Integrating cognitive load theory with other theories, within and beyond educational psychology.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The long-standing aim of cognitive load theory (CLT) has been to generate instructional design principles that show teachers how to instruct students effectively, based on knowledge of the intricacies of human cognitive architecture. Historically, the focus of CLT has been on identifying cognitive processes related to learning and instruction. However, the theory has become more multidisciplinary over time, drawing on theoretical perspectives both within, and beyond, educational psychology. RESULTS: This Editorial presents a brief historical overview of key developments in CLT and seven key themes that are pertinent to research on CLT. These themes are as follows: Level of Expertise, Cognitive Load Measurement, Embodied Cognition, Self-Regulated Learning, Emotion Induction, Replenishment of Working Memory, and Two Subprocessors of Working Memory. Summaries of the nine empirical contributions to the special issue are presented and discussed in relation to how they provide insight into one or more of these themes. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the variables that impact student learning and instruction has always represented the core aim of CLT. The growing multidisciplinary features of CLT should provide researchers and practitioners with more holistic perspectives of the factors that predict student learning and, in turn, guide instructional design.

Improving English language skills through learning Mathematic contents: From the expertise reversal effect perspective.

BACKGROUND: Previous research in the field of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has not yet comprehensively investigated the interaction between learners' expertise and the instructional effectiveness. AIMS: Taking cognitive load theory as the theoretical framework, a study was conducted to investigate the expertise reversal effect on learning English and mathematics simultaneously: whether an integrated approach (i.e. learning both English and mathematics simultaneously) could facilitate the acquisition of mathematic skills and English linguistic skills as a foreign language more effectively and efficiently than a separated learning approach (i.e. learning Mathematics and English separately). MATERIALS: The materials for the integrated learning approach were in English-only, and the materials for the separated learning approach were in English-and-Chinese. Both sets of materials were given as reading content for teaching mathematic skills and English as a foreign language. METHODS: The study adopted a 2 (language expertise: low vs. high) × 2 (instruction: integrated vs. separated) between-subject factorial design with instructional approaches and learners' expertise in English as independent variables, the learning performance in Mathematics and English with the cognitive load ratings as the dependent variables. Sixty-five Year-10 students with lower expertise in English and 56 Year-2 college students with higher expertise in English in China were recruited and allocated to two instructional conditions respectively. RESULTS: An expertise reversal effect was confirmed: the English and mathematics integrated learning approach was more effective for higher expertise learners while the English and mathematics separated learning condition was more beneficial for lower expertise learners.

The benefits of teaching on comprehension, motivation, and perceived difficulty: Empirical evidence of teaching expectancy and the interactivity of teaching.

BACKGROUND: Research regarding teaching expectancy has been mostly conducted in research laboratories with college students. These studies provide insufficient evidence regarding its effect on learners' delayed comprehension. Moreover, the relative superiority of teaching a peer face to face compared to teaching an imagined peer lacks empirical support. AIMS: The purpose of the study was to investigate the interactivity of teaching by comparing peer teaching to imagined teaching, as well as enhancing the generalizability of the teaching expectancy effect by testing it in a secondary school environment. SAMPLE: A total of 597 students (282 males) from 12 classes in a secondary school were recruited to participate in the study as part of their psychology course. METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions formed by a 2 (teaching expectancy vs. testing expectancy) × 3 (peer teaching vs. imagined teaching vs. no teaching) between-subjects design. Their immediate and delayed comprehension tests, motivation, and perceived difficulty were measured as dependent variables. RESULTS: Imagined teaching enhanced both immediate and delayed comprehension, but peer teaching only enhanced immediate comprehension. Moreover, the effects of imagined teaching on perceived difficulty and motivation were dependent upon teaching expectancy or testing expectancy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide empirical evidence to the existing theoretical frameworks, but caution should be taken when applying imagined teaching in practice.

Element interactivity as a factor influencing the effectiveness of worked example-problem solving and problem solving-worked example sequences.

BACKGROUND: The worked example effect in cognitive load theory suggests that providing worked examples first followed by solving similar problems would facilitate students' learning. Using problem solving-worked example sequence is another way of implementing example-based instruction. Although research has demonstrated the superiority of worked example-problem solving sequence on learning materials that presumably are high in element interactivity for novices, none of the previous studies have compared the two sequences with levels of element interactivity experimentally manipulated in a strictly controlled manner. AIM: The reported study aimed to investigate the effects of levels of element interactivity of the learning tasks and levels of learner prior knowledge on the effectiveness of two alternative example-based sequences, worked example-problem solving versus problem solving-worked example. SAMPLE: Fifty-two Year five students, around 10 to 11 years old, from a primary school in Indonesia participated in Experiment 1, and 96 Year eight students, around 13 to 14 years old, from a secondary school in Indonesia participated in Experiment 2. METHODS: 2 (sequences: worked example-problem solving vs. problem solving-worked example) × 2 (levels of element interactivity: low vs. high) experimental design, with the second factor repeatedly measured, was used in the two experiments conducted with learners at different levels of prior knowledge. RESULT: The results showed the advantage of using worked example-problem solving sequence for learning materials high in element interactivity, especially for novice learners, whereas there were no differences between the worked example-problem solving and problem solving-worked example sequences for learning materials low in element interactivity for more knowledgeable learners. CONCLUSION: This study not only replicated the results of previous studies, but also extended their findings by experimentally manipulating levels of element interactivity of learning materials.

Undesirable Difficulty Effects in the Learning of High-Element Interactivity Materials.

According to the concept of desirable difficulties, introducing difficulties in learning may sacrifice short-term performance in order to benefit long-term retention of learning. We describe three types of desirable difficulty effects: testing, generation, and varied conditions of practice. The empirical literature indicates that desirable difficulty effects are not always obtained and we suggest that cognitive load theory may be used to explain many of these contradictory results. Many failures to obtain desirable difficulty effects may occur under conditions where working memory is already stressed due to the use of high element interactivity information. Under such conditions, the introduction of additional difficulties may be undesirable rather than desirable. Empirical evidence from diverse experiments is used to support this hypothesis.