Chapter 2: Multimedia Strategies Guidelines’ Lesson
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Published:2008
Richard E. Mayer, 2008. "Multimedia Strategies Guidelines’ Lesson", What Works in Distance Learning: Sample Lessons Based on Guidelines, Harold F. O'Neil
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In What Works in Distance Learning: Guidelines (O’Neil, 2005), Mayer (2005) described 11 research-based principles for the design of multimedia training. The principles were based on cognitive theory and supported by empirical scientific research (Clark & Mayer, 2003; Mayer, 2001, 2002; Sweller, 1999).
After the principles have been applied to the lesson on how brakes work, the final product is this chapter, which consists of a concise narrated animation. Our goal was to create a lesson on how brakes work that would lead to deep understanding. Based on a revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives (Anderson et al., 2001), some major educational objectives of the lesson are:
understand conceptual knowledge—such as being able to describe what happens when you press on the brake pedal;
creating conceptual knowledge—such as being able to redesign a braking system for a new purpose;
evaluating conceptual knowledge—such as being able to troubleshoot a malfunctioning braking system; and
understanding factual knowledge—such as being able to describe what a piston is in your own words.
Overall, the educational objectives are to help students understand conceptual knowledge (e.g., a cause-and-effect model of a braking system) and factual knowledge (e.g., the characteristics of each component in the model) and to help students create and evaluate conceptual knowledge (e.g., revise and critique a cause-and-effect model of a braking system).
