Substansive Post

The readings this week highlighted how Mayer’s principles and Cognitive Load Theory connect naturally with educational comics. Honestly, when I read long academic articles, I catch myself losing attention after a few pages. But the mix of visuals and short text feels way less heavy on my brain when the key information is presented clearly in each panel in cosmic. In terms of Cognitive Load Theory, comics naturally reduce extraneous load because I do not have to fight through endless paragraphs to find the main point.

I also found Dual Coding Theory is especially relevant since comics already pair images with short text. The two channels reinforce each other, making it easier to retain information. This reminds me of when I was memorizing vocabulary as a kid. I discovered an app that paired words with images, so whenever I recalled a word, the corresponding picture popped into my mind. This method was way easier compared to memorizing words and their Chinese translations. When a character speaks in a dialogue bubble while the action is shown in the image, the learner processes both streams at the same time, which improves recall compared to text alone.

Another aspect that impressed me was the segmenting. Comics are literally designed in segments. The panel breaks content into smaller pieces and gives natural pauses to prevent information overload. Each panel is like an independent module, so readers can process it step by step instead of getting slammed with all the information at once.

Finally, the readings clearly explain why cosmic feels more engaging than pure text content. As a good example, the reading itself included clear diagrams and short explanations, which made the theory easier for me to understand and study.