The coherence principle states that a multimedia presentation should not contain any irrelevant material (audio, video, words, etc.) that does not support the main purpose of the presentation. There is a focus, according to Clark and Mayer (2011), in the coherence principle on extraneous audio, graphics, and words. Each of these components, when used excessively or inappropriately, can lead to distracted learners (p. 159), an overload of the working memory (p. 154), and/or inappropriate connections between information and its visual representation.
Moreno and Mayer (2000) said that, “learners process multimedia messages in their visual and auditory channels–both of which are limited in capacity.” If there is unnecessary stimulus present, then the learner may miss out on the main point because their attention was put on the unimportant stimulus. When the appropriate links and balances can be made between the stimulus, the visual channel, and the auditory channel, they are able to be held in the working memory at the same time. When this happens, Mayer (1999) said that “learners are more likely to make appropriate connections” (p. 620). In other words, the balance creates the perfect environment for students to experience information in a variety of ways which helps them learn the information more fully and deeply.
During a professional development presentation at Cole Valley Christian School by Annette Breaux (2013), Breaux used a great PowerPoint presentation that implemented the coherence principle well. Her images were simple and relevant to the material; she used short phrases on the PowerPoint to reinforce the words she spoke; each of Breaux’s examples, spoken word, and graphics assisted in getting her point across. She was very intentional about each part of her presentation and intentional about the examples that she used. It was the most impactful professional development presentation in which I have participated.
The examples of poor use of the coherence principle are numerous. Each year I have my students create presentations about an artist or art period. This year I had a few students use Prezi thinking that the movement and shuffling around during the presentation would create an interesting presentation. I had one student who created a presentation on street art that incorporated images that were not overly relevant; her spoken words did not coincide with the images presented; and she filled some slides with large amounts of text, some of which had nothing to do with her main point. When she had completed her presentation and I began asking the class some questions about street art I discovered that they had gained no new knowledge about it. Clark and Mayer (2011) point out that Dewey, in 1913, “argued that adding interesting adjuncts to an otherwise boring lesson will not promote deep learning” (p. 156). Without solid content to base a lesson upon, the goal of deeper learning will never be achieved by fancy graphics, exceptional audio, or sophisticated wording.
The coherence principle is a balance of the redundancy, modality, and contiguity principles. It applies the redundancy principle by limiting the explanation of graphics within a multimedia presentation. It would be excessive, and an overload for the learner, to have both audio narration and on-screen text to explain a graphic.
The modality principle is employed by utilizing the limited capacity of the visual and auditory channels and not overloading them. The coherence principle limits the on-screen distractions, as well as the distracting and unnecessary audio that some presentations try to use.
The contiguity principle works to present information in two representations simultaneously to help learners make deeper connections to the information. The coherence principle has the same goal and achieves it through limiting the distractions around the two representations of the information. By removing the extraneous stimuli, the learner is able to properly connect the two representations and connect more deeply to the information.
The coherence principle, according to Clark & Mayer (2011), relates to fundamental theories of psychology through the arousal theory. The arousal theory is “the idea that entertaining and interesting embedded effects cause learners to become more emotionally aroused and therefore they work harder to learn the material.” (p. 156). When a multimedia presentation attempts to employ the arousal theory the idea is that learners will engage with the content and learn it more deeply. Clark & Mayer conclude, however, that if a presentation is boring, adding in extra “embedded effects” will not cause the learner to engage or learn it more deeply. They go on to say that the “embedded effects” can cause learners to connect wrong images with information and distract the learner from the intended goal.
Although there is little research out about the coherence principle, the little data presented by Clark and Mayer (2011) prove that the principle is logical and relevant. I am a person that gets distracted by the little things within a presentation. For example, I read the fine print on commercials. When images, text, and video are presented that do not reinforce the main point I start thinking about all the extras and lose track of what I am supposed to learn. Through the application of the other principles discussed through Clark & Mayer’s book, the importance of simplicity and focus to a specific point seems to be an effective strategy when creating multimedia presentations. The research does show that it is effective when used properly and promotes deeper understanding of information.
References
Clark, R.C. & Mayer, R.E.(2011). e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven guidelines
for consumers and designers of multimedia learning (3rd ed.). Pfeiffer.
Mayer, R. E. (1999). Multimedia aids to problem-solving transfer. International Journal of Educational Research, 31(7), 611-623.
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). A learner-centered approach to multimedia explanations: Deriving instructional design principles from cognitive theory. Interactive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer-Enhanced Learning, 2(2), 2004-07. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http://imej.wfu.edu/articles/2000/2/05/index.asp
Brian Smith: EdTech Portfolio 