Coherence Analysis

Coherence Analysis

The coherence principle is a design theory that weeds out “clutter” in a lesson so that learners can focus on the important concepts.  In their chapter “Applying the Coherence Principle”, Clark and Mayer (2008) assert that the cool addition of videos, hyperlinks, visuals or extra text in online lessons is a detriment.  They refer to these potential distractions as “seductive details” (Clark and Mayer, p. 153). Background sound can “disrupt the cognitive system” and extraneous graphics can “interfere with the process of sense-making because learners only have so much cognitive capacity for the new material (Clark and Mayer, p. 161).

Ironically, one of the biggest violations of the coherence principle in our school comes during professional development sessions.  Although administrators might consider us experts, they often add extraneous information and attempt to amuse us by having little cartoon characters jump and make noises on every PowerPoint slide.  At a time of the year where teachers are easily overwhelmed by information, these cartoons and videos distract from the essentials that we are supposed to implement in our classrooms.  This leads to the “mental overload” (Clark and Mayer, p. 163) which inhibits cognitive processing according to several studies cited by the authors.   This overload comes from the “split-attention principle” where learners must pay attention to too many factors at once.   Although the coherence principle emphasizes that too much text on a PowerPoint is counterproductive, in these teacher sessions, each PowerPoint slide contains almost a paragraph of information paired with a graphic.

The coherence principle does not contradict the multimedia principle, which asserts that including both words and graphics leads to maximum learning.  The coherence principle just adds the limits to this principle: just as too many cooks spoil the soup, too many graphics and too many words spoil the e-learning.  Instead, the coherence principle works along the same lines as reducing fractions or mathematical expressions.  It keeps the key information but encourages educational designers to find the simplest forms for the words and graphics that still retain the essential information.  The coherence principle take3s the redundancy principle and explains it differently: instead of just asserting that visuals should be explained with either narration or text (but not both), it clarifies that this particular overstimulation applies to graphics, text, visuals, and audio.

                The coherence principle is essential for introducing new information.  In my mathematics classrooms, the most difficult information is the brand-new information that can seem overwhelming to students.  Keeping e-learning design clear and “coherent” works to keep learners focused.  The limitation of the coherence principle would be in the simulations that students engage in to personalize their learning (addressed by Clark and Mayer in Chapter 9). In mathematics, engaging students can be difficult even in face to face interactions, with the challenge being to help them see the relevance to their lives, especially when dealing with abstract concepts or geometric formulas.  Often these simulations include a wider array of information, links, graphics and even music.  But since these are meant to help students apply the information rather than process complex information for the first time, it does seem effective.  For example, , on my blog I have students in my standard Geometry class (ninth and tenth graders) calculate area.  But in order to show them that these formulas have real world applications, I have them first design their ideal bedroom.  They have to decide on the length of each of the walls.  Then, they choose a carpet from a local store.  The prompt on the blog uses second person and allows each student to choose his or her favorite carpet from the online selection.  These sections of my blog do not adhere strictly to the coherence principle, since they contain many links, visuals and examples to get students engaged.  Then, students use the geometric formula for area to calculate how much flooring they would need for this room and multiply to find their total price.  They finding the area, but doing so in such a way that the “transfer” to their own lives makes sense.  When students can apply a particular skill, or as Meyer terms it “problem solving transfer” (Mayer, p. 620), they then can use this skill in a variety of situations. 

Although the coherence principle applies to online learning, the creation of games and simulations (where more of an application of learning takes place) does not necessarily improve the experience.  Also, advanced learners do not show the same benefit from the coherence principle.   Thus, the coherence principle has limitations and areas for further study, but its emphasis on focus and simplicity can begin to transform e-learning immediately.  I know that in my classroom, my blogs and my Powerpoints will benefit most from this principle.  It will necessarily force me to focus on the big picture, on the core of each lesson and their accompanying skills.  Just as classrooms need a focus, online tools need a focus as well to hone in on what’s essential and keep the cognition right where it needs to be.

References

Clark, R.C., & Mayer, R.E. (2008) E-Learning and the Science of Instruction. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Mayer, R. E. (1999). Multimedia aids to problem-solving transfer. International Journal of Educational Research, 31(7), 611-623.

Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). A learner-centered approach to multimedia explanations: Deriving instructional design principles from cognitive theory. Interactive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer-Enhanced Learning, 2(2), 2004-07. Retrieved July 17 fromhttp://imej.wfu.edu/articles/2000/2/05/index.asp