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Role of Image and Cognitive Load in Anatomical Multimedia

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Teaching Anatomy

Abstract

Visualizations are an important part of anatomical education and appear in all software on the market. Not all visualization methods are the methods utilized by educators can covertly and significantly impact student learning and stratify the class based on learner abilities that are not directly related to anatomical comprehension. Often, the proposed mechanism for good, bad, or ugly visualizations is on aesthetics, rather than the cognitive load imparted on the learner. The appropriate use of multimedia principles that include using pictures, images, and visualizations in general will positively influence student attention and learning. This chapter outlines components of multimedia learning as it pertains to the use of visualizations in lectures and in online scenarios. Illustrations and research demonstrating how cognitive load can be manipulated to a pedagogic advantage are presented. Approaches and suggestions on how educators might modify their current materials and practice using visualizations are proposed that will positively affect learning through cognitive load reduction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, CRIPT - Corps for Research of Instructional and Perceptual Technologies, Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Timothy D. Wilson PhD

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  1. Timothy D. Wilson PhD
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Correspondence to Timothy D. Wilson PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Lap Ki Chan

  2. Department of Anatomy, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Wojciech Pawlina

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Wilson, T.D. (2015). Role of Image and Cognitive Load in Anatomical Multimedia. In: Chan, L., Pawlina, W. (eds) Teaching Anatomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08930-0_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08930-0_27

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08929-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08930-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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