Last week we asked in a Facebook post whether it is a good idea to present an e-learning question set in the style of a TV quiz show. Perhaps with music playing underneath, to make it even more exciting? And what if we went further still and embedded the whole course in an intergalactic spaceship story, where my fire-safety knowledge — which extinguisher to use on a waste-paper basket, say — could save an entire universe?
However exciting the ideas above may sound at first, if my goal is still to convey knowledge and not to win an Oscar for best visual effects, then these solutions are better avoided. But why?
The answer is given by John Sweller’s cognitive load theory, about which Dylan Wiliam, the noted education researcher, went so far in a 2017 tweet as to call it the single most important thing for teachers to know. In this article we look at why it matters so much to build this theory into the practice of course development.
Cognitive load theory in a nutshell
If we look at how memory works from the point of view of storing information, it is important to understand working memory and long-term memory. The purpose of learning, if we want to simplify it radically, is for knowledge to move from working memory into long-term memory, so that it can be retrieved from there at any time. As far as we currently know, the storage capacity of long-term memory is unlimited, so we need not worry about ever overloading it.
Working memory is a different matter: we can work with roughly 2–4 new pieces of information at once. In the literature on memory you will often find a larger number — 7 ± 2 items — given as the maximum capacity, but that only holds where the task is simply to memorise information, such as remembering a phone number. Where the information requires deeper processing, the maximum is only 2–4 items, because the various cognitive operations performed on those items draw on the same limited resource.
Sweller distinguishes two kinds of cognitive load: extraneous (irrelevant) and intrinsic (necessary, essential). Intrinsic load is all the cognitive capacity that serves the processing of the information. Extraneous load, by contrast, is everything that does not contribute to understanding and only takes our attention: images that are purely decorative, background music, gamification for its own sake. As e-learning professionals, our job is to eliminate the sources of extraneous load so that as much as possible is left for the intrinsic.
How to reduce the load on working memory
- Break new information into small, easily digestible units. It is important that the learner can control the pace of moving between them. In a software simulation, for example, do not show the sequence of clicks in one go: freeze the screen after each unit and let the learner decide when to move on.
- Never use superfluous content — decorative illustrations, background music, sound effects, or gratuitous framing whether in content or visuals: spaceships, quiz shows, virtual reality.
- Do not use unnecessary interactions. The value of a course is not determined by its click count.
- Whenever possible, simplify complicated text.
- Always tie new information to existing knowledge and mental models.
- Do not require attention on too many things at the same time.
- Things that belong together should always be on the same page — for example, solving a task should not require stepping back and forth between a diagram and the answers.
- The player interface and the content pages should be consistent, clear and usable. The learner should not spend units of attention working out how to submit an answer or view the solution.
- The narration should not duplicate the text on screen. When it does, the learner inevitably ends up comparing the two texts rather than understanding either.
Sources:
Cognitive Load Theory (John Sweller). (2018, November 30). InstructionalDesign.Org. https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/cognitive-load/
Malamed, C. (2021, May 19). What is cognitive load? The ELearning Coach. https://theelearningcoach.com/learning/what-is-cognitive-load/
Malamed, C. (2019, July 4). ELC 055: What You Need to Know About Cognitive Load. The ELearning Coach. https://theelearningcoach.com/podcasts/55/
Ottmár, J. (2019) A kognitív terhelés csökkentése generatív erőforrásokat felszabadító módszerekkel kontakt osztálytermi környezetben. KÉPZÉS ÉS GYAKORLAT: TRAINING AND PRACTICE, 17 (1). pp. 99-110. ISSN 1589-519X
Wiliam, D. on. (2017, January 17). [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/dylanwiliam/status/824682504602943489
Webdesign és pszichológia: hogyan tedd könnyebbé a weboldalad befogadását? (2019, July 17). Webshark. https://webshark.hu/hirek/webdesign-pszichologia/
Author: Mariann Tóth