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Cognitive load

In cognitive psychology, cognitive load is the effort being used in the working memory. According to work conducted in the field of instructional design and pedagogy, broadly, there are three types of cognitive load:

  • Intrinsic cognitive load is the effort associated with a specific topic.
  • Germane cognitive load refers to the work put into creating a permanent store of knowledge (a schema).
  • Extraneous cognitive load refers to the way information or tasks are presented to a learner.

However, over the years, the additivity of these types of cognitive load has been investigated and questioned. Now it is believed that they circularly influence each other.

Cognitive load theory was developed in the late 1980s out of a study of problem solving by John Sweller. Sweller argued that instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load in learners.
Much later, other researchers developed a way to measure perceived mental effort which is indicative of cognitive load. Task-invoked pupillary response is a reliable and sensitive measurement of cognitive load that is directly related to working memory. Information

Source: Wikipedia

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