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Integrating Visual and Verbal Knowledge During Classroom Learning with Computer Tutors

Integrating Visual and Verbal Knowledge During Classroom Learning with Computer Tutors Kirsten R. Butcher (kbutcher@pitt.edu) Learning Research & Development Center, 3939 O’Hara St University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15217 USA Vincent Aleven (aleven@cs.cmu.edu) Human-Computer Interaction Institute, 5000 Forbes Ave School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA Abstract the results of two studies comparing the effects of an (experimenter-designed) integrated version of the Geometry Cognitive Tutor to a standard, split-source version. We hypothesized that integrated materials would support students’ coordination of visual and verbal information during practice, leading deep learning and improved performance on far transfer tasks. Prior research in multimedia learning has demonstrated that materials that present visual and verbal information in an integrated, rather than split-source, format can support successful learning outcomes. These benefits often are attributed to reductions in cognitive load during learning; however, linking visual and verbal sources in materials also may support cognitive processes that coordinate visual and verbal knowledge. We tested the effects of integrated visual- verbal learning materials by implementing a diagram-based version of an intelligent tutoring system for geometry in 10 th grade classrooms. Compared to a standard split-source version of the tutor, students working with the integrated tutor performed better on far transfer tasks that tested deep understanding of connections between conceptual geometry principles and diagram features. Findings demonstrate that integrated materials support development of coordinated visual-verbal knowledge during learning. Keywords: diagrams; geometry; representations; learning; transfer. integration; Visual-Verbal Integration During Learning Studies with varied multimedia materials have found that even relatively simple forms of coordination between visual and verbal information can impact student learning. Studies have shown benefits in the temporal association of visual and verbal information, where presenting visual and verbal sources at the same time leads to better learning than presenting them at different times (Mayer & Anderson, 1992; Mayer, Moreno, Boire, & Vagge, 1999). Benefits have also been found for spatial association, where learning is supported by placing visual and verbal materials in close physical proximity or integrating them into a single, combined representation (Hegarty & Just, 1993; Moreno & Mayer, 1999). One proposed rationale for these benefits is that temporal/spatial coordination reduces cognitive load demands associated with working memory maintenance and visual search (Mayer, 2001). The reduction in cognitive effort needed to find and maintain multiple sources of information allows students to engage in deeper processing. However, another possible interpretation of the learning benefits found when materials integrate or coordinate visual and verbal information is that the depiction of close, explicit connections between visual and verbal representations prompts the learner to consider and process connections between visual and verbal information. Thus, integrated representations may support construction of representations that include connections between visual and verbal knowledge components. Although precise specification of these internal representations or processes is beyond the scope of this paper, our proposal builds upon existing models of multimedia learning that assume distinct internal representations are formed from visual and verbal information, and that cognitive processes operate between visual Introduction Previous work in multimedia learning has shown that the presentation format of visual and verbal learning materials can influence student performance (Butcher, 2006; Hegarty & Just, 1993; Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003; Kalyuga, Chandler, & Sweller, 2000; Mayer, 2001; Moreno & Mayer, 1999). One formatting issue deals with the level of coordination between visual and verbal sources of information. Visual and verbal information can be integrated (e.g., where short text descriptions are embedded in a diagram) or presented in a separate, “split-source” format (e.g., where paragraph text is physically separate from an unlabeled diagram). Past research has found that integrated materials support students’ memories for and understanding of to-be-learned information (Hegarty & Just, 1993; Moreno & Mayer, 1999). Our work is studying the impact of integrated representations that closely link visual and verbal information in an intelligent geometry tutoring system on students’ problem solving performance and deep understanding, when students use the integrated materials during practice in real classrooms. In this paper, we present