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12 - The Multiple Representations Principle in Multimedia Learning

from Part III - Basic Principles of Multimedia Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Shaaron Ainsworth
Edited by
Richard E. Mayer  and
Logan Fiorella
Richard E. Mayer
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Logan Fiorella
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
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Summary

In this chapter, I propose three distinct purposes of multiple representations and suggest that these lead to different design principles and learning activities. Multiple representations can play a complementary role when learners exploit differences in their form and content by switching between and selecting the appropriate representation for the task at hand. Constraining benefits are achieved when learners can profit from the support of a familiar representation to understand a new and complex representation. Finally, if learners abstract across multiple representations, they can construct a deeper understanding of the nature of the representations and the domain they represent. This chapter updates a review of studies that have used multiple representations for these purposes and identifies some of the circumstances that influence the effectiveness of using multiple representations in these ways.

Keywords

multiple representationsDeFT frameworkcomplementary functionsconstraining functionsconstructing functions
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning , pp. 158 - 170
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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