Tokyo University researchers find cumulative design boosts test scores in multimedia learning

Microsoft PowerPoint has become the default tool for presenting learning materials in classrooms, universities, corporate training programs, webinars, and remote learning environments. But is it being used effectively? This question arises because learners face a major challenge. They try to listen to the speaker's explanations while simultaneously connecting them to the relevant visual elements on the slide, which can interfere with learning.

Microsoft PowerPoint has become the default tool for presenting learning materials in classrooms, universities, corporate training programs, webinars, and remote learning environments. But is it being used effectively? This question arises because learners face a major challenge. They try to listen to the speaker's explanations while simultaneously connecting them to the relevant visual elements on the slide, which can interfere with learning.

Recently, two researchers, Mr. Hikaru Ito and Professor Hiroko Ichikawa from the Tokyo University of Science, Japan, examined whether a simple change in presentation design could address the problem. Drawing on educational psychologist Richard Mayer's well-supported cognitive theory of multimedia learning, they proposed a 'cumulative presentation' format, in which new visual elements are displayed one by one as the speaker explains them.

For example, while explaining a graph, when the speaker says, "Prey and predators increase over time," the corresponding graph curves are displayed to go up, and when the speaker says, "As predators consume prey, prey numbers decline, followed by a decline in predator numbers," the graph curves are displayed to go down. To test whether this format worked, researchers compared it with the traditional or whole-slide presentation format, in which information is presented all at once (for instance, the entire graph) before the narration begins. Their study was made available online on June 25, 2026, and published in Volume 42, Issue 4 of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning on August 01, 2026. The study specifically assessed whether cumulative presentation could effectively guide learners' visual attention to relevant information and improve learning.

Previous studies have mainly evaluated the effectiveness of teaching material presentation methods by analyzing test scores. But we have analyzed eye-tracking measures, along with test scores, to understand not only whether learning improved but also how it improved."

Hiroko Ichikawa, Tokyo University of Science

To this end, the researchers recruited 40 Japanese university students and assigned 20 to the cumulative presentation condition and 20 to the whole-slide presentation condition. Both groups then completed three steps.

First, they completed a test to assess their knowledge of the presentation topic to check the baseline knowledge of both groups. Second, both groups viewed and listened to a recording of the same seven-slide PowerPoint presentation, with only the presentation format differing between the groups. Participants' eye movements were recorded using a screen-based eye tracker during the presentation. Third, they completed the same test administered before the presentation, along with a brief five-point Likert-scale questionnaire to assess whether they experienced any difficulties during the lesson and the test.

Analysis revealed that the pre-presentation test scores of both groups were not significantly different, indicating that they had similar knowledge of the presentation topic before the presentation. However, the cumulative presentation group got higher post-presentation test scores than the whole-slide presentation group, showing that cumulative presentation design improved learning outcomes.

But what is the mechanism underlying this improvement? Eye-tracking data showed that compared to the whole-slide group, participants in the cumulative presentation group fixated their gaze (or looked) at newly appeared, voiceover-relevant visual elements earlier and for longer. In other words, the cumulative presentation format quickly captured learners' attention to visual information that aligned with the voiceover and allowed them to sustain that attention for a long time. 

Furthermore, both groups were not significantly different in their perceptions of how difficult the lesson and the test were. This suggests that cumulative presentation design can improve learning outcomes without changing learners' perceived difficulty. 

Prof. Ichikawa emphasizes how cumulative presentation design can be applied in multimedia instructional settings: "Teachers, trainers, and presenters can segment visual information and match each segment with the relevant verbal explanation. In this way, learners can process the visual and auditory content step by step and gradually build an overall understanding of the slide. In the future, AI-based systems for generating educational materials can also be trained to apply cumulative presentation design and create teaching materials that are learner-friendly."

As digital education and virtual presentations become an unavoidable part of the learning journey, optimizing the presentation of multimodal content is important. This calls for more evidence-based presentation strategies, such as cumulative presentations, to reduce information overload. This helps learners to focus on relevant information at the right moment and improve their learning experience.