{"id":536,"date":"2025-05-30T03:45:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T03:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobs.qalamscholar.com\/?p=536"},"modified":"2025-05-30T03:45:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T03:45:22","slug":"dual-coding-and-cognitive-load","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobs.qalamscholar.com\/?p=536","title":{"rendered":"Dual Coding and Cognitive Load"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cover image by <\/em>Chen<\/em><\/a> from <\/em>Pixabay<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

By Megan Sumeracki<\/em><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s blog, I\u2019m covering an older paper by Mousavi, Low, and Sweller from 1995 (1)<\/em> titled Reducing Cognitive Load by Mixing Auditory and Visual Presentation Modes<\/a>. The goal of their paper was to experimentally test whether heavy cognitive overload could be reduced for students by presenting geometry worked examples using dual coding (in this case, visual and auditory formats). Our cognitive resources are limited, but we have the ability to process information in multiple formats simultaneously. The idea is that using multiple modalities, the amount that can be processed at once can functionally increase, thereby increasing learning.<\/p>\n

For example, take the diagram below (from the original published paper). According to the researchers, there is a visual diagram and text that needs to be integrated before the learner can understand the worked problem, and engaging in this integration requires cognitive resources. If the presentation of the problem relieved the learner of that integration process, then those additional resources would be available for other types of processing that could lead to more learning.<\/p>\n

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Image from paper by Mousavi, Low, & Sweller, 1995 (1)<\/em>. The image shows a worked problem with problem statements (a given statement and a prove statement), a diagram of the geometry involved, and four proof statements. <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Experiments<\/h1>\n

The researchers conducted six experiments. I will focus on the details of the first experiment here, and I will note the overall findings from the paper in the conclusion.<\/p>\n

Experiment 1<\/h2>\n

Students from Year 8 in Wollongong, Australia (8th grade equivalent in the US) participated in the experiment. The students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in which the modalities of the geometry worked examples (like the figure shown above) was manipulated:<\/p>\n