The influence of presentation format and subject complexity on learning from illustrated texts in biology

  • Authors:
  • Mareike Florax;Rolf Ploetzner

  • Affiliations:
  • University of Education, Freiburg, Germany;University of Education, Freiburg, Germany

  • Venue:
  • ICLS '10 Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of the Learning Sciences - Volume 1
  • Year:
  • 2010

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Abstract

In an experimental study, we investigated how learning from illustrated texts is influenced by presentation format (separated format, integrated format, and active integration) and subject complexity (low, medium and high complexity). Subject matter were biochemical processes of signal transmission in the human nervous system. A total of 180 students participated in the study. Results show that the active integration of texts and illustrations can improve the comprehension of highly complex material, whereas it can have inhibiting effects for less complex material. The results are discussed with respect to the process requirements associated with the different presentation formats.