Effects of image-based and text-based activities on student learning outcomes

Research on benefits of visual learning has relied primarily on lecture-based pedagogy, not accounting for the processing time students need to make sense of both visual and verbal material[8]. In this study, we investigate the potential differential effects of text-based and image-based student learning activities on student learning outcomes in a functional anatomy course. When controlling for demographics and prior GPA, participation in in-class image-based activities is significantly correlated with performance on associated exam questions, while text-based engagement is not. Additionally, students rated activities as helpful for seeing images of key ideas and as being significantly less mentally taxing than text-based activities.