Animating to Build Higher Cognitive Understanding: A Model for Studying Multimedia Effectiveness in Education*

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a model for designing experiments to test the effectiveness of multimedia and other technological enhancements in education. It is based upon a discussion of an experimental study that examined the impact of one specific multimedia enhancement—animation—on a very specific aspect of learning—the ability to apply knowledge, for a well‐defined population—adult, continuing education students, in a highly specified knowledge domain–Boolean algebra. The paucity of substantial evidence supporting the value of multimedia as an educational enhancement can at least partially be attributed to definitional problems within experimental designs. What specifically does “learning,” and, for that matter, “multimedia”, mean? If these terms are not explicitly defined and intimately incorporated into the experimental controls, there is little hope for creditable results. This study indicates that careful attention to defining these two terms can produce meaningful results.