How We Learn, Part 1

Learning Experience (Lx) Design and Cognitive Load Theory

by Karen Caldwell, 19 June 2024

What do you think the image above, of coffee being poured into two overflowing and stacked stacked cups?

• Why is that precious commodity being lost, or wasted!?
• And oh yeah, what’s the connection to learning, or even learning experience design?
• While we’re at it how is it related to this thing called cognitive load theory?

Spoiler alert: With cognitive load theory (CLT), we design learning experiences that avoid the “overflow” and loss of precious learning content.

In How we Learn, Part 1, we’ll explore:

1. What cognitive load theory is
2. How memory is built
3. A definition of learning
4. Designing learning experiences with cognitive load theory in mind
5. Creating a checklist for learning experience design

What is Cognitive Load and CL Theory?

Cognitive load theory (CLT) is the single-most important concept for educators and yes, learners, to understand and apply. I am not alone in this opinion. And once you learn the basics of CLT and its role in learning, you’ll likely agree. 

Let’s start with cognitive load itself.

Cognitive load is the mental workload we experience based on the demands of a task (or set of tasks) which is due to information processing. Cognitive load occurs in our conscious minds (working memory), where information is processed and used.

In a nutshell, CLT suggests that:

• we can only hold and manage a small amount of information in our conscious minds at any one time, and
• we should design learning experiences that avoid overloading our conscious minds (also called working memory) and that encode new information in our long-term memory.

Cognitive load theory distinguishes different types of mental workload, depending on several factors (more on the types below). Though it may be a novel or unfamiliar concept to many, CLT is not new. CLT emerged in the 1980s through the work of John Sweller and earlier contributions by cognitive psychologists and researchers such as George Miller in the 1950s, Baddeley and Hitch in the 1970s, and Cowan in the 2000s. Our understanding today is based on over a century of applied research in every conceivable setting you can imagine (schools, higher education, the workplace, sports training, you name it). 

How we Build Memory

Cognitive load theory is all about learning processes that use and process information to build memory and store it in long-term memory.

1. How does that learning process happen?
2. What does the storage process look like?

Professor of psychology and author Daniel Willingham‘s simple memory model answers these questions. Have a look at the GIF below (no sound) from author and illustrator Oliver Caviglioli to get a sense of Willingham’s take on how we build memory. Alternatively, read the described text of Caviglioli’s GIF of Willingham’s simple memory model.

Lots of moving parts, right? The model is a powerful representation of four cyclical, or iterative, processes:

• attend
• learn
• remember
• forget

Of these four, learning is likely the most subjective concept, so it’ll help if I explain what it means to me.

Defining Learning

Learning is made up of memory plus transfer.

This definition relates to learning experience design, and therefore applies to more formal contexts such as a classroom or professional development session, but not to a less formal context like learning to walk or to speak. (There are myriad definitions of learning so it’s helpful to specify what context we’re talking about.)

So when I’m designing learning experiences for myself or others, I return to my mantra:

Learning equals memory plus transfer.

When I say “memory”, I am referring to what we can actively recall from long-term memory into our conscious minds. And that recall is based on what we’ve stored in long-term memory. Speaking of which, an extension of my take on learning that captures our current understanding from cognitive science is this notion of storage, or at minimum, a change in our long-term memory.

And to “transfer” is not to simply recall specific information, but to apply it – to take action or engage in a task. The more flexibly you can transfer your learning to new and diverse contexts, the deeper the learning itself. The learning process has some important features to consider so that we build memories and are able to transfer, or apply, them.

The What and Where of Learning

Willingham’s model explains the four processes of building memory: attend, learn, remember, and forget. Let’s turn now to two other features: what the moving parts are and where it all happens.

1. The Environment: Our bodies exist in a physical environment with sounds, scents, images, words, and many other bits of sensory information flying at us. We take in bits of information through our sensory systems (eyes, skin, ears, nose, and mouth/taste). Can you believe that we are bombarded with 10 to 11 million bits per second? Researchers estimate we only process around 50 per second during conscious activity (e.g., playing piano, reading) and for our focus on conscious learning, the number is much lower (more on that later).
2. Elements: As Willingham’s model illustrates, we take in specific bits of information from the environment through our attention. A powerful metaphor for this is a spotlight. The attention spotlight determines what we bring into our conscious minds to process. These bits of information that we “attend to” with our attention spotlight are called elements.
3. Working memory (WM): Here is where our conscious mind is at work. Our attention spotlight delivers the elements we focus on, or “attend” to, into our working memory where elements interact. WM is the part of our brain’s cognitive architecture responsible for processing and using the elements so that they can be encoded and stored in long-term memory. (More on encoding in Part 2).
4. Long-term memory (LTM): Speaking of storing information during learning, long-term memory is where those elements go. And if you remember from Willingham’s model, it’s also the source of stored elements that we retrieve, or recall (remember), as part of the learning process.
5. Schema: One of the most powerful concepts in memory building and learning in general is schema (pronounced “skEEma”). Schema is a pattern, mental structure, framework, or even system for organizing information. Think of schema as a chunk that includes related information. During a well-design learning experience, we activate a learners’ schema from long-term memory to help them to make sense of new information (elements). On our own, we do so naturally and unconsciously during informal learning but keep in mind, our focus now is on more formal learning. I like to think of schemata (plural of schema, pronounced “skeeMAta”) as files or collections, mostly of mental models or groupings. (I’ll stick with the more common term, schema, for singular and plural.) Schema represent many patterns of thinking and behaviour, including theory, process, framework, set of concepts, how things work, categories, etc. Schema are stored and are regularly updated in our long-term memory. And they’re essential in the learning process.

Speaking of the learning process, let’s take another look at what’s going on “inside the black box”, this time with a focus on the limitations of working memory (WM) as well as its interactions with long-term memory (LTM).

Check your prediction by watching this 40-second video (no sound) from Nick Harvey Smith, medical professional and educator. Alternatively, read the described text about the limitations to working memory.

Let’s Recap

Now that you know the limitations of working memory, think back to the image with coffee cups above and the three questions, slightly re-worded now:

• Why is that precious commodity – new information coming into our working memory – being lost, or wasted!?
• What’s the connection to learning, or even learning experience design?
• While we’re at it how is it related to this thing called cognitive load theory?

Our working memory is filled beyond capacity – or better put, we experience cognitive overload – when we

1. add too many elements (bits of information) at a time and
2. fail to connect the new elements to known information (schema in long-term memory).

Lx Design with Cognitive Load Theory in Mind

Designing learning experiences with cognitive load theory in mind means avoiding cognitive overload and aiming for schema development by connecting new elements with long-term memory.

This sounds deceivingly simple, right?

The secret sauce, really, is in the type of cognitive load involved in the learning experience. We want cognitive load during learning – the effective types. Learning experience design with specific types of cognitive load in mind can make all the difference.

Types of Cognitive Load

Cognitive load theory defines three types of demand, or load, on working memory: intrinsic, germane, and extraneous. Even if you have no background in CLT, you can likely guess which one we want to minimize, right?

You guessed right: we want to minimize extraneous cognitive load when we’re designing learning experiences. This image illustrates the key features of each type of load. Alternatively, you can read the described text.

Below the image, you’ll find more detailed explanations.

Learning about extraneous, intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load was a game changer for not only my own learning but more powerfully, for my design of learning experiences.

As you read more about each type of load below, keep in mind that, according to how memory is built, we want to design learning experiences that avoid going over the limited capacity of our working memory (2 to 4 elements) and activate long-term memory (prior knowledge) to connect with and develop schema.

• Extraneous load is exactly as the word extraneous suggests. It’s unnecessary, superfluous (love that word), additional demand on mental processing. The additional demand, or load, is based on not only the content, but also how the information is presented along with any irrelevant “noise” included in the content. One clear indicator of extraneous load is the absence of a connection to schema development and long-term memory. For example, extraneous load can happen if:
  • content is poorly or illogically organized, or the information lacks structure or hierarchy, for example without sign posts or chunking of the content,
  • essential information is mixed with nice-to-know (but irrelevant) information,
  • the mode of delivery (e.g., text versus word diagram (visual) versus animation versus video, etc.) is poorly matched to the type of content, for example a list of steps written in paragraph form, and
  • the materials have inaccessible design features such as uses low-contrast colours or images without alt-text that can’t be distinguished by a colour-blind learner.
• Intrinsic load is the type and amount of a learner’s mental processing required by a learning task, based on the topic and the type of activity. On the one hand, a topic or concept tends to have inherent complexity, depending on a learner’s prior knowledge. On the other hand, the activity itself can be low or high in complexity, right? For example, for most of us, the inherent load for processing information the topic of large language models (LLMs) used in artificial intelligence (AI) or even gastronomy is greater than the load involved in watching a well-pitched news story about AI in education or reading a recipe. Equally, scanning a reading about LLMs for specific factual information would be a less complex task than, say, inferring the link between LLMs and generative AI.
• Finally, germane load is our target. It’s effective cognitive load, meaning it targets schema development and long-term memory. Germane cognitive load encompasses learning activities and mental processes that connect the elements of the activity (bits of information) to long-term knowledge schemas for example by activating prior knowledge, using mnemonic devices, and other sense-making tasks.

Putting it All Together: Designing Lx with CLT in Mind

It’s time to think about how to design learning experiences by applying our knowledge of cognitive load theory. At this stage, your own cognitive load may have reached its maximum capacity. This is an ideal time to do a bit of cognitive offloading and applying your learning as part of the process. I like to create performance aid in my own learning, and this time around I think a checklist is an ideal digital artifact to capture my understanding of learning experience design with cognitive load theory in mind.

My Lx Design Checklist will serve as a reminder and quick reference of how memory is built and what needs to happen during the learning process, based on the information above. Of course, to create any performance aid l need to make sense of the content.

Here’s my draft Lx Design Checklist. I’d love to hear how yours turned out. Reach out and share!

Karen’s Lx Design Checklist, Take 1

This learning experience design (Lx) checklist is part 1 and truly a draft. The Lx design Checklist is based on the concepts and principles above, about building memory and considering cognitive load theory.

Importantly, I want to point out that, prior to any design, I start with my target learners in mind. What is the purpose of the learning experience from their perspective? Many of us call this the learning outcome, but I try to take it one step further to personalize it to the humans at the centre – the individuals participating in my course or program. An example question could be, Are the learners novices or are they progressing toward expert level on the novice-expert continuum?

With my learners’ purpose and current levels in mind, I’m thinking I’ll start with the following “checks”:

1. Assess the topic and task for complexity (intrinsic cognitive load), and identify opportunities to provide scaffolds.
2. Count the elements. Design with 2 to 4 elements in mind.
3. Consider my learners’ attention spotlight. Direct their attention spotlight to key concepts of the topic?
4. Resist adding irrelevant, distracting content (extraneous load). Ensure information and media are well structured and accessible.
5. Design for schema building (germane cognitive load). Prompt learners to activate prior knowledge, or to recall specific schema.

Yes, there could be more. This is the nature of a draft and the hallmark of iterative, lifelong learning. Tune in to Part 2 of How we Learn to expand your understanding of learning experience design, cognitive load theory, and other evidence-informed learning and teaching practices.