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What is the role of motivation in multimedia learning? Cognitive theories of multimedia learning tend to focus on instructional methods aimed at reducing extraneous processing (such as highlighting the essential material) or managing essential processing (such as breaking a lesson into parts), whereas motivational theories tend to focus on instructional methods aimed at fostering generative processing (such as adding appealing graphics or challenging scenarios). Moreno's (2005) cognitive affective theory of learning from media is intended to better incorporate motivation and metacognition into theories of multimedia learning, helping to extend or clarify Mayer's (2009) cognitive theory of multimedia learning and Sweller's (Sweller, Ayres, & Kaluga, 2011) cognitive load theory. The research presented in this special section examines motivating instructional features intended to promote generative processing—such as adding appealing graphics (Magner, Schwonke, Aleven, Popescu, & Renkl, 2013; Plass, Heidig, Hayward, Homer, & Um, 2013) or challenging scenarios (D'Mello, Lehman, Pekrun, & Graesser, 2013). Overall, motivational features can improve student learning by fostering generative processing as long as the learner is not continually overloaded with extraneous processing or overly distracted from essential processing.

Multimedia learning involves learning from words and pictures and includes learning from textbooks that contain text and illustrations, computer-based lessons that contain animation and narration, and face-to-face slide presentations that contain graphics and spoken words (Mayer, 2009). Theories of multimedia learning (e.g., Mayer, 2009; Schnotz, 2005; Sweller, 2005) tend to focus on the cognitive processes involved in learning, such as selecting relevant information, mentally organizing the material into a coherent organization, and integrating it with relevant prior knowledge activated from long-term memory, as proposed in Mayer's (2009) cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML). However, an important underspecified aspect of cognitive theories concerns the role of motivation in multimedia learning—that is, the internal state that initiates, maintains, and energizes the learner's effort to engage in learning processes. The goal of this special section is to explore how theories of multimedia learning can be expanded to include the role of motivation, by exploring techniques for priming the learner's motivation to learn with multimedia lessons. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Mayer, 2009), following cognitive load theory (Sweller, Ayres, & Kalyuga, 2011), distinguishes among three kinds of processing demands on the learner's cognitive system during learning: extraneous processing, which is cognitive processing that does not serve the instructional objective and is caused by poor instructional design; essential processing, which is cognitive processing aimed at mentally representing the presented material and is caused by the complexity of the material; and generative processing, which is cognitive processing aimed at making sense of the material and is caused by the learner's effort to engage in learning processes such as selecting, organizing, and integrating. In light of the cognitive processing limitations of working memory, three important instructional design goals are to reduce extraneous processing, manage essential processing, and foster generative processing ( Mayer, 2009). Based on cognitive theories of multimedia learning, research on instructional design principles initially focused on techniques for minimizing extraneous processing (such as placing printed text next to the corresponding graphics or reducing extraneous words and graphics or highlighting the key material), and gradually expanded to include techniques for managing essential processing (such as breaking a complex lesson into manageable parts or providing pre-training in key concepts). In contrast, this special section highlights recent work on instructional design principles that focus mainly on the third goal of fostering generative processing, which has been somewhat understudied compared to the others.

The papers in this special section propose that designing effective instruction may involve cognitive principles that go beyond minimizing extraneous processing and managing essential processing. In particular each of the papers explores techniques for fostering generative processing through embedding features intended to prime affect and motivation. Overall, the papers encourage us to consider instructional design features aimed at priming motivation to engage in deep processing during learning, while not overloading the learner's information processing system. Consistent with Moreno's CATLM, the papers in this special section focus on motivational factors as well as cognitive factors in promoting learning with computer-based multimedia lessons. The papers show that not all forms of motivational aids are effective in promoting learning, and help encourage further work on pinpointing the conditions under which motivational features in multimedia lessons can engage learners in deeper processing during learning (i.e., foster generative processing) without overloading them (i.e., control extraneous processing) or distracting them from the core material (i.e., guide essential processing). Consistent with the focused-more-is-more approach in Table 1, motivational features can improve student learning by fostering generative processing as long as the learner is not continually overloaded with extraneous processing or overly distracted from essential processing.