To Watch or to Listen? Learning About Science in Different Modalities

• In Event: Children's active learning of science

Abstract

Media is a learning context children frequently encounter (Ribner et al., 2021). Much research shows that children learn through multimedia (e.g., videos) and unimodal media (e.g., books and podcasts). However, how modality affects children’s ability to transfer information (i.e., when learning in one context affects learning in another) is understudied (Thorndike & Woodworth, 1901; Gick & Holyoak, 1980).

Theories such as the Multimedia Learning Theory (Mayer, 1997) posit that multimedia is best for learning because learners use a verbally-based model and a visually-based model. These models work together to select, organize, and integrate to-be-learned information. However, prior research shows that visuals can constrain children to a specific context that hinders their ability to transfer learned information to a new context (Ganea et al., 2011; Sloutsky & Fisher, 2004; Kaminski & Sloutsky, 2013). In these studies, children are distracted by visuals and struggle to abstract the category-based information that enables generalization. Rather, they focus on specific details of an image, consequently hindering their ability to transfer (Vlach & Kalish, 2014).

The current study aimed to examine the effects of modality (i.e., podcast-only and podcast plus images) on children’s learning and transfer of science information. We hypothesized that children in the podcast-only condition of the study would show greater evidence of transfer.

Seven- and eight-year-olds listened to a podcast or listened to a podcast while viewing images about the water cycle. Children were recruited via a birth records database and Children Helping Science. Participants were randomly assigned to a podcast-only condition in which they listened to an 11-minute podcast about the water cycle while looking at a blank screen or a podcast plus images condition in which they listened to the podcast and watched a slideshow of hand-drawn images that matched the audio content. Children were then asked to rate their engagement with the podcast using an adapted version of the Engagement in Science Learning Activities instrument (Chung et al., 2016). Finally, children were asked to answer a 10-item test that included five questions that assessed recall (questions in which the answers were directly stated in the podcast) and five questions that assessed transfer (questions that require children to apply concepts from the podcast to new scenarios) of the topic. Parents additionally completed a podcast listening habits questionnaire.

Children reported high engagement ratings overall, and parents reported that children had little prior knowledge with the water cycle. Using linear mixed effects regression, preliminary results show a significant main effect of question type (p = .02): children score higher on the transfer questions than recall questions regardless of condition. Preliminary results also indicate higher transfer scores in the podcast plus images condition. With the push for incorporating podcasts into the classroom (Brady-Myerov, 2021), this research is a step toward supporting educators’ efforts in effectively using podcasts in the classroom that would support their students’ learning outcomes.

Authors

• Emily Neer, University of California - Los Angeles
  Presenting Author

• Catherine Sandhofer, University of California - Los Angeles