Visual Mnemonics for Language Learning: Static Pictures versus Animated Morphs

The literature on learning with animations has focused so far on subject matters in which changes over time depicted in the animation are mapped onto changes over time in the reality of the concepts to be learned. The experiments presented in this article, however, suggest that also a nontemporal mapping of facts, as in paired-associate learning with visual mnemonics, can profit from temporally changing displays. In 2 experiments, Sino-Japanese characters and their meanings were learned with either static pictures or animated morphs as visual encoding mnemonics. The results show that both types of encoding mnemonics improved paired-associate learning compared to a nonmnemonic control group. The positive effects of encoding mnemonics remained stable over a period of 1 week. Experiment 1 showed a superiority of static pictures over animated morphs. However, this effect disappeared when the relative length of presentation time of characters and pictures in both static and animated mnemonic conditions was held constant (Experiment 2). Furthermore, how good a character's visual shape represents its associated meaning seems to be a powerful predictor of learning, regardless of learning method. The results are interpreted in terms of task-appropriate mental representations resulting from static and animated mnemonics, in particular the availability and the extractability of cues in a visual display.

[1]  R. Mayer,et al.  When learning is just a click away: Does simple user interaction foster deeper understanding of multimedia messages? , 2001 .

[2]  Katharina Scheiter,et al.  The Role of Working Memory in Multimedia Instruction: Is Working Memory Working During Learning from Text and Pictures? , 2011 .

[3]  F. Craik,et al.  Levels of Pro-cessing: A Framework for Memory Research , 1975 .

[4]  A. Paivio.  Mental imagery in associative learning and memory , 1969 .

[5]  Richard Lowe,et al.  Aligning Affordances of Graphics with Learning Task Requirements , 2011 .

[6]  B. R. Bugelski,et al.  Image as a mediator in one-trial paired-associate learning. , 1968 .

[7]  Stephan Schwan,et al.  Effects of presentation speed of a dynamic visualization on the understanding of a mechanical system , 2008 .

[8]  Mary Hegarty,et al.  The Roles of Mental Animations and External Animations in Understanding Mechanical Systems , 2003 .

[9]  John Sweller,et al.  The Mirror Neuron System and Observational Learning: Implications for the Effectiveness of Dynamic Visualizations , 2009 .

[10]  Margaret H. Thomas,et al.  Learning by the keyword mnemonic: Looking for long-term benefits , 1996 .

[11]  K. Green,et al.  Japanese Language Educators' Strategies for and Attitudes toward Teaching Kanji , 2002 .

[12]  Richard Catrambone,et al.  Designing Instructional Examples to Reduce Intrinsic Cognitive Load: Molar versus Modular Presentation of Solution Procedures , 2004 .

[13]  M. Gruneberg,et al.  In defence of Linkword , 1991 .

[14]  Richard Catrambone,et al.  Making the abstract concrete: Visualizing mathematical solution procedures , 2006, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[15]  Simon Hooper,et al.  The effects of visual and verbal coding mnemonics on learning Chinese characters in computer-based instruction , 2004 .

[16]  E. Erdfelder,et al.  Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses , 2009, Behavior research methods.

[17]  D. Leutner,et al.  Instructional animation versus static pictures: A meta-analysis , 2007 .

[18]  F. Yates.  The Art of Memory , 1969 .

[19]  Mary Hegarty,et al.  When static media promote active learning: annotated illustrations versus narrated animations in multimedia instruction. , 2005, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[20]  A. Paivio.  Imagery and verbal processes , 1972 .

[21]  S. Hart,et al.  Development of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index): Results of Empirical and Theoretical Research , 1988 .

[22]  Dirk van Rijn,et al.  Proceedings of the 31st annual conference of the Cognitive Science Society , 2003 .

[23]  M. Taft,et al.  The nature of the mental representation of radicals in Chinese: a priming study. , 2004, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[24]  A. Yonelinas.  The Nature of Recollection and Familiarity: A Review of 30 Years of Research , 2002 .

[25]  Wolfgang Schnotz,et al.  Enabling, facilitating, and inhibiting effects of animations in multimedia learning: Why reduction of cognitive load can have negative results on learning , 2005 .

[26]  Stephan Schwan,et al.  Comprehending animations: Effects of spatial cueing versus temporal scaling , 2010 .

[27]  B. R. Bugelski.  Words and things and images. , 1970 .

[28]  J. C. Byers,et al.  Comparison of Four Subjective Workload Rating Scales , 1992 .

[29]  Barbara Tversky,et al.  Animation: can it facilitate? , 2002, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[30]  G. Bower,et al.  Mnemonic elaboration in multilist learning , 1972 .

[31]  P. Hancock,et al.  Human Mental Workload , 1988 .

[32]  D. Leutner,et al.  Direct Measurement of Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning , 2003 .

[33]  J. Wolfe,et al.  What attributes guide the deployment of visual attention and how do they do it? , 2004, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

[34]  Emmanuel Schneider,et al.  Static and Animated Presentations in Learning Dynamic Mechanical Systems. , 2009 .

[35]  John Sweller,et al.  Instructional animations can be superior to statics when learning human motor skills , 2009, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[36]  F. Bellezza.  Mnemonic Devices: Classification, Characteristics, and Criteria , 1981 .

[37]  Gayathri Haththotuwa Gamage,et al.  Perceptions of kanji learning strategies: Do they differ among Chinese character and alphabetic background learners? , 2003 .

[38]  Margaret H. Thomas,et al.  The Effect of Imagery‐Based Mnemonics on the Long‐Term Retention of Chinese Characters , 1992 .

[39]  Peter Gerjets,et al.  Realism in Dynamic, Static-Sequential, and Static-Simultaneous Visualizations during Knowledge Acquisition on Locomotion Patterns , 2009 .

[40]  J. Merriënboer,et al.  Research on cognitive load theory and its design implications for e-learning , 2005 .

[41]  W. Verwey,et al.  Detecting short periods of elevated workload: A comparison of nine workload assessment techniques , 1996 .

[42]  Michael J. Lawson,et al.  Learning and recall of foreign-language vocabulary: Effects of a keyword strategy for immediate and delayed recall , 1998 .