Session 3: Theoretical Issues - Research on multiple representations, modalities and multimodalities

Construction and interference in learning from multiple representation

This paper focuses on how effectiveness will be on integrating learning with verbal and visualized representation and how structure of mental model will be resulted under multiple representation.

An experiment is carried out at an university.
Control group: learn only by text
2 Testing groups: text plus graphics

The experiment found out that graphics may affect the structure of mental models. It is very interesting that graphics plus only text may notnecessarily be beneficial to students if the graphic is not appropriate. Only when the graphics and text are relevant, it may be good to learning.