LEARNING BY VIEWING VERSUS LEARNING

BY DOING: EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINES

FOR PRINCIPLED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Ruth Colvin Clark Richard E. Mayer

A learner-centered approach is a central feature of instruction based on a constructivist learning

model. However, there is some confusion regarding the requirement for behavioral activity as a
prerequisite for a learner-centered environment. We offer evidence in this article that some
types of behavioral activity can interfere with cognitive learning processes. We recommend that
instructional professionals focus on cognitive activity and summarize evidence-based methods
that support appropriate cognitive activity in behaviorally passive and active learning
environments.

FROM THE SAGE on the stage to the guide on the side

has been the mantra for instructional environments that
emphasize behavioral activity as a prerequisite to effective learning. Terms such as page-turner, passive learning
environments, and didactic carry negative connotations
as being less effective compared to active learning environments such as games, collaborative learning, and
immersive simulations.
What do you think about active and passive learning
environments? Take our pretest in Exhibit 1 before you
read this article.
Our message here is a simple one: physical activity
does not equate to mental activity, and it is mental, not
behavioral, activity that leads to learning. Specifically,
engaging in online games, immersive simulations, or various forms of collaborative learning is not a guarantee of
learning. Conversely, more passive environments, including text readings or lectures, do not preclude learning.
Instead, it is the learners cognitive processing that leads
to learning. What evidence do we have for our thesis?
What are the features of any learning environment that
support appropriate mental activity? These are the questions we address in this article.

HOW PEOPLE LEARN

The way we learn is constrained by our memory system.
We have a limited capacity active processor, called work-

ing memory, and a large capacity repository of knowledge

and skills, called long-term memory. Mayer (2005) and
Clark and Mayer (2008) summarize three basic psychological principles associated with our memory system
that underpin learning:
Dual coding principle: Learners have separate learning
channels for words and visuals.
Limited capacity principle: Learners can process only a
limited amount of information in working memory at
any one time.
Active learning principle: Learning occurs when learners engage in appropriate cognitive processing during
learning.
Mayer (2005) summarizes the following processes that
underlie learning:
Selecting refers to attending to relevant aspects of the
information coming into our cognitive system through
our eyes and ears. Learners are able to focus on a limited subset of the environment from the large amount
of information available at any one time. Selection of
relevant information ensures that the learner focuses
on important training content needed to build new
knowledge and skills.
Organizing refers to the active process of organizing
words and pictures entering the senses from the learning environment into a coherent mental representation.

Performance Improvement, vol. 47, no. 9, October 2008

International Society for Performance Improvement
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/pfi.20028
2008

EXHIBIT 1

VIEWING VERSUS DOING PRETEST

Directions: Mark each statement as true or false.

1. Effective lessons incorporate frequent opportunities for learners to behaviorally interact with the content.

2. Games and simulations generally lead to better learning than page-turner e-learning lessons.

3. Animations are more effective for learning how things work than a series of still graphics.

4. Learning from text is generally better when students create their own content organizers than when content organizers are
provided by the author.

5. The more practice, the better the learning.

6. Adding a relevant visual to text will improve learning.

Integrating refers to the coordination of words and

pictures with one another and with prior knowledge
from long-term memory.
Whether training is delivered through an instructor,
workbook, or computer, all effective instructional environments must accommodate and support these fundamental processes. For example, adding a relevant visual to
a textual instructional message can improve learning as a
result of dual encoding. In contrast, adding an interesting
but irrelevant visual may depress learning because it
interferes with selection of relevant information, as well
as with the integration needed to build a coherent new
mental model. The goal of instructional professionals is
to select instructional methods proven to support these
psychological learning processes.
Cognitive load theory, originated by John Sweller
(2005), is a contemporary comprehensive instructional
theory that explains the effectiveness of various instructional methods in terms of how they succeed or fail to
accommodate the limited capacity of working memory.
Specifically, Mayer (2005) describes three types of cognitive processing that can contribute to cognitive load:
Extraneous cognitive processing comes from imposing
content or work on working memory that is irrelevant
to the learning objective. For example, irrelevant visuals can take up limited processing resources and hence
depress learning. Instructional methods that require
extraneous cognitive processing during learning
should be minimized.

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Essential cognitive processing originates from the

complexity of the instructional content and learning
goals. Although essential cognitive processing is tied to
content, it can be managed. For example, an instructor
can divide large content repositories into small lesson
segments.
Generative cognitive processing occurs when a learner
engages in deep processing in working memory in
service of the learning goal, such as organizing the
material and integrating it with prior knowledge. For
example, an effective practice exercise can foster generative processing.
Overall, instructional methods should be used that
minimize extraneous load and manage essential load
freeing working memory capacity for generative load.

EMBRACING EVIDENCE-BASED
INSTRUCTION
Trends and folk wisdom have served as the main source of
instructional strategies for many years. However, we are
seeing a shift to evidence-based practice. For example,
Educause includes the following among its top 10 priorities for 2008 (Campbell & Oblinger, 2007):
1. Establish and support a culture of evidence.
2. Demonstrate improvement of learning.
3. Translate learning research into practice.

We recommend that instructional professionals

responsible for effective learning integrate best practice
research data into their design and development decisions. Although there are many sources of evidence,
experimental evidence is our preferred resource for determining which instructional methods are more effective
than others. The amount of experimental evidence to
guide practitioner decisions has been growing in the past
25 years, so that today we have an extensive body of data
from which to make instructional recommendations.
Some resources that summarize this research follow:
Clark, R.C. (in press). Building expertise (3rd ed). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
Clark, R.C., & Kwinn, A. (2007). The new virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
Clark, R.C., & Mayer, R.E. (2008). E-learning and the
science of instruction (2nd ed). San Francisco: JosseyBass/Pfeiffer.
Mayer, R.E. (2004). Should there be a three-strikes rule
against pure discovery learning? The case for guided
methods of instruction. American Psychologist, 59(1),
1419.
Mayer, R.E. (Ed.). (2005). The Cambridge handbook
of multimedia learning. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Mayer, R.E. (2008). Learning and instruction (2nd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Mayer, R.E. (in press). Multimedia learning (2nd ed).
New York: Cambridge University Press.

WHEN VIEWING IS BETTER THAN

DOING
Contrary to the popular idea that learning demands
behavioral activity and that lectures and page-turner
e-learning are ineffective, we summarize experimental
evidence from studies in which viewing leads to as good
or even better learning than doing:
When examples are more effective than practice.
When author-provided graphics are better than
learner-generated graphics.
When learning from a lecture is as effective as learning
from collaborative discussions.
When still visuals are better than animations.

Does Practice Make Perfect?

Today many instructional professionals assume that effective learning requires frequent behavioral responses, such
as responding to online questions, participating in group
collaboration, or engaging in immersive simulations. For
example, basic skill lessons focused on mathematics or
technical skills (e.g., spreadsheet or database construction)
traditionally include many practice problems. However,
completing practice exercises imposes considerable mental workwork that can often take up so much working
memory that there is little left over for the selecting,
organizing, and integrating processes essential to learning.
In the mid-1980s, research psychologists found that
learning was faster and better when some practice problems were replaced by worked-out examples that demonstrated the lesson skills. Sweller and Cooper (1985) found
that test errors were cut in half when 12 math practice
problems were replaced by 6 worked-out examples, each
followed by practice.
Many experiments showing the benefits of examples to
replace some practice are the basis of our first viewingversus-doing principle: Include a combination of examples
and practice exercises rather than all practice. For example,
in a lesson on how to use Excel formulas, include an example showing the steps to construct and enter a formula,
followed by practice in which the learner must construct
and enter a formula. When the learner is viewing an example, working memory is free to build a new mental model
of the skill. Then the learner can try out the new mental
model in a practice problem.

Should Learners Provide Their Own Graphic

Aids?
Suppose you were designing a lesson that presented a
number of related concepts. To help learners organize this
new knowledge, you could present an occasional graphic
organizer, such as the one shown in Figure 1. Alternatively, you could engage the learner by providing an
organizer template and asking the learner to write the
correct labels into it. Stull and Mayer (2007) provided
learners with a text passage from a biology textbook in
which graphic organizers were either provided by the
author or readers filled in the words themselves. Three
experiments used varying numbers of graphic organizers
for a 1,133-word text ranging from 27 organizers in the
most complex lesson to 10 in the least complex lesson.
As expected, in all three experiments, learning times
were greatest among those who had to generate their own
organizers. Did this investment in active learning pay off?
In fact, learning was best in all three experiments among
those who reviewed author-provided graphic organizers.

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To illustrate how things

work, a series of still visuals
is likely to lead to as good or
better understanding of the
process than animations.
FIGURE 1. A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

The research team concluded, We found no support for

the general proposition that learning by doing will always
lead to deeper learning than learning by viewing, even
though interest in discovery-based methods is still
intense (Stull & Mayer, 2007, p. 817).
The results from these comparisons of author-provided
with learner-generated graphic organizers are the basis for
our second viewing-versus-doing principle: Include
graphic organizers in your instructional materials that will
help learners understand the relationships among topics in
your content.

Are Discussions Better Than Lectures?

Collaborative learning environments that use various types
of synchronous or asynchronous work among class participants represent one popular approach to active learning.
Yet research has not found benefits for collaborative learning in all situations. For example, Haidet, Morgan,
OMalley, Moran, and Richards (2004) compared immediate and delayed learning gains (pre- to posttest) among
medical residents from instruction on the effective use of
diagnostic tests. One group of residents attended a onehour lecture, and the other engaged in group discussions of
relevant clinical problems followed by an instructor case
resolution that incorporated the same information as the
lecture group. Both groups had significant gains in knowledge, immediately after the class and a month later.
However, gains were equal in both groups: there were no
statistically significant learning advantages for those in the
active discussion group. In addition, learners in the active
session gave lower ratings of the value and effectiveness of
active sessions than those in the lecture version. These data
are the basis for our third viewing-versus-doing principle:
Learning can be as effective from a didactic lecture environment as from a collaborative active environment.

Are Animations Better Than Still Visuals?

Imagine that you wanted to learn how a toilet tank
flushes. You could review a series of still visuals explained

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by text or an animation explained by audio narration.

From PowerPoint to Captivate to Flash, modern multimedia development tools make animations relatively easy
to produce. It seems intuitive to use an animation to display how something works, such as how a toilet flushes or
how equipment functions. What evidence do we have
about the teaching effectiveness of animated versus still
visuals?
Mayer, Hegarty, Mayer, and Campbell (2005) summarized four experiments that compared learning from a
computerized animated display to learning from a series
of still visuals presented in print media. The lessons
focused on teaching how toilet tanks work, how lightning
develops, how ocean waves work, and how a cars braking system works. After viewing the lesson, learners took
problem-solving tests that required them to apply their
understanding of how the equipment worked. For example, in the toilet tank lesson, learners were asked,
Suppose you push down on the handle of the toilet tank
but water does not flush into the toilet bowl. Explain all
of the possible things that could be wrong. As you can
see in Figure 2, the still visuals presented on paper
resulted in better learning than the animated version in
all cases. In the lightning and toilet lessons, the differences were statistically significant. Here we see a paradox
in which a more passive medium (print with still visuals)
led to deeper learning than a more active medium (computer with animation). The research team concludes,
Animation may be entertaining, but these experiments
offer no reason to conclude that animation inherently
provides more educational value than static diagrams.
Instead, a well-designed series of still frames can be as
good or better than animation (p. 264).
Why would static animations lead to deeper learning?
Possibly because the amount of visual and auditory information that a learner must absorb in an animated lesson
exceeds working memory capacity to select, organize, and
integrate the critical information. In addition, learners
who are viewing a series of still visuals may mentally animate the pictures themselves. Thus, they may be experiencing greater psychological engagement with a more

promote cognitive activity during learning while involving

overt behavioral activity, or use implicit instructional
methods that promote mental processes in the absence of
behavioral activity.

Build Principled Presentations

Source. Based on data from Mayer, Hegarty, Mayer, and Campbell, 2005.

FIGURE 2. TRANSFER LEARNING GAINS FROM

ANIMATED VERSUS STILL GRAPHICS

passive medium (print) compared to one that does all of

the work for them (computer).
Nevertheless, do not conclude that animations are
never effective. Their effectiveness may depend on the
type of content being displayed or how the animation is
designed. For example, an animation that uses cues to
direct learner attention to important elements as well as
incorporates pause and replay functionality may result in
better learning. We need additional research to determine
the main conditions under which animations are effective. For now, assuming that a more active display such as
an animation is always more effective than a more traditional text display is a flawed conclusion. The improved
learning outcomes resulting from a series of static visuals
are the basis for our fourth viewing-versus-doing principle: To illustrate how things work, a series of still visuals is
likely to lead to as good or better understanding of the
process than animations.

The upper-left corner of Figure 3 refers to instructional

presentations that promote mental processing in the
absence of behavioral learner responses. For example,
previously we determined that including worked examples that learners can study and use as the basis for mental models will improve learning more than using lessons
that include all practice. Similarly, a well-designed lecture
can lead to as much learning as discussion groups. When
preparing materials for presentations, we recommend
embedding instructional methods proven to support the
processes of attention, organizing, and integrating. Over
15 years, Mayer (2005, in press) has derived a series of
multimedia principles proven to enhance learning.
Applying the guidelines summarized in Table 1 results in
principled presentations.
To apply these principles, begin by incorporating relevant visuals that help learners build deeper mental models
through dual encoding. Explain complex visuals with
instructor narration rather than with text to reduce essential load on the visual channel of working memory.
However, when audio narration is not feasible, place
explanatory text nearby relevant parts of the visual to minimize extraneous load. Visuals, audio, and extra words that
are not relevant to the learning objective can impose extraneous load and should be avoided. Words, in either audio
or text format, should reflect a conversational tone to promote deeper learning.
Figure 4 shows a PowerPoint slide from a lesson on
constructing databases that applies these principles. It
incorporates a visual that is explained by an on-screen

MENTAL VERSUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

We use the four research studies just examined to support
our claim that physical activity per se is not a prerequisite
for learning. Instead, learning requires appropriate mental
processing that includes selecting the important elements
of a learning display, organizing the words and visuals into
a coherent message, and integrating the new instructional
content with existing knowledge in long-term memory to
result in a deeper understanding. Figure 3 summarizes our
activity grid. Instructional professionals must create
instructional environments that promote high levels of
psychological activity congruent with the learning objectives. They can use explicit instructional methods that

FIGURE 3. THE ACTIVITY GRID

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TABLE 1

MAYERS MULTIMEDIA PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLE

WHEN LEARNING IS BETTER

Multimedia

Instruction includes relevant visuals and words rather than words alone.

Contiguity

Text is aligned in close proximity to visuals.

Modality

Complex visuals are explained by audio rather than by text.

Redundancy

Complex visuals are explained by audio or by text rather than by both text and audio that narrates the text.

Coherence

Extraneous visuals, words, and sounds are omitted.

Personalization

Learners are socially engaged through conversational language and on-screen learning agents.

Pretraining

Key concepts are explained prior to the full process or task associated with the concepts.

Segmenting

Content is presented in short sequences over which the learner controls the rate of access.

Source. Clark and Mayer, 2008.

FIGURE 4. A PRINCIPLED POWERPOINT SLIDE

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agent narration using a conversational tone. To support

attention, the visual is signaled with an arrow and circle.
Whether this slide is used in a face-to-face classroom, an
online virtual classroom, or an asynchronous digital lesson, learning should be better than from a slide that lacks
a visual or uses an irrelevant visual explained with text or
with audio and redundant text.

Build Principled Behavioral Interactions

We do not advocate abandoning active learner participation during instruction! The upper right corner of Figure
3 represents instructional methods that foster both high
behavioral activity and high psychological activity during
learning. There is ample evidence that behavioral activity
can lead to appropriate cognitive processing during learning provided that such activity applies evidence-based
guidelines summarized in Table 2.
In brief, behavioral activities should require learners to
engage in mental processes that are congruent with the
learning outcomes in ways that do not overload working
memory with extraneous work. For example, in spite of
continued enthusiasm for discovery learning environments such as some types of immersive learning simulations, instructional events that fail to offer sufficient
guidance have a long history of documented failure
(Mayer, 2004). Similarly, a quiz show or rapid-response
game can elicit a great deal of behavioral activity but be
counterproductive to learning objectives that benefit
from conceptual understanding and reflection.
Second, to aid retrieval of new knowledge, behavioral
activities should require learners to respond in ways that
are congruent with the transfer environment. Activities

TABLE 2

that ask learners to parrot content out of application

context are unlikely to promote transfer of learning
beyond the instructional setting.
Third, distributing practice exercises throughout a
learning event is proven to lead to significantly better
long-term retention. For example, if a lesson has 12 practice exercises, long-term learning will be better if the 12
exercises are distributed within the lesson and among lessons to follow rather than all in one place.
Finally, explanatory feedback to learner responses
leads to better learning than merely telling learners that
their response is correct or incorrect (Moreno, 2004;
Moreno & Mayer, 2005).
Figure 5 shows an online practice exercise from a lesson on constructing databases. This interaction is application focused: it requires the learner to apply the concept
of records to a scenario and offers explanatory feedback.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Learning depends on appropriate psychological activity,
not behavioral activity. Instructional environments,
whether they are behaviorally active or passive, benefit
from incorporating evidence-based methods to promote
productive mental activity during learning. It does not
make sense to categorize traditionally passive environments such as texts and lectures as ineffective. Conversely,
high-engagement environments such as multimedia
simulations are not inherently effective. Instructional
professionals must look beneath the surface of any learning environment and embed proven principles that lead
to productive psychological engagement.

EVIDENCE-BASED METHODS FOR BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT

PRINCIPLE

SUMMARY

Minimize extraneous work

Avoid behavioral engagement that adds irrelevant mental load that conflicts with the learning
objectives. For example, avoid discovery environments that waste mental resources.

Mirror the application environment

Develop behavioral engagement strategies that incorporate the physical and psychological context of
the application environment. For workforce learning, engagement should reflect the context of the job.

Distribute exercises

The same number of practice exercises distributed within and among lessons will lead to better longterm retention than when the exercises are located in a single time and place in the lesson.

Offer explanatory feedback

Provide tailored explanations for all correct and incorrect answers.

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Source. Clark and Mayer, 2008.

FIGURE 5. A PRINCIPLED BEHAVIORAL ACTIVITY

REVISITING THE PRETEST

Here are our answers to the pretest in Exhibit 1:
1. Effective lessons incorporate frequent opportunities
for learners to behaviorally interact with the content.
False. We have seen that behavioral activity does not
necessarily translate into psychological activity, and it
is appropriate psychological activity that leads to
learning.
2. Games and simulations generally lead to better learning than page-turner e-learning lessons.
False. There is ample reason to believe that games and
simulations can provide powerful learning environments. However, they may or may not lead to better
learning than a traditional lesson depending on how
effectively they support the core psychological processes underlying learning.
3. Animations are more effective for learning how things
work than a series of still graphics.
False. So far, we lack evidence that animations are better than still visuals for learning processes. In fact, animations may overload working memory with too much
visual and auditory information presented too quickly
to allow adequate processing in working memory.

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4. Learning from text is generally better when students

create their own content organizers than when content
organizers are provided by the author.
False. Learners benefit when the content author presents graphic organizers. Graphic organizers provide cognitive aids that can help learners process new content.
Asking learners to generate their own organizers can
impose extraneous load that interferes with learning.
5. The more practice, the better the learning.
False. Learning is more efficient when worked-out
examples are interspersed with practice assignments.
When learners view a worked-out example, working
memory resources can be fully dedicated to processing
the content. In contrast, when they are solving problem after problem, their working memory resources
are absorbed by the amount of work required.
6. Adding a relevant visual to text will improve learning.
True. Incorporating relevant visuals into lessons
applies the multimedia principle and improves learning through dual encoding.
Whether instruction takes place in a classroom or
online or in a text reading, learning is strengthened by
principled presentations that promote active psychological processes during learning.

References
Campbell, J.P., & Oblinger, D.G. (2007). Top-ten teaching and
learning issues, 2007. Educause Quarterly, 30(3), 1522.
Clark, R.C., & Mayer, R.E. (2008). E-learning and the science of
instruction (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
Haidet, P., Morgan, R.O., OMalley, K., Moran, B.J., &
Richards, B.F. (2004). A controlled trial of active versus passive
learning strategies in a large group setting. Advances in Health
Sciences Education, 9, 1527.
Mayer, R.E. (2004). Should there be a three-strikes rule against
pure discovery learning: The case for guided methods of
instruction. American Psychologist, 59(1), 1419.
Mayer, R.E. (Ed.). (2005). The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, R.E. (in press). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, R.E., Hegarty, M., Mayer, S., & Campbell, J. (2005).
When static media promote active learning: Annotated illustrations versus narrated animations in multimedia instruction.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11, 256265.

Moreno, R. (2004). Decreasing cognitive load for novice

students: Effects of explanatory versus corrective feedback
in discovery-based multimedia. Instructional Science, 32,
99113.
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R.E. (2005). Role of guidance, reflection,
and interactivity in an agent-based multimedia game. Journal
of Educational Psychology, 97(1), 117128.
Stull, A.T., & Mayer, R.E. (2007). Learning by doing versus
learning by viewing: Three experimental comparisons of
learner-generated versus author-provided graphic organizers.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(4), 808820.
Sweller, J. (2005). Implications of cognitive load theory for
multimedia learning. In R.E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge
handbook of multimedia learning (pp. 1930). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Sweller, J., & Cooper, G.A. (1985). The use of worked examples
as a substitute for problem solving in learning algebra.
Cognition and Instruction, 2, 5989.

RUTH COLVIN CLARK has helped workforce learning practitioners apply evidence-based training
guidelines to the design and development of classroom and e-learning instruction for over 25 years.
She has developed a number of seminars and written or coauthored six books that translate important research programs into practical training guidance, including e-Learning and the Science of
Instruction, Efficiency in Learning, and The New Virtual Classroom. She completed her doctorate in
instructional psychology/educational technology at the University of Southern California. She is a
past president of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) and a member of the
American Educational Research Association. She was honored with the 2006 Thomas F. Gilbert
Distinguished Professional Achievement Award by the ISPI and was a Training Legend Speaker at the
ASTD 2007 International Conference. She may be reached at Ruth@Clarktraining.com.
RICHARD E. MAYER is professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where
he has served since 1975. His research interests are in educational psychology, with a focus on learning, instruction, and technology. He is vice president for Division C (Learning and Instruction) of the
American Educational Research Association, past president of the Division of Educational Psychology
of the American Psychological Association, and recipient of the E. L. Thorndike Award for career
achievement in educational psychology. In 2008 he received the American Psychological
Associations Distinguished Contributions of Applications of Psychology to Education and Training
Award, and in 2004 he was ranked number one as the most productive educational psychologist by
Contemporary Educational Psychology. He has written 23 books and more than 250 articles and
chapters, including Multimedia Learning (2001, in press), Learning and Instruction (2003, 2008),
e-Learning and the Science of Instruction (with R. Clark, 2003, 2008), and The Cambridge Handbook
of Multimedia Learning (editor, 2005). He may be reached at mayer@psych.uscb.edu.

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