Advances in Cognitive Load Theory : Rethinking Teaching

Cognitive load theory uses our knowledge of how people learn, think and solve problems to design instruction. In turn, instructional design is the central activity of classroom teachers, of curriculum designers, and of publishers of textbooks and educational materials, including digital information. Characteristically, the theory is used to generate hypotheses that are tested using randomized controlled trials. Cognitive load theory rests on a base of hundreds of randomized controlled trials testing many thousands of primary and secondary school children as well as adults.

That research has been conducted by many research groups from around the world and has resulted in a wide range of novel instructional procedures that have been tested for effectiveness. Advances in Cognitive Load Theory, in describing current research, continues in this tradition. Exploring a wide range of instructional issues dealt with by the theory, it covers all general curriculum areas critical to educational and training institutions and outlines recent extensions to other psycho-educational constructs including motivation and engagement.

With contributions from the leading figures from around the world, this book provides a one-stop-shop for the latest in cognitive load theory research and guidelines for how the findings can be applied in practice.

Sharon Tindall-Ford is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Wollongong. Her research interests in the area of cognition and instruction have focused on a number of cognitive load effects including the modality effect, worked example effect, imagination effect and self management of cognitive load. She is particularly interested in how these effects are implemented within primary and secondary classrooms.

Shirley Agostinho is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Wollongong. Her research focuses on how teachers design and how learners support their own learning using digital technologies. Her interest in cognitive load theory is concerned with how learners can apply cognitive load theory principles to support their learning.

John Sweller is an Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of New South Wales. His research is associated with cognitive load theory. The theory is a contributor to research on issues associated with human cognition, its links to evolution by natural selection, and the consequences for instructional design.