November 14, 2026 · Knowledge Management Made Simple
Imagine learning twenty new words.
Pavel reads them five times.
“Perfect! I’ll remember everything!”
Oxana closes the notebook.
“What does ‘parapluie’ mean?”
Pavel thinks.
“A French dancing penguin?”
“Not quite. It’s an umbrella!”
Psychologist Allan Paivio developed Dual Coding Theory, explaining how verbal information and mental imagery can support each other.
Let’s explore three funny examples.
1. Oxana’s French Vocabulary
Oxana shows Pavel the French word chat.
Then she draws a little cat beside it.
“Ah! Chat means cat!”
“Exactly!”
“Does that mean château is a very large cat?”
“Unfortunately, no!”
What did we learn?
Connecting a word with a relevant image can create additional memory cues.
2. The Treasure Map Disaster
Pavel reads instructions for finding a hidden treasure.
“Walk north, turn east, then follow the river.”
He walks in circles.
Oxana draws a simple map.
“Oh! Now I understand!”
Unfortunately, the treasure is an old potato.
What did we learn?
Words explain directions, while visual representations can help us understand spatial relationships.
3. The Mysterious Family Photograph
Pavel finds an old family photograph.
“Who are these people?”
Oxana adds names, a date and a description.
Now the photograph connects faces with their stories.
“Excellent! Our family archive has learned to speak!”
What did we learn?
Pictures and descriptions can complement each other when preserving meaningful information.
The Big Idea
Paivio proposed two interacting systems:
- Verbal: Words and language.
- Nonverbal: Images and other sensory representations.
Connecting them can support memory, particularly for concrete information.
Why This Matters for Knowledge Management
Useful photographs, diagrams, labels and descriptions can make records easier to understand and remember.
But images should clarify information, not merely decorate it.
What About Artificial Intelligence?
AI can help create visual explanations and connect images with descriptions. Accuracy and relevance still need checking.
“Cognition according to DCT involves the activity of two distinct subsystems”
Source: Allan Paivio, Dual Coding Theory and Education, University of Michigan conference draft, 2006, p. 3.
The takeaway: Give important ideas meaningful words and useful images.
Because a picture of an umbrella is easier to remember than a dancing French penguin.
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