Learning with more than two external representations in STEM has advantageous effects on students' cognitive load and performance compared to learning with two representations.¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr?·q4·i1small
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q4 i1 Learning with more than two representations has an advantageous effect on cognitive load (Hedges' g = 0.324) compared to learning with two representations. → Rexigel 2024
q4 i0 Learning with more than two representations has a small advantageous effect on performance (Hedges' g = 0.118) compared to learning with two representations. → Rexigel 2024
Evidence¶
Rexigel 2024¶
Rexigel, E., Kuhn, J., Becker, S., & Malone, S. (2024). The More the Better? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Benefits of More than Two External Representations in STEM Education. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09958-y
q4 · i1 · quant-synthesis · r?
The article's preregistered meta-analysis pooled 132 effect sizes from studies comparing learning with more than two external representations to two or fewer, reporting "advantageous effects on students cognitive load" with Hedges' g = 0.324, p < .001, and on performance with Hedges' g = 0.118, p < .001.
"A subsequent meta-analysis revealed that the learning with more than two representations in STEM can have advantageous effects on students cognitive load ( Hedges g = 0.324,p < .001, 95% CI [0.164, 0.484] ) and performance ( Hedges g = 0.118, p < .001, 95% CI [0.050, 0.185] ) compared to learning with two representations"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Benefits of learning with more than two external representations primarily depend on the provision of appropriate instructional support. — related
- Learning with more than two external representations shows no notable differences in learning time compared to learning with two representations. — related
- Both cognitive offloading and the transient information effect reduce extraneous cognitive load by making information more accessible or less transient — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
more-than-two-representations-benefit-load-and-performance |
title |
Learning with more than two external representations in STEM has advantageous effects on students' cognitive load and performance compared to learning with two representations. |
description |
Learning with more than two external representations in STEM has advantageous effects on students' cognitive load and performance compared to learning with two representations. |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2024 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-22 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — rexigel-2024 |
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