Cognitive load

We have paid particular attention to maintaining the length of the text what growth there has been is due entirely to the additional pedagogical features, such as Picture the process, that we have introduced to reduce the cognitive load of the material for the reader. A few of the less central topics and some with burdensome mathematics have been moved to the book s Web site. 

K. Izzetoglu, G. Yurtsever, A. Bozkurt, B. Yazici, and S. Bunce. Nir spectroscopy measurements of cognitive load elicited by gkt and target categorization. In Proceedings of 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. IEEE, 2002. 

This flexibility is not without a price, however, as learners need to keep track of where they are and pace themselves. To address this, we examine the situation from the psychological perspective of cognitive load theory. Cognitive load theory is based on the premise that people have a limited working memory capacity and that information must flow through before it can be stored in long-term memory (Sweller 2005). The basis for this is Miller s work, which indicated most people had a working memory capacity of 7 2 items (Miller 1956). 

There is a cognitive load associated with each medium, which affects the level of cognitive effort required to access the information. While older technologies like text on paper have almost no load due to the learner s familiarity with them, technologies with which a learner is not as familiar require cognitive resources when being accessed. 

From this analysis, we see that students do take advantage of the flexibility afforded to them. Different students navigate through the material in drastically different ways. From a cognitive load perspective, this shows that the intrinsic load imposed by the medium does not seem to be inhibiting student behavior. 

Sweller, J. (2005) Implications of cognitive load theory for multimedia learning. In The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, ed. R. E. Mayer, pp. 19-30. Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press. 

Sweller, J., Chandler, P., Tierney, P., Cooper, M. (1991). Cognitive load as a factor in the structuring of technical material. Journal of Experimental Psychology General, 119, 176-192. 

The question differed from the previous two questions in that the chemical equation was given in words, and students had instructions to draw two time frames, namely the initial reaction mixture and the mixture at the completion of the reaction. In asking students to draw the initial mixture and the final mixture, the cognitive load was somewhat decreased intentionally, allowing students to focus on the stoichiometiy and nature of the product. 

Providing scaffolding for modeling exercises is another prerequisite if students are to benefit and construct their own knowledge as a result of modeling [8,13]. Intermediate representations used in the present study (such as the start and end of the reaction in question 2 and the various frames to show different extents of reaction in question 3) should have decreased the cognitive load students were experiencing [13]. 

Yeung, A, Jin, P and Sweller, J (1998) Cognitive Load and Learner Expertise Split-Attention and Redundancy Effects in Reading with Explanatory Notes. Contemp Educ Psychol 23 1-21. 

Chandler P, Sweller J (1991) Cognitive load theory and the format of instruction. Cogn Instr, 8 293-332... 

Kirschner PA (2002) Cognitive load theory Implications of cognitive load theory on the design of learning. Learn Instr, 12 1-10... 

Paas F, Van Merrienboer J (1994) Instructional control of cognitive load in the training of complex cognitive tasks. Edu Psych Rev, 6 351-371... 

Sweller J (1994) Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learn Inst, 4 295-312... 

Tracy J, Albers M. Measuring cognitive load to test the usability of web sites. Usability and information design. 2006. http //www.researchgate.net/... 

How will additional cognitive load impact the user ... 

Mohan V, Gold J. Collaborative intelligent case design model to facilitate simrrlated testing of clinical cognitive load. Portland Oregon Health and Science University 2014. 

Efficiency Effectiveness Cognitive load Ease of learning Ease of remembering User appeal... 

Word prediction is another acceleration technique available from many sources. Based on previously selected letters and words, the system presents the user with best guess choices for completing the spelling of a word. The user then chooses one of the predictions or continues spelling, resulting in yet another set of predictions. Prediction systems have demonstrated a reduction in the number of keystrokes, but recent research [Koester and Levine, 1994] reports that the actual communication rate does not represent a statistical improvement over spelling. The reason for word predication s failure to improve rate is that increased time is needed to read and select the word table choices. The cost of discontinuity and increased cognitive load in the task seems to match the benefits of reduced keystrokes. 

Generally the selection technique of choice should be that which results in the fastest communication possible. Consideration of factors such as cognitive load [Cress and French, 1994], environmental changes, fatigue, aesthetics, and stability of physical skill often influence the choice of the best selection technique. 

Cress, C.J. and French, G.J. 1994. The relationship between cognitive load measurements and estimates of computer input control skills. Ass. Tech. 6.1,54-66. 

Theory can refer to well-established theories, such as constructivism, situated learning or cognitive load theory ... 

---