"A picture is worth a thousands words." Actually, research hasn't established a number, but most people accept the saying as metaphor rather than measurement. Many educators, however, accept the accuracy of the frequently cited "cone of knowledge."

        We remember....

• 10% of what we read
• 20% of what we hear
• 30% of what we see
• 50% of what we see and hear
• 70% of what we say
• 90% of what we say and do

In fact, the cone is completely unsubstantiated. Multimodal Learning Through Media: What the Research Says debunks this myth and provides a brief tour of what is actually known about combining reading, hearing, seeing, saying and doing. A history of the compelling graphic also reveals that its creator, Edgar Dale, never assigned percentages. He was simply creating a visual prop to explain increasing levels of abstraction. The papers overview of neuroscience and cognitive science research concludes:

The reality is that the most effective designs for learning adapt to include a variety of media, combinations of modalities, levels of interactivity, learner characteristics, and pedagogy based on a complex set of circumstances.

In general, multimodal learning has been shown to be more effective than traditional, unimodal learning. Adding visuals to verbal (text and/or auditory) learning can result in significant gains in basic and higher-order learning. The meta-analytic findings in this report provide insights into when interactivity augments multimodal learning of moderately to complex topics, and when it is advantageous for students to work individually when learning or building automaticity with basic skills.

Written by Metiri Group and commissioned by Cisco, this report is the third in a series that addresses "what the research says."  Their "Technology in Schools" report and "Education and Economic Growth" preceded this report.

Source: Multimodal Learning Through Media: What the Research Says