Why Some Material Is Difficult to Learn

The experiments reported in this article flow from the following assumptions concerning our cognitive processes: (a) Schema acquisition and automation are major learning mechanisms when dealing with higher cognitive activities and are designed to circumvent our limited working memories and emphasize our highly effective long-term memories. (b) A limited working memory makes it difficult to assimilate multiple elements of information simultaneously. (c) Under conditions where multiple elements of information interact, they must be assimilated simultaneously. (d) As a consequence, a heavy cognitive load is imposed when dealing with material that has a high level of element interactivity. (e) High levels of element interactivity and their associated cognitive loads may be caused both by intrinsic nature of the material being learned and by the method of presentation. (f) If the intrinsic element interactivity and consequent cognitive load are low, the extraneous cognitive load is critical when dealing with intrinsically high element interactivity materials. These assumptions are the basic points of cognitive load theory. They were used to suggest that, when learning to use equipment such as computer applications, learning might be facilitated by not having the equipment present, if the material that needed to be learned had an intrinsically high degree of element interactivity. A series of four experiments supported this hypothesis. It was concluded that an analysis of both intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load can lead to instructional designs generating spectacular gains in learning efficiency.