WHEN 2 SENSORY MODES ARE BETTER THAN ONE

It is hypothesized that instructional materials that use dual-mode pre sentation techniques (e.g., auditory text and visual diagrams) can res ult in superior learning to equivalent, single-modality formats (e.g., visual text and visual diagrams). This modality effect may be attribu ted to an effective expansion of working memory. The authors explore t he effect from a cognitive-load perspective. Using a variety of instru ctional materials, the authors found in 3 experiments that participant s studying materials incorporating audio text and visual diagrams or t ables performed better than those studying a conventional, visual-only format. These results were obtained only for instructions with a high intellectual content. In light of these findings, the central role of cognitive load in instructional design is highlighted, and the implic ations for multimedia instruction are discussed.