A short THREAD on dual coding. Seen quite a few resources recently with lots of icons placed next to text described as being ‘dual coded’ and it made me think of a few things that dual coding is and isn’t. /1

Dual coding happens in the student’s mind. It *isn’t* something we do as a teacher. We’re not the one dual coding, they are. We can’t ‘dual-code’ a resource. /2

Icons, icons everywhere. Given dual coding is something the student does the use of icons on resources doesn’t inevitably result in dual coding. That isn’t ‘dual coding’ a resource. In fact in many of the situations I would imagine the overuse of icons would reduce efficacy /3

More on icons. We need to ask ourselves. Is the icon enhancing the meaning behind the text? Is it enriching a complex explanation? Will it help the student to better understand the meaning? Does it add to or simply *stand in for* what is written? /4

If the icon is being used to *stand in for* what is written (EG the text is about a boat and so there’s a ) then that probably isn’t dual coding. The student probably won’t remember the meaning better by virtue of the text being visually replicated through an icon. 5/

If not icons then what? I’ve always understood dual coding to be in large part about the spatial representation and organisation of written material. This is so so much more than static icons next to a text. 6/

For me, the static point is really key. I think tapping into dual coding as something the student does is most effective when we provide a visual cue *in the moment* of explanation to help enhance it. 7/

EG: drawings to support key steps of an explanation, diagrams to help clarify hierarchical relationships as we talk through them, mapping and connecting key ideas as we discuss. It doesn’t need to be a static icon appended to a piece of text that can be understood on its own. END