Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

Comprehension and learning with digital text and multimedia resources: A Literature Review Cecile McVittie ETEC 500 University of British Columbia

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

School libraries are not dead! As a secondary school teacher librarian, my role today is more dynamic and exciting than it has ever been, thanks to new technologies and a clear vision of how integral libraries (or learning commons) are to collaborative education processes. Teacher librarians are already experts in helping students and staff work with traditional print resources. It is critically important for school librarians to stay current in understanding the benefits and drawbacks of digital texts, multimedia resources and the reading and comprehension strategies necessary for interacting with digital resources. It is also important for my colleagues and I to understand how resources should be effectively designed for learning and interaction, as one of our key responsibilities is purchasing of resources for common usage. Effective evaluation of resources relies on understanding how resources should be designed for optimal learning and use, therefore the first part of the literature review will look at cognitive load theory which addresses how learning and comprehension can be strategically enhanced by understanding how working memory and long term memory are impacted by instruction and tools used to aid learning. The second part of the review will look at the studies which examine differences between reading traditional print and digital print or multimedia resources. Finally, the review will examine studies looking at strategies that might be taught to students to ensure comprehension, particularly for pre-adolescent, adolescent and young adult readers. My selection criteria for this review were: a) a focus on cognitive differences in working with electronic texts, b) comparisons between traditional and digital resources, and c) a particular participant focus on teens, pre-teens or college age students, with a higher preference going to studies and articles focusing on teens. Foundations for Educational Use of Multimedia Digital Text

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

Since the mid 1990s, multimedia resources have played an increasing role in classroom education. Educators were swept up by the excitement of using the new, often expensive resources, but chose to use them without benefit of research to demonstrate why multimedia resources could enhance learning, simply due to the rapid advance and introduction of these technologies. Like many consumers, educators were swept up in the desire to have and try the latest and greatest, but for a good purpose. As research began to occur, theories explaining the cognitive benefits and drawbacks of multiple representations of ideas, especially graphical presentations, began to emerge. Cognitive load theory applied to instructional design, as proposed by Sweller, Merrienboer and Paas (1998) built on previous studies by Sweller advancing the theory of cognitive load. In the 1998 study, Sweller et al. examined cognitive architecture, or how working memory builds or leads to schema construction stored in our longterm memory. Schemas are the frameworks integrating our knowledge. Sweller et al. discuss various problem examples throughout the paper, particularly math examples and demonstrate a technique for comparing instructional techniques in the absence of absolute values for measuring cognitive load. Finally, a key finding in this paper was the observation that working memory could be improved with the added use of visual and auditory working memory. Sweller et al. point out that the implications for multimedia instruction warrant further investigation. The theory of cognitive load was reconsidered in 2007 by Schnotz and Krschner who point out that reduction of cognitive load can actually impair the learning process when tasks are too easy for the learner. Schnotz and Krschner point out that Vygotskys zone of proximal development becomes much more important when considering cognitive load. The authors present a chart proposing a modified version of cognitive load theory that incorporates new

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

understanding of brain research and learning processes which clarifies why task design that is too simple for learners results in less learning overall. The implications of cognitive load theory in its original form and in the reconsidered version are foundational to effective educational multimedia resource design. Todays iPads and tablets effectively integrate auditory and visual learning tasks into complex games and presentations which engage students in personal learning as never before. As adults responsible for integrating technology, librarians must consider task design and the tools being used to complete learning tasks. A key question must be: Do students engage with complex text in a tablet or computer setting long enough for deep reflection and integration to occur? Which Text for the Task: Digital or Print? A big question for many in the education field was which is better for learning: - digital text and multimedia or print resources? Brain study research designed to compare the brains processes when working with different text types using EEG methodology was completed in 2001 by Gerlic and Jausovec. While the sample size of the group of education students was relatively small (40 students), the results were interesting. Computers are frequently described as a tool for making simple, repetitive tasks easier - including some learning tasks. Gerlic and Jausovec discovered that when learning physics, subject students (expert and novice) working with digital print and multimedia showed more brain activity - a higher cognitive load. This surprised the researchers, who had hypothesized that use of computer would make learning tasks simpler - particularly for the expert students. Wisely, the authors commented that the results were not generalizable to education settings until more research had been done. Reading was beginning to change during the decade following Swellers 1998 article. Lius (2005) survey study on reading behaviour demonstrated that college students and working

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

adults generalized that they were reading more digital text, but still needed print materials when needing to think deeply about what they were reading. When reading digital materials, the survey subjects noted they tended to skim and flip through hyperlinks. Annotating and marking were still easier to do with print materials. While the nature of the survey relied on general selfreporting, the results appeared to match the discussions in schools, colleges and the media. The nature of reading in a digital environment seemed to need a new set of skills. Print materials werent dying, but were being used for specific purpose. In classrooms, comparisons between print and digital text also incorporated new learning strategies, such as partners co-reading text for the purpose of shared understanding. When Davis and Neitzel (2011) observed two classes of sixth and seventh graders in this process, they discovered that dyads were able to use meaning-making strategies with print materials, but that no strategies proved successful with making sense of digital text. It was clear to the authors that further research and new strategies to help students comprehend digital information were necessary, even considering the small sample group and the limited time for the study. I would concur with these findings, based on my own observations of high school age students struggling to make sense of information online. Strategies for reading in a multimedia world Thoughtful engagement with text, digital or print, is a primary goal of literacy development in all school systems around the world. Deep reading, which includes inferential and deductive reasoning, analogical skills, critical analysis, reflection and insight, (Wolf & Barzillai, 2009) requires well developed executive skills which develop in the later years of teen brain development. Coiro and Dobler explored, in a qualitative study, the comprehension strategies used by pre-teen, skilled readers in an online setting. The criteria sample group was

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

limited in size to ensure detailed observations and interviews. The authors observed students as they first completed a reading task within a preselected website on tigers, then secondly, use an age appropriate search engine to seek the answer to one of two open-ended questions. Coiro and Dobler found that these students required prior knowledge to be engaged, strong inferential skills and strong self-regulation in the reading process. Outside of school, however, students may engage in different digital literacy practices that demonstrate the skills Coiro and Dobler observed, thanks to deep personal interest in a topic. In a case study of two young teenagers, Rowsell and Burke (2009), observed the teens interacting with their favourite websites. They remind educators that literacies of multimodal resources include comprehension of design, visual clue comprehension, understanding of various genres of writing and the ability to follow non-linear story elements. Rowsell and Burke remind educators that digital reading is a very different environment than traditional linear text. It is in studying trends in teen leisure reading that the gap between what is considered traditional print literacy and new literacies becomes evident. Moyers (2011) article about multiple modalities in reading make it clear that what is being defined as reading is changing significantly. Moyer proposes that when teens listen to an audiobook or read an e-book, it can be considered reading. I would not disagree with Moyers contention that an e-book is reading, but I do struggle with the idea that listening and reading are essentially the same. Her study had female college students reading a section of print text, a equivalent section of an e-book and listen to 10 minute of an audiobook. Moyer does not give any other information about her sample group or where the study took place. Three different book selections were used and each book had the three modalities being studied. The modalities and book selections were assigned randomly. Moyer found no statistical differences in comprehension across the modalities,

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

however the text modality proved least popular. Without sample size and more information about data analysis, the findings Moyer presents are limited in value. The recommendations in her article, though, do raise awareness that young people with digital devices are looking for alternate forms in which to engage with stories. This is the challenge facing school libraries across North America. Conclusions Multimedia resources and digital text are an increasing part of classroom education and school libraries, but it appears that print format materials will continue to exist for many years, yet. Educators and teacher librarians at the secondary level must begin to include explicit instruction in thoughtful, purposeful reading as proposed by Wolf and Barsillai (2009). Print format continues to be the foundation by which students can gain enough experience in constructive processes without impairing cognitive load. Further research into the detailed skills and strategies required to deeply engage with digital formats to formulate explicit instruction is required in the coming years, so that students will be able to work in either environment and begin to explore the world of story and idea in new and creative ways. Research is also needed to examine how multimedia design can best enhance thoughtful engagement for students in the teen years. Teacher librarians must examine research to determine which multimedia resources will improve learning of curricularly focused topics and topics of personal interest. As the traditional and digital worlds begin to meld together, there has never been a more interesting time to be a school librarian.

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

References Coiro, J., & Dobler, E. (2007). Exploring the online reading comprehension strategies used by sixthgrade skilled readers to search for and locate information on the internet. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(2), 214-257. doi: 10.1598RRQ.42.2.2 Davis, D. S., & Neitzel, C. (2011, March 6). Collaborative sense-making in print and digital text environments. Retrieved March 29, 2012, from http://http://www.springerlink.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/content/w266221443180145/ doi: 10.1007/s11145-011-9302-2 Gerlic, I., & Jausovec, N. (2001). Differences in EEG power and coherence measures related to the type of presentation: Text versus multimedia. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 25(2), 177-195. doi: 10.2190/YDWY-U3FJ-4LY4-LYND Liu, Z. (2005). Reading behaviour in the digital environment: Changes in reading behavior over the past ten years. Journal of Documentation, 61(6), 700-712. doi: 10.1108/00220410510632040 Moyer, J. E. (2011). What does it really mean to "read a text? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(3), 253-256. doi: 10.1002/JAAL.00031 Rowell, J., & Burke, A. (2009). Reading by design: Two case studies of digital reading practice. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(2), 106-118. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.53.2.2 Schnotz, W., & Kurschner, C. (2007). A reconsideration of cognitive load theory. Educational Psychology Review, 19, 469-508. doi: 10.1007/s10648-007-9053-4

Sweller, J., Van Merrienboer, J. J., & Paas, F. G. (1998). Cognitive architecture and instructional design. Educational Psychology Review, 10(3), 251-296. doi: 10.1023/A:1022193728205

Comprehension & learning with digital text and multimedia resources

Wolf, M., & Barzillai, M. (2009, March 01). The importance of deep reading. Educational Leadership, 66, 32-37. Retrieved March 29, 2012, from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? sid=5758c8d4-2ee1-4c13-8311-6cd483dd2524%40sessionmgr13&vid=2&hid=12