Course introduction: Applying Mayer’s Principles to Real Products
Digital learning materials, like presentations, online courses, instructional videos, and onboarding modules, are everywhere, but not all are equally effective in practice. Some designs help learners understand and retain information; others distract, overload attention, and reduce learning outcomes.
This course emphasizes the practical application of Mayer’s principles to real instructional products. Rather than focusing on theory alone, you will work with authentic materials, slides, course screens, video scripts, animations, and interactive interfaces, to identify design changes that improve clarity, reduce cognitive load, and support learning transfer. Mayer’s principles are best understood as evidence-based guidelines: they are explicit and well-supported, but their application can and should be adapted to the learners, content, medium, and instructional context (Mayer, 2021; Clark & Mayer, 2023).
What the course focuses on
Practical analysis and redesign of real materials.
Evidence-based decisions about text, images, audio, animation, and layout.
Clear improvements in usability, comprehension, and learner engagement.
What you will do
Review real examples of slides, course pages, and media assets.
Identify common design problems such as excessive on-screen text, decorative graphics that distract, or poorly synchronized narration and visuals.
Apply concrete fixes such as rewriting on-screen text, reorganizing visuals, timing animations better, and integrating narration effectively.
Compare before-and-after versions and evaluate improvements using simple rubrics.
Key interactions you will analyze
Text and narration: when to display text on screen and when to leave it out.
Images and labels: how to reduce irrelevant visual detail.
Animation and timing: how to use motion to guide attention.
Visual layout and cognitive load: how to balance aesthetics and function.
Audio and on-screen information: how to decide what should be heard versus seen.
Interactive elements: how to design exercises, simulations, and assessments more effectively.
Course methods and tools
Guided exercises: redesign one slide or screen per module.
Short case studies: real-world examples with implemented solutions.
By the end of the course, you will be able to critically evaluate instructional products and apply Mayer’s principles to create clearer, more engaging, and more cognitively effective slides, videos, and online course materials.
References
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2023). e-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning (5th ed.). Wiley.
Mayer, R. E. (2021). Multimedia learning (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford University Press.