Are we missing ‘the single most important thing for teachers to know’? Cognitive Load Theory and Learning Development

Abstract

It is reasonable to assume that a core focus of Learning Developers is student learning and the techniques we use to support this learning. It is interesting to note, therefore, that Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) – seen by some as ‘the single most important thing for teachers to know’ in compulsory education (Wiliam, 2017) – receives very limited attention in the Learning Development literature. More broadly a survey of key higher education teaching concepts published in the International Journal of Academic Development makes no mention of this theory (Kandlbinder and Peseta, 2009). CLT relies on well-established findings in cognitive psychology relating to the limits of working memory, and capacities of long-term memory. This seems significant as according to CLT advocates, ‘without knowledge of human cognitive processes, instructional design is blind’ (Sweller, Ayres and Kalyuga, 2011, v). This presentation will first outline the basic principles of and evidence for CLT. It will then highlight the ways it has been used to challenge the use of minimally guided, experiential teaching approaches such as discovery, problem-based or inquiry learning. Participants will have the opportunity to consider possible implications for Learning Development practice: can we, for example, use more strongly guided approaches in our teaching and learning interventions with some learners, without having to feel guilty about ‘sages on stages’ and ‘guides on the side’?