e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning

3.5. Evidence for Using Words and Pictures

There is consistent evidence that people learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone, at least for some simple instructional situations. In eleven different studies, researchers compared the test performance of students who learned from animation and narration versus narration alone or from text and illustrations versus text alone (Mayer, 1989b; Mayer & Anderson, 1991, 1992; Mayer, Bove, Bryman, Mars, & Tapangco, 1996; Mayer & Gallini, 1990; Moreno & Mayer, 1999b, 2002b). The lessons taught scientific and mechanical processes, including how lightning works, how a car's braking system works, how pumps work, and how electrical generators work. For example, in one study students read ...