COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY

                                       

These notes come from a piece posted over at Inner Drive, a student learning research-based company from the UK, explaining the ins and outs of cognitive load theory.

At its core, CTL emphasises the fact that our working memory has a very small capacity so if new information isn't transferred to long term memory (which has infinite space), then it will usually be forgotten and what you see, or what you think you're seeing at training, is not transferred to games where it actually counts. 

The rate of transfer can also be decreased if there is to much information being presented all at once, which results in cognitive overload which is already sky-high in games without any extra load being put on top of it via you're coaching methods.

Here are 10 ways to teach that take cognitive load theory into account for better learning and transfer.

#1 - WORKED EXAMPLES

When students are relatively new to a topic, all their attention goes to solving the problem but then they often don't remember how they did it so step-by-step demonstrations can help this

#2 - COMPLETION TASKS

Design partially completed examples with gaps to fill in that should get progressively harder

#3 – SPLIT ATTENTION EFFECT

Give them multiple sources of information simultaneously so they have to switch between different formats (written + diagram in the same graphic) which can create cognitive overload but you can minimise that by combining the information via integrated diagrams (results in 22% higher marks on average)

#4 – MODALITY EFFECT

Diagram + integrated text can still create cognitive overload as the learner has to process both types of information using the same visual store so use 2 different formats such as a diagram with the words on it and also read it out aloud which allows them to process the visual information separately from the auditory info, reducing risk of cognitive overload

#5 – REDUNDANCY EFFECT

Giving them irrelevant information just clogs up working memory so avoid that by giving them time to read it themselves, instead of saying it to them as people read and hear at different speeds

#6 – IMAGINATION EFFECT

For more experienced learners, give them a set of instructions and then ask them to imagine the process they need to solve the problem e.g. if the question refers to reading a graph to answer then they would first imagine how they would read the graph and what information they would need to take away from it and only then would they go about actually solving the problem which forms mental representations in the brain which helps interpret the worked around us as imagining instructions allows students to automate these schemas which therefore causes less processing in the working memory

#7 – ISOLATED INTERACTING ELEMENTS EFFECT

Some complex tasks require simultaneously processing many interacting elements before they can understand it and if the number of elements exceed working memory capacity, then learning may not take place so process some elements in an isolated way then bring them together

#8 – EXPERTISE REVERSAL EFFECT

This has to do with the amount of prior knowledge someone has, where support/instruction is useful for beginners but can have negative implications on experienced students who need to be met at their challenge point

#9 – GUIDANCE FADING EFFECT

Refers to reducing the amount of guidance you give as they gain more knowledge and also ensuring that you're meeting them at their challenge point which helps avoid the reversal effect via worked examples into completion tasks into solving the full problem

#10 – GOAL-FREE EFFECT

With an example being to calculate as many angles as you can v a specific goal by calculating a specific angle, this requires students to focus on the information they have and requires more problem solving skills and the type of wording used here requires low levels of cognitive load and helps facilitate learning