Cognitive Load

"9 Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning"

3 Assumptions about how the mind works in multimedia learning

1. Dual channel assumption - two separate info processing channels: visual and auditory
2. Limited capacity assumption - limited amount of processing capacity in each
3. Active processing - both channels work together

3 Types of Cognitive Processing

1. Essential Processing
2. Incidental Processing
3. Representational Processing

Types of Overload

1. Type 1- one channel is overloaded - solution is off-loading (reassign some demands to other channel)
2. Type 2 - both channels are overloaded - solutions are segmenting (break info. into smaller chunks) or pretraining
3. Type 3 - one or both are overloaded by the combination of essential and incidental processing demands (a lot of extraneous things demanding attention) - solutions are weeding (take out all the unneeded things, like background music or extraneous information) or signaling (give them cues to know what information is the most important, like bolding, arrows, headings, etc.)
4. Type 4 - one or both are overloaded by the combination of essential and incidental processing demands (the essential material is beign presented in a confusing way) - solutions are spacial contiguity (aligning words and pictures) or eliminating redundancy
5. Type 5 - one or both channels are overloaded by the combination of essential and representational holding - solutions are temporal contiguity (synchronizing) or spatial ability (simultaneous presentations)