I must admit that, for me, the jury is still out on dual coding.
The Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) Cognitive Science Approaches in the Classroom evidence review published in 2021 notes that, while there are studies demonstrating positive impacts for pupils, there are others that show null or even negative impacts, too.
Put simply, dual coding means presenting verbal information alongside visual representations to make information more memorable.
However, when considering how to implement this in the classroom, it is important to consider the focus and purpose of the information provided. Simply adding additional illustrations or animations can lead to unnecessary demands upon cognitive load, which ultimately detract from learning.
So, how can we use what we know about dual coding theory usefully in the classroom? Here are some possible ideas to try.
Manipulatives and representations
Also, evidence from the EEF suggests that pupils should be encouraged to invent their own ways of representing their ideas and explain how they have done this.
Therefore, one possible way of introducing dual coding is by encouraging pupils to create their own visual representations of their maths work. This could include asking pupils to draw out what is happening in maths problems. For example, “There are eight children on the bus. It pulls up at a bus stop. Three children get out and one gets in. How many children are on the bus now?”.
We can support this further by prompting children to compare the representations they produce to explain how these reflected their thinking, increasing pupils’ understanding of the different ways in which ideas can be represented and broadening the range of possible representations they are familiar with for future working.
Diagrams and visual organisers
We can support pupils to understand these by using diagrams to make relationships explicit and accessible. Using a visualiser or whiteboard, and drawing process diagrams and flow charts as we give our verbal explanations can help pupils to organise and make sense of new information, clarifying each individual step or component within more complex concepts and procedures.
However, it is important that teachers think in advance about what the completed diagrams will look like, to ensure that they present information in a useful and accessible format, without unnecessary information or potentially distracting features. Pre-planning will also help us to generate diagrams quickly and smoothly, and avoid wasting learning time.
Summarising information
When pupils are required to process and organise a lot of information, dual coding can support the development of cognitive schema by helping pupils to make links between information, and to prior learning. For example, teachers can summarise key points from a class debate using a simple table format to show the pros and cons. In history, pupils can also be asked to create timelines to sequence events and identify causal links.
It is important to emphasise that there is no need for great art. The purpose of these representations is to highlight key information, so these should be as simple as possible to ensure that attention remains focused on core concepts.
Dr Kirstin Mulholland is a lecturer in education at Northumbria University
