| Teachers and administrators demonstrate a need for post-graduate continuing education in the area of childhood bereavement. Information technology offers a cost-effective opportunity to offer continuing education to this large population; however, research in the area of using multimedia design for social science learning material is limited. This study compared four different instructional formats to determine which contribute to effective learning. The multimedia design principles of modality and redundancy were examined by comparing participants' posttest performance after viewing the learning materials. The modality principle was evaluated utilizing pictures and narration learning material, which adhered to the principles of spatial and temporal contiguity, and coherence, as compared to material utilizing pictures, narration, and full or summary text. The redundancy principle was assessed for effect by presenting material simultaneously as pictures, narration, and full text. Additionally, performance on narration-only learning material was examined. The hypotheses that the use of the multimedia design principles of modality and redundancy for social science learning materials affected participants' performance on posttest measures of learning were not confirmed by this study. There was no difference among posttest results when learning materials were redundant, or whether material was presented in one modality (i.e., narration-only), or in two modalities. The participants' feedback indicated that learners prefer the use of pictures and video clips in learning materials in order to make them more interesting and exciting. Further research is needed to determine when and how multimedia can be effective in enhancing learning for social science material. |
