Instructional Design Theory
Advanced Instructional Design Theory
EME7676 - Summer 2017 - University of West Florida
John Sweller is an Australian educational psychologist credited as the founder of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). While the theory has undergone many adaptations over the years, the first working model of CLT was developed in 1988 (Cooper, 1990). The core concept in CLT is that working-memory is limited in capacity, while long-term memory has virtually no limit. The limits of working-memory are acknowledged by experts in other disciplines (i.e., neuroscience); however, experts have not agreed on how many ‘items’ can be held in working memory and estimates range from as low as four to as many as seven. Regardless of the exact number, experts agree that working memory is extremely limited (Sweller et al., 2011). The number is relevant only to illustrate that CLT suggests that in order to develop effective instructional material, designers should chunk information into logical groups, to reduce the total number of items so that they can be more easily understood. Some topics are innately complex, and the process of learning will always require effortful mental activity, but the “objective of CLT is to predict learning outcomes by taking into consideration the capabilities and limitations of the human cognitive architecture” (Plass, Moreno, & Brünken, 2010, p. 1).
KEY CONCEPTS
CLT divides the cognitive load imposed on the learner’s working memory into three main categories: germane, intrinsic, and extraneous. The intrinsic load is the raw load imposed on the learner simply due to achieving the learning goals. The complexity of the material determines intrinsic load. The extraneous load is the load imposed on the learner by instructional design when it consists of unnecessary steps, procedures, or processes (Sweller, Ayres, & Kalyuga, 2011). Germane load is the core mental resources necessary in the process of acquiring new information (i.e., learning). Intrinsic and extraneous load together are the cognitive demands required to learn the material while germane load describes the mental resources inherent in learning (Sweller et al., 2011). Taken as a whole, CLT includes strategies that reduce intrinsic load by organizing learning in a way that maximizes effective schemas (i.e., chunking material) and minimizes, or eliminates, extraneous load through effective instructional design.
Schema Theory
John Sweller is the founder of CLT; however, he was not the first to examine many of the core components of CLT (e.g., mental effort, schema development, task difficulty). Sweller’s earliest influence may have been the work of Sir Francis Bartlett, the founder of Schema Theory. Bartlett’s work on memory laid the ground work for researchers to develop complex diagrams and models of the human learning processes. In his 1932 work titled Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology he examined how participants produced “serial reproduction” of visual images from descriptive passages (Bartlett, 1932). Schema Theory has gone under many revisions since its inception, and modern theorists have molded Schema Theory to a more comprehensive learning theory.
Task Difficulty
John Sweller is the founder of CLT; however, he was not the first to examine many of the core components of CLT (e.g., mental effort, schema development, task difficulty). Sweller’s earliest influence may have been the work of Sir Francis Bartlett, the founder of Schema Theory. Bartlett’s work on memory laid the ground work for researchers to develop complex diagrams and models of the human learning processes. In his 1932 work titled Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology he examined how participants produced “serial reproduction” of visual images from descriptive passages (Bartlett, 1932). Schema Theory has gone under many revisions since its inception, and modern theorists have molded Schema Theory to a more comprehensive learning theory.
Mental Load
Sweller was also influenced by the work of Moray. Moray’s concept of mental load and its effect on human factors resembles many aspects of CLT (Plass et al., 2010). One of the differences is that Moray’s mental load construct was primarily concerned with how humans interact with systems and technological equipment. The mental effort or mental load imposed on humans by the technical systems they interact with is a core component of human factors science. Given that the personal computer was yet to be a household name, Moray’s farsightedness is impressive Where CLT differentiates itself, is in the shift from how humans interact with technical systems to how humans process information during learning.