Chapter 4: Knowledge and Working Memory Effects on Learning from Visual Displays

Research studies in expert-novice differences in learning conducted over the last several decades have demonstrated that learners’ knowledge base is a single most important cognitive characteristic that influences their learning and performance. Recent studies within a cognitive load framework have found that instructional presentation formats that are effective with novice learners could become ineffective for more proficient learners (the expertise reversal effect). The major design implication of these studies is the need to tailor presentation formats to levels of learner expertise in a task domain. This chapter reviews major empirical findings associated with the expertise reversal effect in areas of multimedia learning that use various visual displays and their implications for the design of adaptive displays.