia instructional message?

128 R.E. Mayer Learning and Instruction 13 2003 125–139 possible reasons for why a pump does not work or is able to tell how to redesign a pump to meet a new purpose such as making it more reliable. In order to fulfill the promise of multimedia learning, we need a research base and theoretical framework that provide answers to basic questions. Do students learn more deeply from multimedia messages than from verbal-only ones? Under what conditions does it help to add pictures to words? How does multimedia learning work? Can students engage in active learning when they learn from media that do not allow for much hands-on activity such as multimedia messages? What is the role of technology in promoting learning? Do methods i.e., design principles for multi- media presentations work the same way across various media e.g., book-based or computer-based environments? These are the kinds of questions that researchers address in the young but growing field of multimedia learning Mandl Levin, 1989; Mayer, 2001; Schnotz Kulhavy, 1994; Sweller, 1999; Van Merrienboer, 1997 and that I explore in this paper. 3. What is a multimedia instructional message? Let’s begin with a very basic and focused definition of what I mean by a multime- dia instructional message. A multimedia instructional message is a presentation con- sisting of words and pictures that is designed to foster meaningful learning. Thus, there are two parts to the definition: a the presentation contains words and pictures, and b the presentation is designed to foster meaningful learning. As you can see, I have limited my definition of multimedia instructional messages to presentations involving two formats—words and pictures. The words can include printed or spoken text and the pictures can include static graphics such as illustrations, maps, charts, and photos and dynamic graphics such as animation and video. Although broader definitions of multimedia could include modalities such as smell or touch, or formats such as music or non-speech sound, I have chosen to focus on multimedia instruc- tional messages that use words and pictures. As you can also see, the goal of multimedia instructional messages is to foster meaningful learning. Meaningful learning can be assessed through problem-solving transfer tests in which the learner is asked to use the presented material in new ways. For example, we can ask students to troubleshoot a pump “Suppose you push down and pull up on the handle of a pump several times, but no air comes out. What could have gone wrong?” or to redesign the pump “What could be done to make a pump more reliable, that is, to make sure it would not fail?” or to explain the pump’s behavior “Why does air enter the pump? Why does air exit from the pump?”. In addition, the presented material itself must be potentially meaningful—such as an explanation of how something works. According to this definition, multimedia instructional messages would not include the teaching of an arbitrary list of facts or an arbitrary procedure. Thus, I have chosen to focus on multimedia messages that provide explanations of how something works. 129 R.E. Mayer Learning and Instruction 13 2003 125–139 4. How does multimedia learning work?