Chapter: 21 �The Learner Control Principle in Multimedia Learning

By Nawal Alqarni

What is The Learner Control Principle in Multimedia Learning ?

• Giving learners control by allowing them to pace, sequence, and select information helps learning if :
• Learners possess high levels of prior knowledge.
• Learners receive additional instructional support to orient themselves in the learning environment and to self-regulate their learning.

Learner-controlled environments

• Learner control refers to having control over larger units of instruction that consist of multiple interconnected information elements.
• The linear environment would be best suited for a learner with a low level of prior knowledge.
• The nonlinear environment would be best suited for a learner with a high level of prior knowledge.

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The potential effectiveness of learner control

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• An active learning.
• Constructive processing of instruction.
• Increasing the motivation to learn.
• Enhancing the acquisition of self-regulatory skills.
• Allowing learners to adapt the instruction to their preferences and needs.

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What did the research find?

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• Learners sometimes benefit from learner-controlled if they are given additional guidance and if they are able to use them.
• Active and constructive processing could be too challenging for learners.
• There is little and a weak evidence that learner-controlled instruction will automatically increase motivation.
• Learners lack self-regulation skills, and instructional support is required to help learners to meet the challenges in hypermedia environment.

What did the research find?

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• Instructional support is necessary for learners with a low levels of prior knowledge,
• Instructional support has no effect for learners with a high levels of prior knowledge.
• Scaffolds improve students’ self-regulation and aid learning regardless of students’ prior knowledge.

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Learning activity participations

• Tyler Schultz

" The unit was set up to help break up the learning into multiple sections and check for understanding in each of those."

"this is a great way to help students learn through self-regulation...and to help keep the pace for learners.“

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• Jocelyn

" I like how I could select the sequence and pacing of my learning, which directly correlates to the learner control principle."

"I like how it chunked the information and provided additional links for examples."

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Learning activity participations

• Stephanie

"a brief overview of the history...served as an activation of my prior knowledge."

" I appreciated the ability to scroll through at my own pace, controlling my own learning.."

"the provided hyperlinks to other external resources valuable when I was interested in learning more information...”

"stopping points to check understanding...is an essential part of the learning process.“

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Learning activity participations

• Samantha

" this lesson took the learner through a linear progression of activities, that seemed to be appropriate."

"multiple checks for understanding, which provided immediate feedback to the student...correlated with the idea of providing scaffolds to assist with students' self-regulation."

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Learning activity participations

• Denise

"the self-checks were useful as a pacing tool... to control pace and check knowledge."

"I just didn't like…to scroll up and down to move around the unit."

"I did like the use of graphics and videos to help the multimedia experience.

"negative comment …that the concept maps were way too complicated causing me… not wanting to try to figure them out."

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Learning activity participations

• Paige

" I liked that information that was presented and the sequence of the unit."

"I wished the menu to click through the module was on the side on the page rather than the top.“

"Something I found unique was the representative control. Learners were able to "determine how a specific piece of content should be displayed..."

"this unit should be geared for learners with high prior knowledge …because of the non-linear learning environment and…amount of information presented at one time."

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Learning activity participations

• Lauren

"I liked immediately that it gave me the option to go at my own pace and that the different sections were broken up instead of just one huge website of knowledge."

"I liked the inclusion of the YouTube videos and also the numerous progress checks along the way."

"the progress checks can help with this lack of scaffolding or difficulty of navigation."

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Learning activity participations

• Malimi

"In the unit, there are three elements that allow learner control over learning : Sequencing – deciding the order in which to learn; selection or content control – choosing which content unit to process; and Pacing – deciding the pace at which to learn."

"one element is missing; representation control – determining how a specific piece of content should be displayed.“

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Learning activity participations

• Bethany

"I felt that since I am a teacher myself and was well aware of my goals in this exercise I could choose to control my work through the unit as I felt necessary."

"if I were a student who was very new to the topic and wasn't sure how much of this information I would need in the future, it would have been much more difficult to guide myself responsibly."

"the quizzes helped a lot to remind me to check my comprehension."

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What to take away?

• The learner control can be beneficial to learning, if learner possess prior knowledge and if instructional support is available.
• Instructional support is necessary for learners regardless of students’ prior knowledge.
• Scaffolds improve students’ self-regulation and aid learning regardless of students’ prior knowledge.

■ Sequence and organization in the content is important to help student to learn and understand.

■ Self-evaluation is beneficial for students; it allows students to evaluate their learning progress.

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Reference

Mayer, R. E. (Ed.)(2014). The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning

(2^nd Edition). New York: Cambridge University Press.

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