Cognitive load

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What is cognitive load theory? You probably know that learning takes effort and this effort can feel like a load cognitively, sometimes the cognitive load isn't very much at all.
And learning feels easy. Sometimes the task is too hard and you have cognitive overload.
Ideally, there's a perfect match between what you're trying to learn and the cognitive load you can handle. Cognitive load theory starts with the idea that working memory is a bottleneck between new information processed by your sensory memory and knowledge that's stored in your long term memory.
Your senses are always taking in large amounts of information from the environment like Ambien sounds or the temperature.
But you ignore most of it. The information you pay attention to gets filtered into your working memory.
The working memory has limited capacity here. Information can be manipulated and managed and then either lost and forgotten or stored in the long term memory, which is more stable and has no known limits.
Once information is in long term memory, it can be transferred to make decisions and solve problems in real life situations.
Cognitive load theory is a living theory that is being adjusted based on new studies. Since the working memory has limited capacity, the amount of information it's processing can be considered the cognitive load.
Currently, there are two kinds of cognitive load, intrinsic and extraneous intrinsic load is the load related to the learning task.
Like the topic of a lecture or the skill you're supposed to practice, it's the good load that's intended and expected to be there.
So for example, if the task is to learn to identify our muscles, the intrinsic load may involve the name and location of each muscle, extraneous load is the load not related to the learning task.
This can be irrelevant, sounds and images from the environment like distracting, buzzing from a mobile device or from the instructional content itself containing unnecessary details that overcomplicate learning.
So when learning to identify muscles having a diagram that includes famous sports figures can be a distraction and serve as an extraneous load together.
The intrinsic and extraneous load make up the total cognitive load. So then the general goal is to limit extraneous load.
But there's a third important factor that used to be called German load and is now also called German processing. You can think of this as the attention you're giving to learning at a given time.
For example, concentrating intensely on anatomical images tells you that German processing is present. If you are daydreaming, your German processing, isn't there handling the intended intrinsic load?
Clearly, no learning can happen when you're not paying attention and you have no germane processing applied to what you're supposed to learn.
When you're ready to learn. The best scenario is having all your working memory handling intrinsic load.
There's almost always some extraneous load, but sometimes you can get close and you can experience a flow state where there's complete immersion into what you're learning and you lose track of time.
Sometimes the intrinsic load itself is more cognitive load than you can handle. That's when the task is too large or complex.
We all need to be able to walk before we run add before we master advanced calculus and speak a few words before we're fluent in the language.
When the intrinsic load is too much, there are some things you can do to reduce it. You can break down a complex task into smaller pieces or see if you can get instructions or a recipe that explains how to work through the task.
You can use resources that combine words and pictures, which lets larger chunks of information be processed by working memory.
You can try to draw from your own experiences or use your imagination to connect with what you're learning looking inward.
This way, gives your working memory a break and you can work with others who can share working memory capacities to handle a cognitive load.
That is too much for one person. As we said, you want to reduce extraneous load, which acts as noise getting in the way of learning you can do this by limiting distractions in the environment.
And from stress, you can also simplify by limiting the number of resources you're using since it takes effort just to decide which one to use.
And you can choose resources that limit excessive details. While learning, you can also avoid diversions focusing on only the essential aspects of the task.
Even if you've hit the sweet spot, a perfect match between cognitive load and working memory capacity. It's important to know that working memory capacity changes over time, it can get depleted as you use it to learn new information or skills.
Sometimes it helps to take a break and reflect on what you've learned and rejuvenate sleep and a generally healthy lifestyle also help keep your working memory capacity high.
Finally, cognitive load is not the same for everyone. Each person has unique experiences and abilities that influence how they handle the difficulty of intrinsic load.
Likewise, each person might have different extraneous loads they are handling. If things are feeling easy for you, you might try to contribute some of your cognitive effort to someone else by explaining a concept or coaching them on a skill they're practicing.
If it's hard for you, you can ask for help in health care. We are always learners and we're also often teachers when you're teaching, think of how you can help learners optimize their cognitive load by creating environments that limit distractions such as by encouraging students to put away phones and to have a quiet, dedicated study environment.
You can also simplify learning by keeping teaching slides clean and free from overcrowding with words and consistently referring to the same few resources across coursework, realize that every learner will experience cognitive load differently.
So it's important to consider ways to manage the group's cognitive resources. So learners support one another.
As you do all of this, you will also have to manage your own cognitive load, knowing your learners in advance and developing clear plans will ease the cognitive load you face in new teaching situations.
All right, as a quick recap, there are two types of cognitive load. Intrinsic load is related to the learning task and extraneous load is unrelated.
Cognitive load theory explains how we can make the best use of working memory when we're trying to learn by optimizing intrinsic load and limiting extraneous load.
Studies have shown that simply being aware of what cognitive load is can help you manage yours better.