Effectiveness of multimedia education program on the development of self-help and life skills in educable, mentally retarded students

Abstract

Objectives: Multimedia messages are designed considering how the human brain functions as opposed to other forms of media that are not planned accordingly. They are likely to lead to more effective and meaningful learning. In the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, it is assumed, firstly, that the human information processing system has two separate channels for processing: visual and auditory. Methods: This research is an applied one in terms of objective. A pretest and posttest, with a control group, research design for the collection of data also makes it a quasi-experimental one. The statistical population included all educable, mentally retarded students in grades two and three of elementary schools in Qasr-e Shirin in the academic year 2014-2015. Twelve students were selected through accessible sampling method and were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. Results: The results showed that the implementation of multimedia training is effective in the development of self-help and life skills of educable, mentally retarded students. Discussion: The findings indicated that multimedia education can be used to develop self-help and life skills along with traditional methods.