The Split-Attention Principle in Multimedia Learning

This chapter presents an integrated model of text and picture comprehension (ITPC model) that takes into account that learners can use multiple sensory modalities combined with different forms of representation. Multimedia learning can occur in different forms. When learners understand texts and pictures, they construct multiple mental representations in their cognitive system. Research in cognitive psychology suggests that the architecture of the human cognitive system includes multiple memory systems. A common view proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin distinguishes three memory subsystems - sensory registers, working memory, and long-term memory with different functions and different constraints on processing texts and pictures. The ITPC model of text and picture comprehension provides a framework for the analysis of learning from multiple representations including spoken or written text, visual pictures, and sound pictures. Future research will clarify whether the ITPC model is a useful tool for the analysis of text-picture integration.