Graphics for Learning: Proven Guidelines for Planning, Designing, and Evaluating Visuals in Training Materials

INTRODUCTION: GETTING THE MOST FROM THIS RESOURCE

The Lost Potential of Instructional Visuals

More often than not, the potential of visuals to increase learning and improve work performance is unrealized. Some training materials are a wall of words, where visuals are almost nonexistent (Figure I.1). At the other extreme, some e-learning lessons wrap instructional content in visually rich thematic edutainment treatments (Figure I.2) to improve motivation. Both of these options defeat learning. Alternatively, many instructional materials, in print and on computers, add visuals for merely decorative purposes (Figure I.3). Although decorative visuals may not depress learning, they do not promote it either. When we settle for a decorative graphic, we ...