Glossary
Cognitive load
What is Cognitive Load?
Cognitive load concerns the demands a task places on working memory. These demands depend on what must be processed together and what the learner already knows, not just on the amount of visible information.
Cognitive load theory
Sweller, van Merriënboer, and Paas’s 2019 paper distinguishes intrinsic demands of interacting task elements from extraneous demands created by how information and activities are arranged. Intrinsic load can be managed through task complexity and the learner’s developing knowledge.
Earlier versions of the theory treated germane load as an additional type. The 2019 formulation instead describes resources directed toward learning the intrinsic material, rather than an independent additive load.
Illustrative application
Imagine a benefits form that asks for a number but puts the explanation on a separate page. The applicant must switch back and forth while remembering what the instruction said. Putting the explanation beside the field can remove that search. Whether it reduces errors or abandonment should be tested in the form.
Limits
Learning requires mental work. The goal is to remove demands that get in the way of the task while preserving the processing needed to learn or decide.