Limit cognitive load in e-learning

There is a limit to how much learning material a student can handle. E-learning offers many ways to prevent overload—if you use it wisely. What should you do, and what should you avoid?

Your head feels fuzzy, your focus blurs, and clear thinking becomes impossible. Know the feeling? That’s your working memory being overloaded. The working memory is like a scratchpad for your brain. You use it to plan your day, solve problems, or temporarily hold a phone number in your mind. It’s also where all new information arrives. You forget a large portion of this; what you process moves to your long-term memory.

Cognitive overload

Although long-term memory is virtually infinite, working memory is limited. Psychologist John Sweller conducted extensive research into the role of working memory in learning and developed Cognitive Load Theory. According to him, cognitive load consists of three aspects:

• The complexity of the information (intrinsic load)
• Any distraction or noise in the presentation of this information (extraneous load)
• The cognitive process by which information is processed and stored in long-term memory (germane load)

Together, these three must be less than what the working memory can handle. Is the load too high? Then cognitive overload occurs. This is something you want to avoid as an instructor, because no matter how hard the student tries, the information will no longer reach their long-term memory.

6 tips for a lower cognitive load

A major advantage of e-learning is that students can study at their own pace. This allows them to decide for themselves when their working memory is ‘full’ and take a break. Adding images, video, and audio can also greatly enhance learning—and online, the possibilities are endless. At the same time, online learning has its challenges: distraction is always lurking. How do you use e-learning to limit cognitive load?

1. Work in small steps

Prevent an excessively high intrinsic load by breaking the material down into easily digestible units. In e-learning, this is also known as microlearning. The more complex the material, the more important this becomes. This is also a great idea if your students do a lot of work on their smartphones (read more about this in our blog on mobile learning). With Pluvo, you can create as many chapters as you like.

2. Encourage processing of the material

Provide a short summary of the covered material at the end of each new chapter. This helps the student store the knowledge and keeps the germane load low. Want to be sure the material has stuck? End the chapter with a short quiz. A major advantage of an online learning environment is that you can immediately see how your students are scoring. Is their score too low? Then repeat the key points in the next chapter.

3. Alternate between text and visuals

The working memory has two different processors. One processes auditory information (text and audio), the other processes visual information. The better information is distributed across these processors, the more effectively the working memory functions. Therefore, alternate text and audio with images and video as much as possible.

4. Keep it relevant

Variety is good, but make sure the texts, images, and videos you use actually add value. If they have little to do with the subject matter, they only serve as distractions. And that creates extraneous load: noise.

5. Choose the right medium

Use a visual medium for visual information. You can describe a square in words, of course, but that just burdens the student with unnecessary information. An image of a square is much easier to process.

6. Keep them engaged

Online courses are full of distractions. Prevent your students from having to open other websites just to watch a video or download a file. In Pluvo, you can easily add YouTube videos, audio files, and documents directly to your course content, significantly reducing the risk of distraction. Pluvo’s clean interface ensures that all the focus remains on the learning material itself.Create a free course today and experience it for yourself.

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