Unit A – Teaching & Learning Theories

A8. Cognitive Load

On This Page
  1. Cognitive Load
  2. IDI & Cognition
  3. References

Cognitive Load

Cognitive load theory is based on the premise that people have 3 memory ‘banks’ (See Figure):

  • SR – Sensory Register – all inputs, including touch, visual, and audio, but most input is lost in just a few seconds (such as the wall color in a classroom, the noise the fan just made, or the feel of your shoes) unless you pay specific attention to it
  • WM – Working Memory (Also called short-term storage or STS) and
  • LTM Long-Term Memory

Figure: Model of the Memory System

Visual of input moving from the sensory registry into long-term memory with input potentially being lost at each stage

Information flows into a person through their senses and, if they pay attention, enters WM. From WM it may flow into LTM if the person connects the information in WM to information already in LTM and changes LTM to incorporate the new information – but this depends on many factors (including a person’s margin – chapter A11)!

“Working memory should be seen as short term and finite, whereas long-term memory can be seen as infinite“ (Shibli & West, 2018). LTM information is saved in schemas – patterns (see Chapter A2: Schemas & Threshold Concepts). To retrieve the needed information from LTM into WM, it must be saved in LTM in a schema that relates it to the information in WM.

Cognitive Load (CL) refers to the “amount of information being processed at any given moment” (Zakrajsek, 2019). Thinking is the process of using a combination of information. The information could be new information received from SR and/or information retrieved from LTM. Thinking occurs in WM, but WM is very limited. “Most people can store between 5-9 items at any given time [in WM], and 2-4 of those can be processed simultaneously. If you don’t use new information within 15 seconds, it gets taken out with the trash” (Byron, 2020).

Byron (2020) explains types of cognitive load:

A task can contain many different types of cognitive load. There are three in particular that we as educators should be aware of:
Intrinsic cognitive load
Sometimes a task is just hard. Consider calculus vs. arithmetic. Perhaps you’re great with math and this wouldn’t be a heavy lift for you. For others, this task would require a great deal of mental concentration.
Germane cognitive load
This refers to the actual processing of information. How will we organize it in our brains? Does this information connect with anything we’ve previously learned? Making connections is part of learning, and strengthens knowledge moving forward.
Extraneous cognitive load
This is the part that teachers have the most control over. It is generated by the way the information is presented and has nothing to do with the task. Are you learning calculus in a rock concert or a library? Have you used a PowerPoint slide theme that is distracting or clean?

Ormrod et al. (2019, Ch.6) recommend that instructors consider about student working memory when designing lessons, determining how much information a student can handle at one time. Repeating main, important points will help students focus and process that information.

Shibli & West (2018) suggest the following to help reduce cognitive load:

Intrinsic cognitive load can be reduced by breaking down the subject content, sequencing the delivery so that sub-tasks are taught individually before being explained together as a whole. The idea is to not overwhelm a student too early on in the introduction of new work.   

Selective Attention

The senses bring in a huge amount of information – too much for people to handle, people selectively pay attention. They not only ignore extraneous information, they may not even notice it. As an instructor, you need to figure out how to gain their selective attention and remove extraneous information/sensory input that may distract them from your message. For examples of this, see Daniel Simmons videos (2010).

“Humans are able to focus their attention (and thus information processing and memory) on whatever is most important or valuable at the moment” (Meyer et al., 2014, p. 60).

Executive Functioning

Working memory is divided into several parts, one of which is executive functioning. “Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully…. The brain needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).

The Executive Functioning Process includes the following steps (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.):

  1. Analyze a task. Figure out what needs to be done.
  2. Plan how to handle the task.
  3. Get organized. Break down the plan into a series of steps.
  4. Figure out how much time is needed to carry out the plan, and set aside the time.
  5. Make adjustments as needed
  6. Finish the task in the time allotted.

Because working memory can only hold a very limited number of thoughts at a time, executive functions help sort through the thoughts, select thoughts from long-term memory and organize actions.

Supporting Executive Functioning

Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.) states:

Students are not born with executive function skills. These are developed over time. You can help students develop better executive function skills by:
•	establishing routines,
•	modeling social behavior,
•	creating and maintaining supportive, reliable relationships,
•	providing activities that foster creative work and social connection,
•	providing opportunities for directing their own actions with decreasing supervision.

The University of Maine at Augusta faculty portal (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.) suggests:

By being deliberate in your course planning and instructional design, you can easily incorporate strategies that will assist learners with executive functioning impairments and make the course content more user-friendly for all of your students. It is important to be explicit in your expectations for completion of coursework, provide consistent structure to the course activities, and engage in regular communication with your learners, including specific constructive feedback. Additional strategies you can employ include:
•	design clear, interactive course headings and icons
•	chunk course content into logical units composed of smaller segments
•	provide progress checklists and opportunities for self-reflection
•	provide self-check quizzes or other knowledge checks
•	provide outlines or prompts to help learners create mental schemes for digesting content
•	provide models or hints to help students get started on problems or assignments

(For more on how working memory and executive functioning work together, read Alexander (2019) or Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.)

Extraneous Load

The message you are trying to send to students may get lost in extraneous load. “Extraneous load is a distraction from intended learning. A few examples of extraneous load include people carrying on a conversation while you are reading, working in a room that is uncomfortably hot or cold, and listening to disorganized material that contains irrelevant information” (Zakrajsek, 2019). “CLT [cognitive load theory] suggests that if the cognitive load exceeds our processing capacity, we will struggle to complete the activity successfully (Shibli & West, n.d.).

Extraneous cognitive load can be reduced by the way in which instructions are presented. We make sense of new material by referencing schema or mental models of pre-existing knowledge. Lack of clarity in instruction puts too high a load on the working memory, and so too much time is spent problem-solving the instructions as opposed to new schema formation. For example, lessons that use PowerPoint with excessive writing and the teacher talking at the same time, can inadvertently generate excessive cognitive load and lead to working memory failures.

The following are quoted from Lee et al. (n.d.)

  • Keep lectures chunked into short 5-10 minute segments based on topic
  • Limit reading to no more than 40 pages a week
  • Use open educational resources with different writing styles and voices
  • Make all reading available on smart phone and tablet
  • Allow students to watch lecture on their phones
  • Insert quiz questions inside of lecture to keep them focused usually the online attention span is even shorter than real life
  • Limit the number of assignments per week. Look for one quality assignment rather then [sic] 5 poorly executed assignments
  • Limit the amount of text on a page

The following are quoted from Byron (2020):

  • Make connections. The more connections to previously learned material that you make, the less germane cognitive load there is for your students.
  • Use routine. Start and end class in the same way each day, perhaps with a warm-up and a time for questions. This will allow students to forecast that there will be time for questions to be answered.
  • Provide time. Allow students time in class to think about how this new material connects with what was previously taught.
  • Be clear and concise.
  • Pay attention to purpose. What is the goal of this assignment? If a particular question isn’t getting you there, delete it.
  • Don’t forget emotions. Anxiety limits learning, and excess cognitive load creates stress. Allow your students space to focus on the material, not their emotions.

Cognitive Dissonance

“Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of mental discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance” (McLeod, 2018).

“Individuals who are in a state of cognitive dissonance will take steps to reduce the extent of their dissonance” (McLeod, 2018). Aronson & Tavris (2020) add:

Dissonance is most painful when evidence strikes at the heart of how we see ourselves—when it threatens our belief that we are kind, ethical, competent, or smart. The minute we make any decision—I’ll buy this car; I will vote for this candidate; I think COVID-19 is serious; no, I’m sure it is a hoax—we will begin to justify the wisdom of our choice and find reasons to dismiss the alternative. Before long, any ambivalence we might have felt at the time of the original decision will have morphed into certainty. As people justify each step taken after the original decision, they will find it harder to admit they were wrong at the outset.

Because of the unconscious motivation to reduce dissonance, the way we answer … questions has repercussions for how we behave after making our initial decision. Will we be flexible, or will we keep reducing dissonance by insisting that our earliest decisions were right?

Typically, “dissonance can be reduced in one of three ways: a) changing existing beliefs, b) adding new beliefs, or c) reducing the importance of the beliefs” (McLeod, 2018). However, people can learn to live with dissonance if they understand the different forces causing the dissonance.

Understanding how dissonance operates reveals a few practical lessons for overcoming it, starting by examining the two dissonant cognitions and keeping them separate. We call this the ‘Shimon Peres solution.’ Peres, Israel’s former prime minister, was angered by his friend Ronald Reagan’s disastrous official visit to a cemetery in Bitburg, Germany, where members of the Waffen SS were buried. When asked how he felt about Reagan’s decision to go there, Peres could have reduced dissonance in one of the two most common ways: thrown out the friendship or minimized the seriousness of the friend’s action. He did neither. ‘When a friend makes a mistake,’ he said, ‘the friend remains a friend, and the mistake remains a mistake.’ Peres’s message conveys the importance of staying with the dissonance, avoiding easy knee-jerk responses, and asking ourselves, Why am I believing this? Why am I behaving this way? Have I thought it through or am I simply taking a short cut, following the party line, or justifying the effort I put in to join the group? (Aronson & Tavris, 2020).

Implications for Teaching

When students face cognitive dissonance, they will try to resolve it. Times when they might feel dissonance:

  • Discussions when challenged on their opinion OR the facts they bring up
  • When faced with a threshold concept which conflicts with strongly held beliefs
  • Academic assessments – honesty/dishonesty

Cognitive Load & Collaborative Learning

According to Kirschner et al. (2018, p. 219):

Collaborative learning occurs when two or more students actively contribute to the attainment of a mutual learning goal and try to share the effort required to reach this goal, either face-to face or supported by a computer (Teasley and Roschelle 1993). This activity is most often initiated by the posing of a learning task or problem by the instructor. The task may be well-defined (i.e., a task with specific goals, clearly defined solution paths, and clear expected solutions), ill-defined (i.e., a task with no clear goals, solution paths, or expected solutions) or even wicked (i.e., a task with incomplete, contradictory, and/or changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize; Rittel and Webber 1984).

Kirschner et al. (2018, p. 217) propose that collaborative learning can support learning because each team member brings different working memory information to the group. “By having multiple working memories working together on the same task, the effective capacity of the multiple working memories may be increased due to a collective working memory effect.”

They explain that this can be enhanced or hindered based on:

  • Recognized differences in prior knowledge – “Collaborators will experience extraneous cognitive load due to task unrelated transactive activities” (Kirschner et al., 2018, p. 221)
  • Previous experience working together – “collaborators are using their own experience of how to work together or other people’s experience of how to work together so that they are able to focus their cognitive resources on acquiring relevant knowledge in long term memory” (Kirschner et al., 2018, p. 221)
The difference [in effective collaborative teams] is that they have had experience of how to work together (i.e., how to organize the information, how to distribute the activities among them, how and when to exchange roles according to the type of activity, and so forth), or are explicitly guided by the learning environment as to how to effectively collaborate (e.g., via external scripts, just-in-time support). (Kirschner et al., 2018, p. 221).

They conclude: “With respect to collaborative learning, four characteristics seem to be important, namely: team size, the roles learners can or must carry out, team composition, and the prior experience of team members working with each other” (Kirschner et al., 2018, p.227).

Getting & Keeping Students’ Attention

Ormrod et al. (2019, p. 202) suggest:

  • Teach attention-maintaining strategies.
  • “Create stimulating lessons in which students want to pay attention.”
  • “Incorporate a variety of instructional methods into lessons.”
  • “Get students emotionally engaged with the subject matter.”
  • “Regularly ask questions.”
  • “Provide frequent breaks from sedentary activities…”
  • “Encourage students to take notes.”
  • “Provide outlets for excess energy.”
  • “Restrict students’ access to electronic devices when classroom lessons and tasks don’t require their use.”

IDI & Cognition

Image indicating these concepts can be applied at steps 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The following describe actions you can take to use concepts from cognition in the IDI model:

Step 2. Where are You Going?

2.1 Write Learning Outcomes & Objectives
  1. “Help students develop better executive function skills by… establishing routines” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).
  2. Shibli & West (n.d.) suggest you reduce intrinsic cognitive load by breaking down the subject content.
  3. “Chunk course content into logical units composed of smaller segments” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
  4. Shibli & West (n.d.) suggest sequencing the delivery so that sub-tasks are taught individually before being explained together as a whole.
  5. Consider extraneous load when making your PC and smart phone policies and add this to your syllabus.
2.2 Finalize Learning Model
  1. “Help students develop better executive function skills by… establishing routines” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).

Step 3. How Will You Know If You Get There?

3.1 Develop Assessments & Rubrics
Selecting readings
  1. “Limit reading to no more than 40 pages a week” (Lee et al., n.d.).
  2. “Use open educational resources with different writing styles and voices” (Lee et al., n.d.).
  3. Make sure all reading materials are available.
  4. Check readings to ensure they are the best options (Reid & Maybee, 2021).
Assignments
  1. “Limit the number of assignments per week. Look for one quality assignment rather then [sic] 5 poorly executed assignments” (Lee et al., n.d.).
  2. “Without question, the best means of improving student metacognition is with frequent, low-stakes assessments” (Lang, 2013). 
  3. Provide progress checklists and opportunities for self-reflection” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
  4. “The more choices and control you can give to students over how they will demonstrate their learning to you, the more you nudge them toward mastery learning” (Lang, 2013).
  5. Provide self-check quizzes or other knowledge checks” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
Quizzes and tests
  1. “Pay attention to purpose. … If a particular question isn’t getting you there, delete it” (Byron, 2020).
  2. “Insert quiz questions inside of lecture to keep them focused usually the online attention span is even shorter than real life” (Lee et al., n.d.).
Instructions and rubrics
  1. Provide models or hints to help students get started on problems or assignments” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
  2. Use Mayer’s principles to ensure your instructions and rubrics are clear and concise. (Worksheet 4.1i)
Syllabus
  1. “Design clear, interactive course headings and icons” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.). 

Step 4. How Will You Get There?

4.1 Develop & Teach Course
  1. “Create stimulating lessons in which students want to pay attention” (Ormrod et al., 2019, p.202).
  2. Provide models or hints to help students get started on problems or assignments” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
  3. “Help students develop better executive function skills by… providing opportunities for directing their own actions with decreasing supervision” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).  You can support this by providing scaffolding, removing the supports as the students can competence and confidence.
  4. Get students emotionally & physically involved with the subject matter (Ormrod et al., 2019, p.202).
  5. “Help students develop better executive function skills by… establishing routines” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).
Group & teamwork
  1. Provide group and teamwork and provide guidelines for group work. This will “Help students develop better executive function skills by… creating and maintaining supportive, reliable relationships” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.) and “Help students develop better executive function skills by… providing activities that foster creative work and social connection” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).
  2. Kirschner et al. (2018, p. 217) propose that collaborative learning can support learning because each team member brings different working memory information to the group; “By having multiple working memories working together on the same task, the effective capacity of the multiple working memories may be increased due to a collective working memory effect.”
Slides
  1. “Insert quiz questions inside of lecture to keep them focused usually the online attention span is even shorter than real life” (Lee et al., n.d.).
  2. Provide self-check quizzes or other knowledge checks” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
  3. When developing course materials (including videos, slide presentations, handouts, etc.) review Mayer’s principles of multimedia development (See Worksheet 4.1i – Optional – Cognitive Load Checklist).
  4. “Design clear, interactive course headings and icons” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.). 
In-class activities
  1. Provide models or hints to help students get started on problems or assignments” (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
Organization
  1. To support germane cognitive load, develop connections to previous learning/schema.
  2. Remove as much extraneous cognitive load as possible.
  3. “Use routine. Start and end class in the same way each day, perhaps with a warm-up and a time for questions. This will allow students to forecast that there will be time for questions to be answered” (Byron, 2020).
  4. Provide outlines or prompts to help learners create mental schemes for digesting content (Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load, n.d.).
Lectures
  1. “Keep lectures chunked into short 5-10 minute segments based on topic” (Lee et al., n.d.).
  2. “Allow students to watch lecture on their phones”. (Lee et al., n.d.)
  3. “Insert quiz questions inside of lecture to keep them focused usually the online attention span is even shorter than real life” (Lee et al., n.d.).
  4. “Make connections. The more connections to previously learned material that you make, the less germane cognitive load there is for your students” (Byron, 2020).
  5. “Provide time. Allow students time in class to think about how this new material connects with what was previously taught” (Byron, 2020).
  6. “Be clear and concise” (Byron, 2020).
  7. Allow students time to manage their anxiety and emotions so they can focus on the material (Byron, 2020).
General
  1. “Help students develop better executive function skills by… creating and maintaining supportive, reliable relationships” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).
  2. Remove as much extraneous cognitive load as possible.
  3. “Help students develop better executive function skills by… modeling social behavior” (Executive Function & Self-Regulation, n.d.).
  4. Allow students time to manage their anxiety and emotions so they can focus on the material (Byron, 2020).
  5. When students appear mentally conflicted, consider discussing the ‘Shimon Peres solution’ (Chapter A8) (Aronson & Tavris, 2020). This may also indicate a schema conflict.

Step 5. How Did It Go?

5.1 Evaluate Course Success
  1. Use the class outline to note how various activities worked.

References

Alexander, S. (2019, January 4). Your Brain’s GPS Is Glitchy: Why Working Memory Fails and How to Bolster It. ADDitude. https://www.additudemag.com/working-memory-powers-executive-function/.

Aronson, E., & Tavris, C. (2020, July 12). The Role of Cognitive Dissonance in the Pandemic. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/role-cognitive-dissonance-pandemic/614074/.

Byron, A. (2020, March 27). Understanding cognitive load to better engage students. Pearson Higher Education. https://www.pearsoned.com/understanding-cognitive-load-to-better-engage-your-students/.

Simons, D. (2010). Daniel Simons—Videos. Daniel Simons. http://www.dansimons.com/videos.html.

Executive Function & Self-Regulation. (n.d.). Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/.

Information Overload: Executive Function & Cognitive Load. (n.d.). University of Maine at Augusta. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://mycampus.maine.edu/web/uc-faculty-portal/information-overload.

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., Kirschner, F., & Zambrano R., J. (2018). From Cognitive Load Theory to Collaborative Cognitive Load Theory. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 13(2), 213–233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-018-9277-y.

Lee, K., Gill, S., & Pettit, D. (n.d.). Cognitive Load in Higher Education: Intro to Cognitive Load Theory for eLearning Professionals [Course]. Introduction to Cognitive Load Theory. Retrieved July 9, 2020, from https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/1217991/pages/cognitive-load-in-higher-education.

McLeod, S. (2018, February 5). Cognitive Dissonance Theory. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html.

Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice (1 edition). Cast Incorporated. http://udltheorypractice.cast.org/home?3.

Ormrod, J. E., Anderman, E. M., & Anderman, L. H. (2019). Educational Psychology: Developing learners (10e ed.). PRENTICE HALL.

Reid, P., & Maybee, C. (2021). Textbooks and Course Materials: A Holistic 5-Step Selection Process. College Teaching, 0(0), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2021.1987182.

Shibli, D., & West, R. (2018, February 22). Cognitive Load Theory and its application in the classroom. Impact.Chartered.College. https://impact.chartered.college/article/shibli-cognitive-load-theory-classroom/.

Simons, D. (2010). Daniel Simons—Videos. Daniel Simons. http://www.dansimons.com/videos.html.

Zakrajsek, T. (2019, October 25). Cognitive Load: A Fundamental Key to Student Learning. Scholarlyteacher. https://www.scholarlyteacher.com/post/cognitive-load-a-fundamental-key-to-student-learning.