COGNITIVE LOAD WHILE LEARNING TO USE A COMPUTER-PROGRAM

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that many traditional i nstructional techniques may unnecessarily overload limited working mem ory and impede learning. Based on cognitive load theory, it was hypoth esised that instructional design only takes on a crucial role when the re is a high level of interaction between learning elements resulting in those elements having to be simultaneously held in working memory. When there is little, if any, interaction between individual learning elements, then the format of presentation should be inconsequential. T hese hypotheses were tested using a computer-aided design/computer-aid ed manufacture (CAD/CAM) package with trainees from a Sydney company. Results showed that when instructions involved high element interactiv ity, a self-contained manual that physically integrated disparate info rmation and did not require the use of the computer hardware was vastl y superior to instructional formats that involved continual interactio n with the computer. No differences were found between instructional f ormats when the learning material entailed low element interactivity. Evidence that these findings were due to cognitive load rather than ot her factors came from secondary task analysis. In light of these and p revious results, suggestions are made for cognitively guided instructi onal packages.