Learning From Text and Pictures

Learning with text and pictures (multimedia) constitutes one of the core areas of research on learning and instruction. Against the backdrop of the multistore model of memory, cognitive theories of multimedia learning focus on information processes during learning with multimedia, which are assumed to initially result in separate memory representations for text and pictures. The interplay between text and picture processing and its pivotal role for comprehension tends to be neglected. In the present paper we introduce findings from our laboratory that speak in favor of a stronger interdependence of text and picture processing during the construction of a mental model. On the basis of these findings, we describe educational implications of this research and provide empirical evidence for them. Finally, we discuss a theoretical perspective on multimedia learning, which is more strongly influenced by text-comprehension models than by memory theories.