Cueing can have a positive effect on learning. The effects of cueing on multimedia learning are mainly carried out in three steps: guiding learners to notice relevant information, directing learners to organize knowledge, and helping learners to integrate new and existing knowledge. Spatiotemporal cueing references the spatial and temporal location properties of cueing (such as progressive animation and random region scaling). Physical cueing refers to the physical properties of cueing (such as arrows and colors). Cueing can be divided into physical and spatiotemporal cueing, according to different attributes. By changing some features of the learning materials in the visual space, cues can lead learners to pay attention to relevant information and integrate old and new knowledge to form a consistent and coherent mental representation ( Xie et al., 2016).
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Therefore, how to effectively use an instructional design (such as cueing) in multimedia learning materials to enhance the learning effect is a question that has attracted researchers’ attention in recent years ( Tabbers et al., 2004 Boucheix et al., 2013).Ĭueing is a kind of non-content information ( Boucheix and Lowe, 2010) that can attract learners’ attention and promote the selection, organization, and integration of multimedia learning materials. In such cases, learners’ attention is attracted to irrelevant information, which consumes learners’ working memory and cognitive resources ( Tversky et al., 2002 Lowe, 2003 Ayres and Paas, 2007).
Previous studies have shown that the learning effect of picture-text contiguity is superior to that of picture-text distance ( Ginns, 2006 Holsanova et al., 2009 Mayer, 2021).Īt the same time, multimedia learning materials can also have the problem of too much information. As a result, learners are less likely to include both in their short-term memory ( Mayer, 2005). The theory is that when the words on a page or screen are close to pictures also appearing there, the learner is better able to establish a psychological connection between the two, whereas when the words are far away, learners must use limited cognitive resources to search for the animation corresponding to the text presented.
When text on a screen is located next to an animation it describes, students learn more deeply than when the text is further away from the corresponding action in the animation ( Chandler and Sweller, 1991 Paas and Van Merriënboer, 1994 Moreno and Mayer, 1999 Johnson and Mayer, 2012). Mayer (2001, 2021) described this multimedia learning principle as spatial contiguity. The spatial contiguity effect was first proposed by Tarmizi and Sweller (1988), who found that when learners solved mathematical problems, information presented in combination reduced learners’ cognitive loads, thus enhancing the learning effect. There are two kinds of contiguity effect: temporal (text and pictures appearing at the same time) and spatial (text and pictures arranged near one another Mayer, 2001). To prevent learners’ attention separation (i.e., split attention), researchers have identified the contiguity effect, which relates to how text and pictures are arranged in proximity to one another to improve learning performance ( Sweller et al., 1998 Ayres and Sweller, 2014). It has been determined that a reasonable arrangement of pictures and text can effectively guide learners’ attention and improve the learning effect. Studies have shown that a combination of words and pictures makes it easier for learners to understand scientific explanations than does the single presentation of words ( Mayer and Moreno, 2002 Glaser and Schwan, 2015). Examples include static (e.g., illustrations, icons, photos, maps) and dynamic graphics (e.g., animations, videos).
Words refer to the presentation of material in the form of printed text or speech pictures refer to the presentation of material in the form of images. Mayer (2005, 2021) defined multimedia as the co-presentation of words and images. A multi-media teaching environment has great potential to improve learners’ learning outcomes. With the development of science and technology, multimedia learning has become increasingly popular. Multimedia learning refers to the psychological construction and processing of speech and picture representation materials ( Mayer, 2002 Lawson et al., 2021).