The Effects of Study Time and Presentation Modality on Learning

Abstract

The modality principle suggests that presenting words via audio-narration rather than visual-text can improve learning (Mayer, 2001). However, the use of narrations when verbal materials are lengthy can have cognitive costs, and learning from text can be improved when materials are self-paced or provide ample study time. Therefore, there might be circumstances under which using text would actually be better than using narration. In this experiment we compare learning from diagrams that accompany text or narration; we manipulated available study time while also providing learners control over the pace of presentation. The results show that under these conditions, using narration instead of text does not improve learning. Some additional study time improves learning from both narration and text. However, even greater amounts of study time improve learning from narrations but not text. Implications about when to apply the modality principle to multimedia instructional design are discussed.