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The segmenting effect states that people learn better when multimedia instructions are presented in (meaningful and coherent) learner-paced segments, rather than as continuous units. This meta-analysis contains 56 investigations including 88 pairwise comparisons and reveals a significant segmenting effect with small to medium effects for retention and transfer performance. Segmentation also reduces the overall cognitive load and increases learning time. These four effects are confirmed for a system-paced segmentation. The meta-analysis tests different explanations for the segmenting effect that concern facilitating chunking and structuring due to segmenting the multimedia instruction by the instructional designer, providing more time for processing the instruction and allowing the learners to adapt the presentation pace to their individual needs. Moderation analyses indicate that learners with high prior knowledge benefitted more from segmenting instructional material than learners with no or low prior knowledge in terms of retention performance.

Current literature mainly focused on one or two multimedia learning principles in traditional learning environments. Studies on multimedia learning principles in AR and VR environments are also limited. To reveal the current situation and gaps of the multimedia learning principles in different learning environments, it is necessary to extend their boundaries. Thus, further studies may directly affect the investment in VR and AR technologies and their integration into the learning process by teachers. The current study presented a systematic review of multimedia learning principles in different learning environments, including traditional, virtual reality and augmented reality. In this study, 136 journal articles were identified based on PRISMA guidelines and reviewed regarding multimedia learning principles, learning environments, measurements, subject matters, learning outcomes, research methodologies, education programs, education fields, and years of publication. The results indicate that (1) there is an increasing interest in multimedia learning principles; (2) undergraduate students have been the target participant group in the review studies; (3) only five studies tested one of the multimedia learning principles in the VR environment, but no studies have been conducted in the AR learning environment; (4) most studies preferred subjective measurements (e.g., mental effort, difficulty) or indirect objective measurements (e.g., learning outcomes, eye-tracking, study time); (5) subject matters from STEM fields often preferred in investigations; and (6) modality was the most studied multimedia learning principle in the reviewed articles, followed by redundancy, multimedia, signaling, coherence, segmenting, personalization, spatial contiguity, temporal contiguity, image, pre-training, and voice, respectively. The results were discussed in detail. Specific gaps in the literature were identified, and suggestions and implications were provided for further research.

The integration of multimedia learning principles into institutional e-learning environments has become increasingly relevant in professional training contexts. However, limited attention has been given to how these principles are operationalized in law enforcement education. This study examines the application of established multimedia learning principles in the digital training modules of the Dubai Police Smart Training Center. A content analysis was conducted on thirty multimedia-enhanced courses, categorized by instructional level into introductory, intermediate, and advanced modules. The analysis focused on twelve principles derived from the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, assessing both adherence to and violations of these principles across course materials. Findings revealed inconsistent implementation of multimedia learning principles, with the Multimedia, Segmenting, and Spatial Contiguity principles observed more frequently than others. In contrast, Voice, Modality, Redundancy, Coherence, and Personalization were often applied in ways that diverged from recommended instructional design practices. No clear trends in adherence were associated with instructional level, indicating that design quality did not correspond to course complexity. These results suggest that multimedia elements are integrated without consistent reference to theoretical frameworks, highlighting the need for greater alignment between instructional design knowledge and digital content development. This study offers a foundation for continued examination of multimedia practices in specialized training contexts and recommends future research into the relationship between design implementation and learner experience, as well as the organizational factors that influence multimedia integration in professional education settings.

PurposeDue to the lack of standard and research-based frameworks in evaluating the content designed in electronic courses, there appears a need to examine some existing theoretical models like the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) developed by Richard Mayer on real occasions. To confirm the effectiveness of the seven principles of the model driven from this theory in different educational settings, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study was conducted in the contexts of two universities in Iran for comparison purposes.Design/methodology/approachThe present research is a descriptive one for which a survey method was considered to collect data. A measurement instrument was developed based on the seven principles mentioned in the last edition of the book written by Clark and Mayer (2016) as well as an extensive review of the related literature. The data gathered from 524 online questionnaires returned by students of a public university Shahid Beheshti University (SBU) and a private one Ruzbahan University (RU) were then analyzed through partial least squares using SmartPLS 3.0.FindingsThe results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that convergent and discriminant validities, as well as model fit indices, had the reliability of the theoretical model at the 99% confidence level. Based on the path coefficients found for testing hypotheses, modality and coherence principles were the first and last priorities, respectively. Moreover, the comparative study showed that t-statistics values for multimedia, contiguity, modality, redundancy and personalization but not for coherence, and segmenting and pretraining principles are significantly different between the two universities.Originality/valueThis study can be considered a pioneering research in Iran so as to increase the quality of multimedia design, instruction and learning at university levels in future research while emphasizing the importance of Mayer’s principles in the design of electronic content.

A lot of research has focused on the beneficial effects of using multimedia, that is, text and pictures, for learning. Theories of multimedia learning are based on Baddeley's working memory model (Baddeley 1999). Despite this theoretical foundation, there is only little research that aims at empirically testing whether and more importantly how working memory contributes to learning from text and pictures; however, a more thorough understanding of how working memory limitations affect learning may help instructional designers to optimize multimedia instruction. Therefore, the goal of this review is to stimulate such empirical research by (1) providing an overview of the methodologies that can be applied to gain insights in working memory involvement during multimedia learning, (2) reviewing studies that have used these methodologies in multimedia research already, and (3) discussing methodological and theoretical challenges of such an approach as well as the usefulness of working memory to explain learning with multimedia.

The cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Mayer, 2021, 2022), which seeks to explain how people learn academic material from words and graphics, has developed over the past four decades. Although the name and graphical representation of the theory have evolved over the years, the core ideas have been constant—dual channels (i.e., humans have separate information processing channels for verbal and visual information), limited capacity (i.e., processing capacity is severely limited), and active processing (i.e., meaningful learning involves selecting relevant material to be processed in working memory, mentally organizing the material into coherent verbal and visual structures, and integrating them with each other and with relevant knowledge activated from long-term memory). This review describes how the theory has developed (i.e., the past), the current state of the theory (i.e., the present), and new directions for future development (i.e., the future). In addition, the review includes examples of the events and findings that led to changes in the theory. Implications for educational psychology are discussed, including 15 evidence-based principles of multimedia design.

In the field of education, virtual reality (VR) offers learners an immersive and interactive learning experience, allowing them to comprehend challenging concepts and ideas more efficiently and effectively. VR technology has enabled educators to develop a wide range of learning experiences, from virtual field trips to complex simulations, that may be utilized to engage students and help them learn. Learning theories and approaches are essential for understanding how students learn and how to design effective learning experiences. This study examines the most recent published findings in educational theories and approaches connected to the use of VR systems for educational and tutoring purposes. Seventeen research studies that meet the search criteria have been found in the database, and each of them focuses on at least one learning theory or learning approach related to educational systems using VR. These studies yielded five educational approaches, one methodology, five learning theories and one theoretical framework, which are presented in the context of virtual reality in education. These include constructivism learning, experiential learning, gamification of learning, John Dewey’s theory of learning by doing, flow theory, Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, design thinking, learning through problem solving, scientific discovery learning, social constructivism, cognitive load theory and the Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK). A major finding of this study is that constructivism learning is the most often utilized learning theory/method, Experiential Learning is most appropriate for VR and the gamification of learning has the greatest future potential.

Multimedia pedagogical agents are on-screen characters that allow users to navigate or learn in multimedia environments. Several agents’ characteristics may moderate their instructional effectiveness, including appearance, gender, nonverbal communication, motion, and voice. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to test hypotheses from diverse theories predicting the effects of these agents’ characteristics. We tested predictions of cognitive load theory, cognitive theory of multimedia learning, computers are social actors, social agency theory, uncanny valley, and the action observation network. Our meta-analysis of 32 effect sizes (N = 2104) revealed a small overall effect (g+ = 0.20), showing that learning with multimedia pedagogical agents was more effective than learning without these agents. As predicted by the redundancy effect of cognitive load theory and the coherence principle of cognitive theory of multimedia learning, 2D agents (g+ = 0.38) tended to be more effective than 3D agents (g+ = 0.11). As predicted by the computers are social actors hypothesis, most of the agents’ characteristics, including nonverbal communication, motion, and voice, appeared not to moderate their effectiveness. We conclude that multimedia pedagogical agents help learning through multimedia, and that students may be able to learn similarly from different types of agents.

Signals (or cues) are added to multimedia learning materials to guide learners’ attention to critical elements of the materials. Yet, research on signaling has produced mixed findings on learning outcomes. On the one hand, some studies have reported positive effects of signaling on the performance of learning outcomes (e.g., Jamet in Hum Behav 32:47–53, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.11.013 , 2014). On the other hand, some studies have found that signaling did not improve performance on learning-related outcomes (e.g., Mayer and DaPra in J Exp Psychol 18(3):239–252, https://doi.org/10.1037/a002861670 , 2012). The present meta-analysis seeks to (a) resolve the mixed findings in signaling research, (b) examine the effects on signaling on learning outcomes, and (c) identify potential moderating variables. Following an exhaustive search for studies meeting specified design criteria, 44 independent effect sizes were extracted from 29 experimental studies involving 2726 participants. Studies were coded on features, such as participants (e.g., grade level), presentation (e.g., pacing), and methodology (e.g., quality of the study). Results indicated that signaling is associated with increased learning outcomes ( d  = .38, p  < .01), with effect sizes varying from small to large. This overall effect was moderated by study, participant, presentation, and methodological features. For example, beneficial effects on learning outcomes were found when studies were high in quality, reported the reliability of outcomes, use pretest, and control for differences in prior knowledge. The findings have significant implications for educators and instructional designers as well as for multimedia researchers.

Researchers of cognitive load theory and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning have identified several strategies to optimize instructional materials. In this review article we focus on five of these strategies or solutions to problematic instructional designs in multimedia learning: (a) the multimedia principle (use visualizations and drawings to complement texts); (b) the split-attention effect or spatial contiguity principle (show texts contiguously or integrated with visualizations); (c) the redundancy effect, alike the coherence principle (remove nonessential learning information); (d) the signaling principle (cue or signal essential learning information); and (e) the transient information effect or segmenting principle (segment or control the pace of animations and videos). Usually, both cognitive theories have investigated solutions that instructors, teachers, and designers should pursue to optimize students’ learning. Here, in a novel approach, we show that these strategies can also be used by learners who want to self-manage their cognitive load and learning process. We provide several examples of both instructor- and learner-managed solutions aligned with these strategies. When assessing which agent, either the instructor or the learner, was most effective, we observed mixed results in the literature. However, the expertise reversal effect may help predict the direction of these effects: novice students may learn better under instructor-managed conditions, whereas more expert students may learn more under learner-managed conditions.