RESEARCHER FIELD NOTES

The Richard Mayer Lens

Multimedia Learning

Use This Tool

Look at how words, images, media, and structure are presented. Use the field notes below to help you identify places where the presentation may compete with learning, consider what evidence could confirm the friction, and make an evidence-informed design decision using principles such as coherence, signaling, and segmenting.

Mayer Researcher Field Notes

Use these field notes as a quick reference during the workshop activities.

Researcher Field Notes

Mayer field notes summarize multimedia design research principles including coherence, signaling, and segmenting.

Mayer field notes applying multimedia principles to learner evidence, design decisions, and continuous improvement.

Quick Reminder

Good multimedia design is not about making a course look plain or eliminating everything interesting. The goal is to make sure that each element supports the learning purpose and helps direct attention to what matters.

References and Attributions

Mayer, R. E. (2020). Multimedia learning (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316941355

Sung, E., & Mayer, R. E. (2012). Affective impact of navigational and signaling aids to e-learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(2), 473–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.10.019

Visual attribution: Researcher Field Notes graphics were developed for the Design for Humans workshop.