Cognitive Load Theory

Group 8

Leader:
Reboya, Hueycendee
Members:
Capurcos, Katrina
Floralde, Kristel

CONTENT OUTLINE:
Cognitive Load Theory
Proponent: John Sweller

Cognitive load is important to educators, it is the total amount of effort being used in working
memory.
Working memory is a memory buffer, it is used to manipulate information for the task at hand.
It used to recall (example: rules of a game)
It is also used to accommodate new information/
Working memory is LIMITED, it can be overloaded that it may reduce the amount of
information that can be retained, hence moved to long term memory. As teachers, it is very
important to reduce cognitive load and promote long term memory.

Key points on Cognitive Load Theory:

1. We use (audio-visual channel) our eyes and ears.
Everything we learn has cognitive load.
- LOW INTRINSIC AND HIGH INTRINSIC LOAD
As teachers we can’t control intrinsic load, we can only control how we can present the
information.
- EXTRANEOUS LOAD
 - When extraneous load is reduced, the better the retention is.
WAYS TO REDUCE COGNITIVE LOAD
1. COHERENCE – delete unnecessary words, GIFs, sounds, images for they increase
cognitive load.
Examples: distracting transition sounds, GIFs, etc.
2. SIGNALING – highlight which is most important.
Example: highlight the component when describing a whole.
3. REDUNDANCY – Graphics and narration vs. graphics and texts
Example: Putting a huge block of text on PPTs is a no-no.
4. SPATIAL CONTIGUITY – place essential words next to the corresponding graphics.
Texts should be placed next to the object being described.
5. TEMPORAL CONTIGUITY – placing essential words simultaneously. One at a time.
https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/cognitive-load/

This theory suggests that learning happens best under conditions that are
aligned with human cognitive architecture. The structure of human cognitive
architecture, while not known precisely, is discernible through the results of
experimental research. Recognizing George Miller’s information
processing research showing that short term memory is limited in the number of
elements it can contain simultaneously, Sweller builds a theory that treats
schemas, or combinations of elements, as the cognitive structures that make up
an individual’s knowledge base. (Sweller, 1988)
The contents of long term memory are “sophisticated structures that permit us to
perceive, think, and solve problems,” rather than a group of rote learned facts.
These structures, known as schemas, are what permit us to treat multiple
elements as a single element. They are the cognitive structures that make up the
knowledge base (Sweller, 1988). Schemas are acquired over a lifetime of
learning, and may have other schemas contained within themselves.
The difference between an expert and a novice is that a novice hasn’t acquired
the schemas of an expert. Learning requires a change in the schematic
structures of long term memory and is demonstrated by performance that
progresses from clumsy, error-prone, slow and difficult to smooth and effortless.
The change in performance occurs because as the learner becomes increasingly
familiar with the material, the cognitive characteristics associated with the
material are altered so that it can be handled more efficiently by working
memory.

From an instructional perspective, information contained in instructional material

must first be processed by working memory. For schema acquisition to occur,
instruction should be designed to reduce working memory load. Cognitive load
theory is concerned with techniques for reducing working memory load in order
to facilitate the changes in long term memory associated with schema
acquisition.

Application
Sweller’s theories are best applied in the area of instructional design of
cognitively complex or technically challenging material. His concentration is on
the reasons that people have difficulty learning material of this nature. Cognitive
load theory has many implications in the design of learning materials which must,
if they are to be effective, keep cognitive load of learners at a minimum during
the learning process. While in the past the theory has been applied primarily to
technical areas, it is now being applied to more language-based discursive
areas.

Example
In combining an illustration of blood flow through the heart with text and labels,
the separation of the text from the illustration forces the learner to look back and
forth between the specified parts of the illustration and the text. If the diagram is
self-explanatory, research data indicates that processing the text unnecessarily
increases working memory load. If the information could be replaced with
numbered arrows in the labeled illustration, the learner could concentrate better
on learning the content from the illustration alone. Alternatively, if the text is
essential to intelligibility, placing it on the diagram rather than separated will
reduce cognitive load associated with searching for relations between the text
and the diagram (Sweller, 1999).

Principles
Specific recommendations relative to the design of instructional material include:

1. Change problem solving methods to avoid means-ends approaches that

impose a heavy working memory load, by using goal-free problems or
worked examples.
2. Eliminate the working memory load associated with having to mentally
integrate several sources of information by physically integrating those
sources of information.
3. Eliminate the working memory load associated with unnecessarily
processing repetitive information by reducing redundancy.
 4. Increase working memory capacity by using auditory as well as visual
information under conditions where both sources of information are
essential (i.e. non-redundant) to understanding.
References
 Sweller, J., Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on
learning, Cognitive Science, 12, 257-285 (1988).
 Sweller, J., Instructional Design in Technical Areas, Camberwell, Victoria,
Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research (1999).
This article was provided by Howard Soloman.