Tracing and Pointing Support Multimedia Learning: A Cross-Cultural Replication

Abstract Cognitive load theory’s incorporation of evolutionary perspectives suggests biologically primary knowledge, acquired through evolutionary processes, can support students in learning biologically secondary knowledge, the focus of typical educational curricula. Touch-based interactions using the hands are likely to be biologically primary. The present study investigates the effects of tracing and pointing actions using the index finger on the surface of lesson materials when learning about the human circulatory system. Although there are a few studies which have assessed the effects of tracing and pointing when learning from multimedia (text and diagrams), these studies have mostly used Western languages (English and German) as the medium of instruction. This project replicates and extends prior research by investigating whether tracing and pointing can enhance learning when the language of instruction is Chinese. A total of 84 native Chinese-speaking adult participants were randomly assigned to conditions in which they either traced and pointed or did not trace or point while learning about the structure and function of the human heart from paper-based materials. Replicating previous results with Western samples, participants who traced and pointed in the learning phase outperformed participants who did not trace and point on a knowledge test of comprehension, while also reporting lower extraneous load. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.