Contiguity Principle
Even without a clear understanding of the contiguity principle, most people can see that there are important ways that continuity and contiguity affect learning. The human brain is a masterful machine, but as human beings, we have to be able and willing to set our brains up for success in the most effective ways possible. As human beings understand more about brains than ever before, there are more effective was that have been developed to assist people in the learning process. The contiguity principle presents learners and instructors alike with the ability to create unique connections in the brain: this is an opportunity for the educator, for instance to build connections between two distinct ideas in the learner’s brain. However, contiguity also suggests that the learners can coordinate two concepts—a visual and an auditory concept for instance—in their brain as a way to make neural connections between the two. Learners have a very significant job: they must be able to learn. When learners are forced to use too much of their processing capability organizing and collating facts, images, and orders in their brains, they also tend to lose focus on other more important issues.
The contiguity principle can be used in positive or negative ways to facilitate e-learning and learning in general. When visual and auditory cues are used in tandem to evoke a specific reaction from the learner, these cues can be tailored to the learner’s success—but they can also be tailored to the learner’s failure. Learners tend to learn concepts most effectively when visual and auditory cues are applied together: this allows the learner to form a cognitive link between the two different concepts. The efficacy of these links has been investigated in some depth in the educational field; when alignment or graphics violate the contiguity principle, the learner is much less effective. As can be seen in this video (https://youtu.be/85RVEas4AXs?t=4m), when the text is out of time with the spoken voice, the text is more distracting than helpful. The text actually appears only slightly out of sync, which makes it almost more distracting. However, this (https://youtu.be/85RVEas4AXs?t=55s) list-based approach is very useful and a good demonstration of the contiguity principle. It provides more information in bite-sized pieces for the viewer to absorb.
If, for instance, a speaker on a voice-over is imparting some kind of information to the listener, but the video associated with the voice over does not match the information given, the learner is more likely to discard the information provided. As the message becomes more complex, so too does the application and the importance of application of the contiguity principle; it becomes highly important that the viewer hear and see the same thing on a film for comprehension of the message. If the author fails to match the spoken language with the graphics, it should be unsurprising when a listener or a learner fails to really grasp the depth of the concept. E-learning presents a number of important opportunities for the learning community as a whole. In the e-learning environment, the educator has a lot of control over the media and the images that the learner sees. This means that the educator can really apply the contiguity principle for the betterment of the learner: the learner, conversely, can take advantage of the e-learning environment to really ensure that they are understanding and internalizing the concepts taught. There are some common pitfalls associated with the contiguity principle that must be acknowledged. First, multimedia should be avoided in large quantities; it can be overwhelming for the learner. Second, audio and visual cues must always match as well as possible. Third, there must be a sense of continuity in the e-learning environment: like the regular learning environment, the e-learning environment must allow the learner to build on past knowledge insofar as he or she can.
