A Split-Attention Effect in Multimedia Learning: Evidence for Dual Processing Systems in Working Memory

Students viewed a computer-generated animation depicting the process of lightning formation (Experiment 1) or the operation of a car's braking system (Experiment 2). In each experiment, students received either concurrent narration describing the major steps (Group AN) or concurrent on-screen text involving the same words and presentation timing (Group AT). Across both experiments, students in Group AN outperformed students in Group AT in recalling the steps in the process on a retention test, in finding named elements in an illustration on a matching test, and in generating correct solutions to problems on a transfer test. Multimedia learners can integrate words and pictures more easily when the words are presented auditorily rather than visually. This split-attention effect is consistent with a dual-processing model of working memory consisting of separate visual and auditory channels.