Loggers and conservationists: Navigating the Multiple Resource Forest through the Trees

In this introduction to the Handbook of Learning from Multiple Representations and Perspectives we use the metaphor of "seeing the forest through the trees" to conceptualize the nature of multiple resource learning. First, in comparing resources to trees, we identify these as originating from sources (i.e., roots), including specific content (i.e., trunk), and taking on various representational formats (i.e., leaves). Second, we identify the cognitive processes involved when learners conceptualize individual resources (i.e., trees) and identifying the connections among them for holistic understanding (i.e., see the forest). Finally, we suggest that learners may be viewed as loggers and conservationists seeking to take advantage of the resources available within a multi-resource forest and to understand the complex ecosystems within it.