Introduction
This guide will explore the intersection of teaching and design, based on Richard Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia Learning. By considering how information is shared, through visual and/or verbal modalities, it helps you create and deliver presentations that are accessible to all.
Here is a brief summary of the principles that will be discussed:
- Keep it Simple (Coherence Principle): remove extraneous content
- Highlight (Signaling Principle): Give students something to focus on
- Show & Tell (Multimedia Principle): Use words and graphics together rather than words alone
- Avoid duplication (Redundancy Principle): Graphics and narration is more effective than including text as well
Keep it Simple (Coherence Principle)
“Adding extra material can hurt learning”
(Clark & Mayer, 2016, p. 151).
People learn better when you exclude unnecessary material. Everything on your slide (ie. images, text, narration) should directly support the learning goals.
Good practices to integrate into your slide design are:
- Review your slides critically to reduce, simplify, and clarify
- Include only simple images, text, and narration that relate to learning goals
- Remove decorative or “fluff” material that distracts from learning (unless there is purpose behind its use)
For example, if a slide contains a number of elements, it may distract from learning because it is not clear where to focus or what the overall message is. Then, as the instructor is narrating, the student is left trying to figure out how all the slide elements relate to the overall message.
By reducing, simplifying, and clarifying the message, it now contains only relevant elements that support learning. This way, the image and statistic can be used to pique student interest and the instructor can share the message about safety, quality, and care verbally. Now, the student is able to relate the slide elements with the message being shared more efficiently as there is less to focus on and figure out.
When designing your slides, ask yourself (DeBell, 2019):
- Do the slide elements help students comprehend the material? (DeBell, 2019)
- Do the slide elements enhance learning or distract from it?
- Can I simplify my message about this slide by trimming words? (DeBell, 2019)
Highlight Cues (Signaling Principle)
“People learn better when cues that highlight the organization of the essential material are added”
(Clark & Mayer, 2016, p. 108).
Students need to know what information matters, especially when slides contain multiple elements. Add cues that direct attention to relevant material such as circles, highlights, or arrows.
However, use cues only when necessary. Overusing them reduces their effectiveness.
Advance Organizers
Advance organizers help students connect what they already know with what they’re about to learn. Integrating them in your slides helps structure your content and show how information is organized, making it easier for students to follow along.
Show & Tell (Multimedia Principle)
“Include both words and graphics”
(Clark & Mayer, 2016, p. 70)
People learn better when you present both words and pictures together, rather than words alone. This combination encourages active processing—students mentally represent material in both words and pictures and make connections between them.
Using only text may reduce comprehension, especially for students with less background knowledge, because they may struggle to connect words with other knowledge (Clark & Mayer, 2016, p. 71).
Avoid Duplication (Redundancy Principle)
“Explain visuals with words in audio or text but not both”
(Clark & Mayer, 2016, p. 131)
People learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration, and on-screen text all at once. Avoid adding text to graphics you’re narrating (Clark & Mayer, 2016, p. 131). This prevents overloading the visual channel.
[Video Example 1: Slide with graphics, text, and narration (demonstrating overload) would appear here]
[Video Example 2: Redesigned slide with graphics and narration only (demonstrating effective design) would appear here]
Using Text Purposefully: Text-based information can help many students, including English language learners. However, presenting text while talking about it isn’t always effective. Consider these alternatives:
- Provide brief lecture notes before or after class
- Create guided notes with prompts students fill in during lectures
- Share slide versions with detailed text in the notes section for review
This allows students to focus on listening rather than reading and listening simultaneously.
If slides do need substantial text, give students time to read it before you elaborate verbally. This prevents them from trying to read and listen at the same time.
Conclusion
In the end, the goal is to utilize design and multimedia principles to create presentations that are both visually appealing and consider the whole learning experience. By strategically providing information through visual and verbal modalities, this helps reduce barriers to learning as it ensures key information is equally recognizable to all learners (CAST, 2018).