About this Research Topic
This Volume consists of stage 2 complete manuscripts on the Role of Representational Competencies in Multimedia Learning and Learning with Multiple Representations. Please note that submissions to this collection are only open to authors featured in Volume I. Please see the first volume with stage 1 manuscripts here.
Representational competencies describe the ability to handle different types of disciplinary representations skillfully, i.e., to extract information from them, to switch between different types of representations, to generate them as well as to reason with their help. These abilities are argued to play a key role in education since learners are either given or expected to generate different types of external representations (e.g., text, pictures, or formulas). The use of multiple external representations, i.e., the combination of various types of representations for conveying information is called multimedia learning (mostly for text-picture combinations) or learning with multiple external representations.
Despite their high potential, the effects of such learning opportunities are not entirely conclusive: different types of representations offer specific advantages but also place high demands on representational competencies. It is assumed that a representational dilemma arises when learners are offered representations that are helpful and conceptually necessary, but they struggle with them due to their lack of representational competencies.
This Research Topic is dedicated to the differentiated exploration of the role of representational competencies in learning. Representational competencies have been found to be positively correlated with content knowledge. To explain this relationship, it is assumed firstly that representational competencies serve as a prerequisite for the acquisition of content knowledge and that, secondly, these two develop in mutual dependence. First evidence suggests that there may be gender differences in the strength of this relationship, suggesting gender-specific interventions.
Despite these initial intriguing findings coming exclusively from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math subjects, research on this topic is still in its infancy. Research from other subject groups or cross-disciplinary studies would be needed to replicate previous findings and to explore whether they generalize to other domains. Furthermore, only a few studies consider the individual facets of representational competencies, relevant learners’ prerequisites, and their effect on multi-representational learning. To enable a more refined view of the interplay between learning and representational competencies, research therefore needs to develop differentiated methods for assessing separate components of representational competencies. More research is also needed to explore whether the choice of representation types included in performance measurements affects performance on the test depending on learners' representational competencies. Finally, in all the vast research body on multimedia learning, there is not one example where representational competencies have been explicitly related to information processing during learning from text-picture combinations.
We welcome only registered reports to this Research Topic. Manuscripts may present a quantitative or qualitative novel primary study, replication study, systematic review, meta-analysis, or analysis of an existing data set. Should you require further information about Registered Reports, please consult the link below (to Frontiers article type)".
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology#article-types
Representational competencies describe the ability to handle different types of disciplinary representations skillfully, i.e., to extract information from them, to switch between different types of representations, to generate them as well as to reason with their help. These abilities are argued to play a key role in education since learners are either given or expected to generate different types of external representations (e.g., text, pictures, or formulas). The use of multiple external representations, i.e., the combination of various types of representations for conveying information is called multimedia learning (mostly for text-picture combinations) or learning with multiple external representations.
Despite their high potential, the effects of such learning opportunities are not entirely conclusive: different types of representations offer specific advantages but also place high demands on representational competencies. It is assumed that a representational dilemma arises when learners are offered representations that are helpful and conceptually necessary, but they struggle with them due to their lack of representational competencies.
This Research Topic is dedicated to the differentiated exploration of the role of representational competencies in learning. Representational competencies have been found to be positively correlated with content knowledge. To explain this relationship, it is assumed firstly that representational competencies serve as a prerequisite for the acquisition of content knowledge and that, secondly, these two develop in mutual dependence. First evidence suggests that there may be gender differences in the strength of this relationship, suggesting gender-specific interventions.
Despite these initial intriguing findings coming exclusively from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math subjects, research on this topic is still in its infancy. Research from other subject groups or cross-disciplinary studies would be needed to replicate previous findings and to explore whether they generalize to other domains. Furthermore, only a few studies consider the individual facets of representational competencies, relevant learners’ prerequisites, and their effect on multi-representational learning. To enable a more refined view of the interplay between learning and representational competencies, research therefore needs to develop differentiated methods for assessing separate components of representational competencies. More research is also needed to explore whether the choice of representation types included in performance measurements affects performance on the test depending on learners' representational competencies. Finally, in all the vast research body on multimedia learning, there is not one example where representational competencies have been explicitly related to information processing during learning from text-picture combinations.
We welcome only registered reports to this Research Topic. Manuscripts may present a quantitative or qualitative novel primary study, replication study, systematic review, meta-analysis, or analysis of an existing data set. Should you require further information about Registered Reports, please consult the link below (to Frontiers article type)".
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology#article-types
Keywords: Multiple Representations, Representational Competence, Multimedia Learning, Registered Report, Assessment, Volume II
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
