Cognitive Load Theory

This essay explores how elementary school teachers can support students in becoming effective peer tutors. Drawing on the author’s personal experience as an elementary educator and researcher, it discusses how cognitive load theory can be used to generate a framework to support practicing teachers in implementing peer tutoring in their own classrooms. The framework presented is particularly relevant to well-structured learning domains, such as mathematics.

The use of separate graphs and texts to disclose information is a frequent occurrence in corporate annual reports. Surprisingly, research shows that multiple sources of information do not enhance understanding of users of financial statements for decision making purposes. This study compares spatially separated text and graphs with integrated presentation that aim at bringing text and graphs as close as possible to each other. The chapter begins by illustrating the concept of split-attention and how cognitive load arises when disparate sources of accounting information need to be mentally integrated by users. Spatially separated text and diagrams is also discussed in the context of integrated reporting which promotes the integrated thinking concept.  An experiment using separate text and diagrams is then presented to demonstrate how participants can deal with cognitive overload when reading split-attention material. Using two instructional design formats, the split-attention format and the integrated format, first year accounting students were used as surrogates for financial report user groups such as employees and shareholders. Although the use of surrogates may present a limitation to generalisability, the presence of the split-attention effect in the financial accounting material was established. Effective use of text and diagrams in integrated reporting helps integrated thinking and assists the interconnections of information. The findings suggest that redesigning financial reports by integrating text and diagrams may make effective use of the available cognitive resources and possibly enhance investors and other stakeholders’ decision making process. 

Keywords: accounting, cognitive load theory, financial reports, graph, split-attention

The field of accounting education has recently adopted cognitive load theory (CLT), which originated in educational psychology. There are several empirical studies inspired by CLT which have demonstrated the practical implications of this theory. Although some articles have addressed the relationship of CLT and accounting education, none have considered the integration of the design principles and provide practical guidelines accounting educators may follow. Three techniques are described, by which educators may do so: (a) minimising instructional procedures that splits the attention of students, (b) tailoring instruction to levels of accounting students' expertise, and (c) minimising problem-solving exercises and utilising more worked examples. A detailed examination of these 3 techniques indicates that they assist students‟ understanding of accounting. These techniques are not applicable to all accounting learners but are more appropriate to accounting students learning a specific topic for the first time than to expert learners (e.g., final year students who have been introduced to the accounting topic). All 3 guidelines are based on the importance CLT places on the human cognitive architecture, particularly our knowledge of working and long-term memory, schema construction and automation, and the different types of cognitive load affecting the students to absorb and retain information.

Keywords: Accounting, Cognitive load theory, Education, Guidelines, Instruction

Online units of study are now an integral part of accounting education programs. Educators are increasingly becoming responsible for developing and teaching asynchronous online units, which can be challenging. This paper describes the transition of a blended working in professions unit by enhancing the blended materials using cognitive load theory (CLT) at an Australian university. Blended learning significantly reduces face-to-face instruction by integrating online learning experiences. To assess the perceptions of learners on enhanced blended learning materials, survey data were collected and student perception ratings were compared in blended learning environments incorporating CLT concepts and without CLT. Results show that student rated blended learning environments incorporating CLT highly, thus empirically validating the use of CLT in accounting education. The article concludes with suggestions of how accounting educators can incorporate CLT into online accounting instruction.

Keywords: accounting, accounting education, asynchronous, blended learning, online

For over three decades, cognitive load theory (CLT) has drawn on models of cognitive architecture—including a working memory whose capacity and duration limits can be substantially reduced when domain-specific schemas are activated from long-term memory—to generate and test instructional design hypotheses. The cognitive load construct refers to the load placed on working memory by a range of cognitive processes, including comprehension, schema construction, schema automation, and problem solving. When working memory is overloaded by the competing demands of these processes, CLT argues, student learning is impaired. Using CLT, researchers have (typically) used experimental methods to test a range of instructional designs that variously target obstructions to learning (e.g., split attention) or develop strategies to circumvent these issues (e.g., worked examples; for summaries of CLT designs, see Kalyuga 2015; Sweller et al. 2011). This Special Issue presents 10 articles, including theoretical reviews, meta-analyses, and intervention studies, that all focus on a unique aspect of advancement of CLT or cognate theories such as Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML). Drawing in part on ongoing research presented at the 2017 and 2018 International Cognitive Load Theory Conferences, the Special Issue also reflects on the impact of a key review of CLT published in Educational Psychology Review by Sweller et al. (Educational Psychology Review, 10(3), 251-296, 1998), “Cognitive architecture and instructional design.” The impact of this review of CLT is clearly seen in citation counts as of 8 January 2019 (1862 citations in Web of Science; 5092 citations in Google Scholar).

Self-rated mental effort has been and continues to be the most widely used measure of cognitive load. This single-item measure is often used as a predictor variable in linear models for predicting performance or some other response variable. While an advantage of linear models is that they are fairly easy to understand, they fall short when the relations between variables of interest are clearly non-linear. The current study focused on a reanalysis of data of four recently published studies in which self-rated mental effort was measured repeatedly along with either workload, time on task—viewing time in one study, response time in another study—or self-rated certainty of correct task performance. A core outcome of the reanalysis is a preference towards mental effort as a non-linear instead of linear predictor in three of the four studies: quadratic (workload), quadratic (response time), and cubic (certainty); only in the case of viewing time, mental effort as a linear predictor was found to be the preferred solution. Implications of this finding for the interpretation of self-rated mental effort, indicators of cognitive load involving time on task, and metacognition-related response variables such as self-rated certainty are discussed.

Öz: Akıllı telefonların çağdaş yaşamın her yerinde vazgeçilmez bir yer alması ile birlikte bireylerin bu cihazlara olan ilgisi ve düşkünlüğü bir olgu olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu durumun işgören algı ve davranışlarını nasıl etkilediği örgüt yönetimi için önem arz ettiği düşünülmektedir. Akıllı telefondan yoksun olma korkusu şeklinde tanımlanan nomofobinin işgörenlerin sınırlı dikkat ve zamanlarını çalabilecek bir durum ortaya çıkararak bireylerin görevlerine yeterince odaklanamayarak normal durumda yapabilecekleri işleri yetiştiremeyecek duruma gelebilecekleri düşünülmektedir. Bu durumun işgörende iş yükü fazlalığı algısına sebep olabileceği değerlendirilmektedir. Bu ilişki kamu çalışanları örnekleminde irdelenmiş yapılan istatistiksel analizler sonucunda nomofobi düzeyinin alt boyutları ile birlikte (bilgiye erişememe korkusu hariç) iş yükü fazlalığı algısını artırdığı görülmüştür.
Abstract: In line with smartphones becoming an indispensable aspect of contemporary life, individuals’ interest in these devices has becoming more commonplace. The impact of this situation on employees’ perception and behaviours is being considered as critical for organisation managements. Nomophobia which is defined as a phobia caused by being without a smartphone is conceived as a condition which may steal employees’ limited attention and time in the workplace and prevent employees to focus enough to their tasks, hamper them to complete their normally designated workload. This situation is considered to cause extra workload perception for employees. This association is scrutinised in the context of public employees and, after statistical analyses, it is found that nomophobia with its sub-dimensions (except “not being able to access information”) increases role overload perception.

In Chap.  2 of this book, we discuss that cognitive schemas determine what are the information elements that must be processed with more or less effort. Chapter  3 builds forth on that notion: the more developed and automated our cognitive schemas about a particular type of problem, the easier we can recognise problem states and possible solutions. This allows us to process routine information such as fixed procedures with less effort so that we have more working memory capacity available for what needs to be processed with more effort. This chapter applies these principles to emergency medicine. Emergency medicine involves people working in teams to assist those in need of immediate medical attention. Those who work in an emergency medicine department have to make rapid decisions under time pressure, stress and uncertainty as well as manage teamwork and organisational processes. This chapter focuses on the mental processes employed by emergency medicine practitioners when doing their work.

In this chapter, we explore how we think, learn and solve problems through the lens of cognitive load theory. Cognitive load theory is a contemporary theory for the design of education and training that incorporates principles derived from research on human cognitive architecture and evolutionary psychology. In cognitive load theory, two key components of human cognitive architecture are long-term memory and working memory. Long-term memory represents the knowledge base or information store that consists of knowledge structures or cognitive schemas that are the products of either evolutionary adaptation (biologically primary knowledge) or cultural advancement (biologically secondary knowledge). These structures or cognitive schemas typically comprise multiple elements of information that represent concepts, procedures and problem solutions. Expertise is intimately linked to that knowledge base in long-term memory. Working memory is the conscious information processing centre of our cognitive architecture and has natural processing constraints. The load arising from that information processing is also called working memory load or cognitive load. This chapter discusses types of cognitive load identified in a traditional and in a recently proposed framework and argues why the recent framework should be preferred. This chapter constitutes the theoretical foundation for Chaps.  2 (on expertise and problem solving) and  10 (on design guidelines) of this book.

Large group teaching is one of the pillars of university education. This paper proposes to study the factors that determine the quality of these learning situations. Perceived learning and perceived quality of pedagogy are the two dependent variables that we seek to explain. The potentially explanatory variables were identified a) in focus groups with university teachers and b) by referring to the cognitive load theory and research on motivation. A questionnaire was conducted on four management courses. The main explanatory variables identified are support for fixation, cognitive overload, perceived pre-acquisition and the three measures of motivation: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and perceived motivation of the teacher. Recommendations are proposed in conclusion.

This study had two main purposes. First, to test how the availability of documents in multiple document reading might affect students' levels of cognitive load. Secondly, to develop an instrument that captures the different sources of load when working with multiple documents. A total of 125 secondary school students read four short texts on transgenic foods and subsequently responded to an open-ended question that required them to write an essay expressing their personal stance toward the topic. Participants in the experimental treatment condition (n = 54) were allowed to go back to the texts any time during the essay task, whereas their peers in the control condition (n = 71) were not allowed to do so. As hypothesized through the lens of cognitive load theory, the cognitive load arising from cognitive processes that in themselves do not contribute to learning (i.e., extraneous cognitive load) was somewhat lower in the experimental treatment condition, probably due to split attention effects in the control condition. However, no statistically significant differences were found in perceived task complexity or learning task performance. A reliable instrument to measure different sources of intrinsic and extraneous load in multiple document reading is provided. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

This empirical study used Keller’s (2008b) Motivation, Volition, and Performance (MVP) theory to develop and statistically evaluate a mathematical MVP model that can serve as a research and policy tool for evaluating students’ learning experiences in digital environments. Specifically, it explored undergraduate biology students’ learning and attitudes toward e-texts using a MVP mathematical model in two different e-text environments. A data set (N = 1,334) that included student motivation and e-text information processing, frustration with using e-texts, and student ability variables was used to evaluate e-text satisfaction. A regression analysis of these variables revealed a significant model that explained 77% of the variation in student e-text satisfaction in both e-text learning environments. Student motivation and intrinsic cognitive load were positive predictors of student satisfaction, while extraneous cognitive load and student prior knowledge and background variables were negative predictors. Practical implications for e-text learning and generalizability of a mathematical MVP model are discussed.

Aprender conocimientos escolares tiene características diferentes de los aprendizajes que ocurren en situaciones de convivencia no escolarizada. Su principal diferencia radica en utilizar los sistemas cognitivos desarrollados para adquirir información. Los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje son más efectivos cuando se diseñan y ejecutan teniendo en mente los aspectos más relevantes de la cognición humana. La teoría de la carga cognitiva es una teoría instruccional que viene desarrollándose específicamente a partir de la investigación de la arquitectura cognitiva humana y opera durante el aprendizaje de la solución de problemas complejos. El principal propósito de esta teoría es proponer lineamientos para el diseño de ambientes apropiados de aprendizaje que permitan la construcción de esquemas de conocimientos de alta calidad en la memoria de largo plazo optimizando los recursos atencionales de la memoria de trabajo. Por esto, las investigaciones se han centrado en identificar las condiciones que resultan ser más favorables para instrucción y el aprendizaje de las tareas académicas. En este artículo se presenta una revisión general de la teoría de la carga cognitiva. Se distinguen los conocimientos biológicos primarios y secundarios, los sistemas, características y limitaciones de la arquitectura cognitiva humana, los tipos carga cognitiva y los efectos instruccionales encontrados en condiciones de experimentación. Esta revisión ofrece lineamientos instruccionales para el diseño de ambientes adecuados de aprendizaje, los cuales pueden servir de guía para los profesionales de la educación, los diseñadores instruccionales y los administradores de carreras y programas académicos.

Reliable detection of cognitive load would benefit the design of intelligent assistive navigation aids for the visually impaired (VIP). Ten participants with various degrees of sight loss, navigated in unfamiliar indoor and outdoor environments, while their electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrodermal activity (EDA) signals were being recorded. In this study, the cognitive load of the tasks was assessed in real time based on a modification of the well-established event-related (de-)synchronization (ERD/ERS) index. We present an in-depth analysis of the environments that mostly challenge people from certain categories of sight loss and we present an automatic classification of the perceived difficulty in each time instance, inferred from their biosignals. Given the limited size of our sample, our findings suggest that there are significant differences across the environments for the various categories of sight loss. Moreover, we exploit cross-modal relations predicting the cognitive load in real-time inferring on features extracted from the EDA. Such possibility paves the way for the design on less invasive, wearable assistive devices that take into consideration the well-being of the VIP.