Summary CaseStudy

part on a volunteer basis. 
A number of ethical issues surrounded the study as there were children involved. The researcher 
required Garda Clearance certification. This is a statutory requirement for any adult entering the 
premises during school hours. This was furnished to the school in advance of the study. The rights 
and anonymity of all children were guaranteed at all times. No information about any specific child’s 
personal or academic details were gathered during the course of the study.
There were risks associated with the study in terms of its timeframe: the timespan of the case study, 
coincided with student teacher allocations and both the mid-term and Easter breaks. This made it 
difficult to schedule observation sessions and one to one interviews. Mitigation strategy was to start 
early, agree a timeframe and stick to it. This worked fairly well allowing for the final two interviews with 
administration personnel to take place remotely, one via telephone, the other via email. 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
For the purpose of this study, definitions relating to multimedia learning and instruction proposed by 
Mayer and Moreno (2003) are adopted. As seen in Fig. 2. multimedia learning is described as a
learning process which is facilitated through words and pictures. The words may be verbal or written 
and the pictures can be static or dynamic. Multimedia instruction is described as the presentation of 
words and pictures in an organised way to facilitate learning.
In addition, ‘meaningful learning’ is said to describe the mental arrangement of new content into a 
coherent cognitive structure that integrates new knowledge with that already held by the learner. This 
process describes the creation of a new mental model on the part of the learner and implies the 
http://www.pdsttechnologyineducation.ie/en/Technology/Networking-Wireless-Networks/
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learner can apply what was taught to new situations (Mayer & Moreno, 2003., Mayer, 2009., Mayer & 
Wittrock,1996). 
Fig. 2 exposes the three types of memory that it is purported are involved in the human cognitive 
process: sensory memory, working memory and long-term memory. Meaningful learning is said to 
take place at the point where new and old knowledge are integrated into a new working model.