Dual Coding
Simply put, dual coding is the practice of presenting material both in words (verbally or written) and images. Presenting material in both modalities helps with remembering and retrieving the information later.
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Why does it work?
Researchers believe the reason dual coding is impactful for learning is because it creates 2 neural pathways to retaining the information - one that is verbal and one that is visual.
Verbal information tends to be learned in a synchronous (all together) manner; the order in which we learn it does not matter. Verbal information tends to be learned sequentially, but often conveys deeper information with more details.
By combining the two, we increase chances of effectively remembering the information, both through the immediacy of a visual and the details - elaboration - that comes with the verbal explanation.
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How can I use it in teaching?
There are multiple ways to take advantage of dual coding:
- When using slides, limit words and rely on images as your cue. (Having lots of words on the slide that compete with - or repeat - what you are saying actually detracts from learning)
- On documents you hand out to students - about course content or even instructions about an assignment or your syllabus - represent sections with an apt icon or photo.
Active Learning Methods for Students to Use:
- Pause during class and have students locate or draw an image or icon that represents the concept(s) you've been learning about. To extend this activity, have them share with partners or small groups, and discuss why they selected the image they selected.
- Provide students with random images cards* and have them find one that best represents a class concept - and share their reasoning
for their selection with a few others.
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- Don't have random image cards? Create a slide with 4-6 random images, numbered, and have students choose from among those
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- As an alternative twist, simply hand students a random image card (randomly!) and, in groups, have them discuss how it relates to the concept the class is learning.
- Assign an infographic students make about a concept or process you are learning in class: Require a blend of explanatory (but brief/summarized) text with representative images.
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What does the research show?
Dual coding is a much better explanation than "learning styles" for why we should teach with both words and images. In a study comparing the reasoning behind both learning approaches, dual coding demonstrated efficacy while learning styles claims were (once again) not supported (Cuevas & Dawson, 2018; summary of the research here.)
Generating images while learning improves recall better than other types of verbal processing, such as identifying synonyms (as reviewed in Clark & Paivio, 1991).
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