Instructor-managed physical integration of mutually dependent, but spatially separated materials, is an effective way to overcome negative effects of split-attention on learning. This study examined whether teaching students to self-manage split-attention materials would be effective for learning. Seventy-eight primary-school students learned about the water cycle, either by studying split-attention examples, integrated examples or self-managed split-attention examples. It was hypothesised that students who study instructor-integrated materials and students who study self-integrated materials would outperform students who study split-attention materials. The results showed that students learned more from instructor-integrated materials than from split-attention materials, thereby confirming the split-attention effect. The implications for future research on self-management are discussed.

doi.org/10.1002/acp.3159, hdl.handle.net/1765/88220
Applied Cognitive Psychology
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Gordon, C., Tindall-Ford, S., Agostinho, S., & Paas, F. (2016). Learning from Instructor-managed and Self-managed Split-attention Materials. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30(1), 1–9. doi:10.1002/acp.3159