Theories and Concepts
Cognitive Load Theory
Also Known As Cognitive Load
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Cognitive load theory, formulated by John Sweller in the late 1980s, holds that working memory has a strictly limited capacity, so instructional design should minimize unnecessary extraneous cognitive load while accounting for the intrinsic difficulty of the material and the germane load devoted to building lasting knowledge.
Facts
Core ClaimWorking memory has a strictly limited capacity, so instructional design should minimize unnecessary extraneous cognitive load while accounting for the intrinsic difficulty of the material and the germane load devoted to building lasting knowledge. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Cognitive Load
Wikimedia FoundationTheory sectionQuote, Theory section
Sweller argued that instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load in learners.
1. Wikipedia: Cognitive Load
Wikimedia FoundationCategories sectionQuote, Categories section
The primary aim of the theory is to guide the effective use of this limited cognitive resource by structuring learning conditions.
1. Wikipedia: Cognitive Load
Wikimedia FoundationTitleQuote, Title
In cognitive psychology, cognitive load is the effort being used in the working memory.
1. Wikipedia: Cognitive Load
Wikimedia FoundationDeveloped By: John Sweller, Types of cognitive load sectionQuote, Developed By: John Sweller, Types of cognitive load section
Intrinsic cognitive load is the effort associated with a specific topic.
1. Wikipedia: Cognitive Load
Wikimedia FoundationOpen Questions: Do intrinsic, extraneous and germane load measure genuinely distinct constructs?View the Source 1. Wikipedia: Cognitive Load
Wikimedia FoundationIn Branch: Educational Psychology, Types of cognitive load section, germane loadQuote, In Branch: Educational Psychology, Types of cognitive load section, germane load
Germane load refers to the working memory resources that the learner dedicates to managing the intrinsic cognitive load associated with the essential information for learning.
Open Questions (2 open questions)
Can the three types of cognitive load (intrinsic, extraneous and germane) be reliably measured and empirically distinguished from one another?
Cognitive load theory names three distinct types of load, but researchers using self-report, physiological and performance-based measures have not converged on a way to isolate them from one another, and some findings suggest the three may not be additively separable in practice.
What would resolve this A validated measurement method, independently confirmed across labs, capable of isolating intrinsic, extraneous and germane load from one another in the same learning task.
Wikipedia: Cognitive Load
Do intrinsic, extraneous and germane load measure genuinely distinct constructs?
A 2008 study found that three commonly used measures of cognitive load responded differently to intrinsic, extraneous and germane load, and researchers have separately proposed an additivity hypothesis under which the three load types overlap substantially rather than staying cleanly distinct, so the theory's own three-way split has not been settled as measurably separable.
What would resolve this Converging physiological, behavioral and self-report measures of cognitive load that agree with one another across instructional conditions designed to isolate each load type in turn.
Educational psychology and psychometricsWikipedia: Cognitive Load
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