Lightening the load to optimise learning
Information overload is a challenge for everyone in the hyper connected world in which we live and can impact many aspects of our lives from our general wellbeing to our ability to function effectively daily.
This
experience is also true of students, who are challenged to navigate not only new
surroundings, and the intricacies of university life, but also the significant task
of engaging with new, novel, and complex ideas and concepts in their studies.
Ask yourself the question, have you ever witnessed students in your sessions unable to process, retain and apply learning? Or fail to engage with learning activities at all – if so, this may be due to ‘cognitive overload’.
Cognitive
Load Theory
Cognitive
load theory (Sweller, 2010) is an instructional theory, built upon knowledge of
how humans learn. It provides not only a window on what is happening in the minds
of students when they experience cognitive overload, but critically what steps
we can take to manage cognitive load, optimise teaching practice, and maximise
learning.
While there
are a many facets of Cognitive load theory (CLT), and subsequent
recommendations for academic practice, a good entry point is to understand the
role played in the learning process by, working memory – the part of the brain where all conscious thinking and processing
occurs, which is limited in its capacity, and long-term memory - where knowledge, skills and experiences are stored, with
unlimited capacity.
When
students experience periods of overload, particularly when encountering new/novel
learning, CLT suggests this is a result of the working memory being overloaded,
due to the bottleneck that its limited capacity creates (ever experienced a
slow running laptop – the RAM is experiencing its own digital overload!).
CLT goes on
to state that this is due to the number of 'elements' or pieces of information that the working memory is being asked to process at
any one time. Cognitive overload is therefore a result of excessive
simultaneous ‘element interactivity.’
Long term memory (LTM) on the other hand, can provide the key to accessing higher levels of learning and more complex thinking. As learning is stored in the LTM a large quantity of elements are effectively ‘chunked’ into mental representations (schema), and then when recalled into the working memory for future use create a significantly reduced cognitive load, freeing up space for further cognitive functioning and learning.
Manage
the load
So, what actions can be taken to manage learner cognitive load? I will address this question using Swellers (2011) distinction between intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load and provide some recommendations to maximise student learning.
Intrinsic
cognitive load
Intrinsic cognitive
load is the demand associated with the nature of the learning that students are to engage with, it is the inherent complexity, and
it is inescapable - therefore intrinsic cognitive load needs to be optimised. Some
examples of how to do this include:
Pre-teaching - this involves uilitising tools
and approaches that provide key information in advance of sessions to reduce
the individual elements that are needed to be processed at one time. Examples
can include providing a glossary of key terminology, process/event timelines or
flipped approaches using video explanations of key theories. Learners new to
the topic can learn this foundational information in advance of sessions at
their own pace, and experienced learners can use it for retrieval practice,
prior to applying the learning in active sessions targeting higher level
thinking.
Isolated
elements (or part-whole) – this refers to breaking down complex tasks into isolated segments that
are initially learnt separately, and then brought back together as a whole
concept. For instance, technical skills may be broken down into separate
stages, learned individually and then gradually brought together as a whole
skill. This could this be applied to complex systems, processes or skills
related to any discipline.
Extraneous cognitive load
Extraneous
cognitive load is created due to the structure of the task/approach used, and
the way it is presented. There is no situation where extraneous cognitive load
is beneficial and as such should be reduced or eliminated. Some examples of how
this can be achieved are:
Worked
examples – one of
the foundational recommendations of CLT is the need to adopt appropriate
scaffolding for tasks. For example, when introducing a new topic, a worked
example of a similar problem to that which learners are expected to engage with, would help to reduce the elements that need to be
processed simultaneously by providing a framework that can be applied, thus
reducing extraneous cognitive load. Similarly, if we are working with learners
who have experience of the topic or problem, scaffolding can be reduced, for
instance with an incomplete worked example (or no worked example at all), as they would have prior knowledge they can
draw upon.
Redundancy
– this involves removing
any unrequired and distracting information from communications. An example
would be to remove a written explanation of a diagram that is understandable on
its own, or the common example could be to refrain from reading text verbatim
from presentation slides. Reviewing all materials used and identifying where
duplication occurs and applying the less is more principle, can lighten the
extraneous cognitive load.
These are a few examples of approaches that can be adopted and have been discovered through the application of cognitive load theory. Fundamentally it is about being intentional in our practice and mindful of the needs of students when planning and delivering teaching.
References
Lovell, O.
(2020). Cognitive Load Theory In Action. Woodbridge:
John Catt Education Ltd.
Sweller, J.
(2010). Cognitive Load Theory: Recent Theoretical Advances. In J. L. Plass, R.
Moreno, & R. Brunken (eds.) Cognitive load theory. Cambridge University
Press. pp. 29-47.
Sweller, J.
(2011). Cognitive Load Theory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation. 55 (Ch2).
pp. 37-76.