Learning with multimedia: The effects of gender, type of multimedia learning resources, and spatial ability

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103747Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Spatial ability covariate has a predominant influence on learning with multimedia.

  • Gender influences multimedia learning, even after controlling for spatial ability.

  • The change from retention to transfer of learning is mitigated by gender.

  • Static versus animated multimedia does not influence multimedia learning.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of gender and type of multimedia resource on learning outcomes while controlling for the effect of spatial ability. This study also aimed to investigate the differences in learning outcomes between retention and transfer questions. The independent variables for the study were gender and type of multimedia resources (static versus animated), and the covariate was spatial ability. The dependent variables for the first study goal were learning outcomes measured by performance scores in two procedural learning tasks (functioning of a toilet cistern and a car brake system). The dependent variables for the second study goal were learning outcomes measured by retention and transfer performance scores in the two procedural learning tasks. A total of 245 undergraduate students completed participation online. As anticipated, spatial ability had the most significant overall influence on learning outcomes. Gender differences were also found, even after controlling for spatial ability. The study, however, failed to identify effects of multimedia type in learning outcomes. Male participants consistently outperformed female participants in all learning tasks, regardless of the multimedia type. While the scores from the transfer questions were lower than the scores from retention questions, as expected, this decline was significantly less for males in the car brakes task. This was not the case in the toilet cistern task however, implying a potential subject domain effect. Overall, this study is significant in that it offers empirical evidence of gender effects, separate from spatial ability, when learning with multimedia resources.

Introduction

The prevalence of dynamic multimedia learning resources, due to the advancement of information technology and multimedia creation tools, has created needs to investigate the influence of these resources on learning outcomes. Considerable study has focused on the differences in learning outcomes with static versus dynamic learning resources, and extended studies have investigated whether additional factors such as gender (e.g., Saha & Halder, 2016), spatial ability (e.g., Castro-Alonso, Wong, Adesope, Ayres, & Paas, 2019), and prior knowledge (e.g., Grimley, 2007) have any added influence. The literature provides mixed findings regarding learning outcomes not only with the use of static versus dynamic resources but also with added factors such as gender and spatial ability (for a review of learning benefits of static versus animated graphics, see Berney & Bétrancourt, 2016). For example, some studies report that females experience greater learning benefits from animated resources (e.g., Coward, Crooks, Flores, & Dao, 2012), while other studies show more benefits for males (e.g., Saha & Halder, 2016). Similarly, with regard to the use of animated learning resources, some studies document higher learning gains among individuals with higher spatial ability (e.g., Sudatha, Degeng, & Kamdi, 2018), while other studies report higher learning gains among individuals with lower spatial ability (e.g., Höffler & Leutner, 2011; Münzer, 2015).

The discrepancies documented in the literature regarding the learning benefits of static versus dynamic resources may, in part, be attributed to failing to mutually account for the factors influencing learning outcomes (see Castro-Alonso, Ayres, & Paas, 2016; see also; Castro-Alonso, Ayres, et al., 2019). For example, while considerable literature reports that gender and spatial ability are linked (e.g., Astur, Tropp, Sava, Constable, & Markus, 2004; Kaufman, 2007; Uttal et al., 2013), many research studies neglect to control for spatial ability when examining gender effects, or vice versa. To uncover the unique effects of gender or spatial ability, it is necessary to adequately address this methodological issue. The current study thus responds to this need by examining the effects of gender and multimedia type on learning outcomes while controlling for spatial ability.

Section snippets

Multimedia in learning

Learning is an active mental process, where individuals selectively attend to learning resources, organize a coherent mental representation, and integrate it with relevant prior knowledge retrieved from long-term memory (Mayer, 2014). This process makes primary demands upon limited working memory. If a learning task exceeds the capacity of an individual's limited working memory, her or his learning is consequently impacted (Kinshuk, 2015).

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) suggest that working memory

Research hypotheses

The primary purpose of the study is to investigate how gender and type of multimedia learning resource are associated with learning outcomes while holding constant the effect of spatial ability. An additional purpose of this study is to examine the differential learning effects between retention and transfer (i.e., type of test), as related to gender and multimedia type. This second purpose addresses the imbalance in type of test, as retention (i.e., learners' ability to recall, recognize, and

Variables

For both hypotheses, the independent variables were gender and type of multimedia resources (two-levels: static and animated), and the covariate was spatial ability. The dependent variables for the first hypothesis were learning outcomes measured by performance in two learning tasks (scores in the toilet cistern and car brakes functioning tasks). For the second hypothesis, the dependent variables were learning outcomes measured by retention and transfer performance in the learning tasks.

Participants

A total

Preliminary findings

Assumptions for MANCOVA were examined (e.g., homogeneity of regression slopes and homoscedasticity as well as assumptions for ANOVA and ANCOVA) and met. As the study design was unbalanced, Box's M was examined and found no statistical significance. Nonetheless, Pillai's trace (Pillai V) was chosen for further data analysis, as it is more robust to departures from assumptions than other, commonly used MANCOVA statistics. For repeated measures MANCOVA, one multivariate outlier was identified in

Discussions

The study examined how gender and type of multimedia learning resource are associated with learning outcomes while controlling for the effect of spatial ability (H1). The study also investigated whether there existed differential effects between retention and transfer of learning while holding constant the effect of spatial ability, as related to gender and multimedia type (H2).

One of the main findings of this study is that, even after adjusting for spatial ability, males outperformed females

Conclusion

This study investigated learning outcome differences based on gender and multimedia type while holding constant the effect of spatial ability. Extensive research has examined the impact of gender or spatial ability on multimedia learning separately; however, as gender and spatial ability are often inextricably linked, it can be challenging to disentwine their unique influences. From this perspective, the current study is significant in that it offers empirical evidence of gender effects,

Ethics statement

This study was carried out following the recommendations of the Institutional Review Board of (Redacted for blind review) University for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research. All subjects gave informed consent online in accordance.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Robert Dean Loughney Faculty Development Endowment (G1700070-124080), Duquesne University, United States.

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