How textual and picture cues influence motor skill learning in short instructional videos: Evidence from eye-tracking experiments

Three eye-tracking experiments were designed to determine the influence of textual and graphic cues on motor skill learning in short instructional videos. Experiment 1 (n = 45) manipulated the colour of picture cues (red arrows, white arrows, and without cue). Experiment 2 (n = 49) manipulated the position of textual cues (image adjacency, image distance, and without textual cues). Experiment 3 (n = 67) examined the effect of combined textual-picture cues and conducted a 2 (Picture Cue: red arrow vs. white arrow) x 2 (Text Cue: image adjacency, vs. image distance) between-subjects design. Results showed that adding picture cues and textual cues helped learners do better with knowledge tests, reduced cognitive load, and spent more time focusing on the instructional video. Moreover, providing both red arrows and text cues away from the image proved to be an effective combination that achieved better learning outcomes.