Editing Cognitive load (section)

==Theory==
In the late 1980s, [[John Sweller]] developed cognitive load theory out of a study of [[problem solving]],<ref name="Sweller, 1988"/> in order "to provide guidelines intended to assist in the presentation of information in a manner that encourages learner activities that optimize intellectual performance".<ref name="Sweller et al., 1998">{{cite journal |last1=Sweller |first1=John |last2=van Merrienboer |first2=Jeroen J. G. |last3=Paas |first3=Fred G. W. C. |s2cid=127506 |title=Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design |journal=Educational Psychology Review |date=1998 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=251–296 |doi=10.1023/A:1022193728205 |url=https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/288323612/Sweller1998cognitive.pdf }}</ref> Sweller's theory employs aspects of [[Information processing (psychology)|information processing]] theory to emphasize the inherent limitations of concurrent [[working memory]] load on learning during instruction.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} It makes use of the [[schema (psychology)|schema]] as primary unit of analysis for the design of [[instructional materials]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===History===
The history of cognitive load theory can be traced to the beginning of cognitive science in the 1950s and the work of [[George Armitage Miller|G.A. Miller]]. In his classic paper,<ref name="Miller, 1956">{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=George A. |title=The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information |journal=Psychological Review |date=1956 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=81–97 |doi=10.1037/h0043158 |pmid=13310704 |citeseerx=10.1.1.308.8071 |s2cid=15654531 }}</ref> Miller was perhaps the first to suggest our [[Working memory#Capacity|working memory capacity]] has inherent limits.  His experimental results suggested that humans are generally able to hold only [[The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two|seven plus or minus two units]] of information in short-term memory.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1973 Simon and Chase were the first to use the term "chunk" to describe how people might organize information in [[short-term memory]].<ref name="Simon and Chase, 1973">{{cite journal |last1=Chase |first1=William G. |last2=Simon |first2=Herbert A. |title=Perception in chess |journal=Cognitive Psychology |date=January 1973 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=55–81 |doi=10.1016/0010-0285(73)90004-2 }}</ref> This chunking of memory components has also been described as [[schema (psychology)|schema]] construction.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In the late 1980s [[John Sweller]] developed cognitive load theory (CLT) while studying problem solving.<ref name="Sweller, 1988"/> Studying learners as they solved problems, he and his associates found that learners often use a problem solving strategy called [[means-ends analysis]]. He suggests problem solving by means-ends analysis requires a relatively large amount of cognitive processing capacity, which may not be devoted to schema construction. Sweller suggested that instructional designers should prevent this unnecessary cognitive load by designing instructional materials which do not involve problem solving. Examples of alternative instructional materials include what are known as worked-examples and goal-free problems.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

In the 1990s, cognitive load theory was applied in several contexts. The empirical results from these studies led to the demonstration of several learning effects: the completion-problem effect;<ref name="Paas, 1992">{{cite journal |last1=Paas |first1=Fred G. |title=Training strategies for attaining transfer of problem-solving skill in statistics: A cognitive-load approach |journal=Journal of Educational Psychology |date=1992 |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=429–434 |doi=10.1037/0022-0663.84.4.429 }}</ref> [[modality effect]];<ref name="Moreno & Mayer, 1999">{{cite journal |last1=Moreno |first1=Roxana |author1-link=Roxana Moreno|last2=Mayer |first2=Richard E. |title=Cognitive principles of multimedia learning: The role of modality and contiguity |journal=Journal of Educational Psychology |date=1999 |volume=91 |issue=2 |pages=358–368 |doi=10.1037/0022-0663.91.2.358 |citeseerx=10.1.1.458.4719  }}</ref><ref name="Mousavi, Low, & Sweller, 1995">{{cite journal |last1=Mousavi |first1=Seyed Yaghoub |last2=Low |first2=Renae |last3=Sweller |first3=John |title=Reducing cognitive load by mixing auditory and visual presentation modes |journal=Journal of Educational Psychology |date=1995 |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=319–334 |doi=10.1037/0022-0663.87.2.319 |citeseerx=10.1.1.471.2089 }}</ref> [[split-attention effect]];<ref name="Chandler and Sweller, 1992">{{cite journal |last1=Chandler |first1=Paul |last2=Sweller |first2=John |title=The split-attention effect as a factor in the design of instruction |journal=British Journal of Educational Psychology |date=June 1992 |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=233–246 |doi=10.1111/j.2044-8279.1992.tb01017.x |s2cid=40723362 }}</ref> [[worked-example effect]];<ref name="Cooper & Sweller, 1987">{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Graham |last2=Sweller |first2=John |title=Effects of schema acquisition and rule automation on mathematical problem-solving transfer |journal=Journal of Educational Psychology |date=1987 |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=347–362 |doi=10.1037/0022-0663.79.4.347 }}</ref><ref name="Sweller & Cooper, 1985">{{cite journal |last1=Sweller |first1=John |last2=Cooper |first2=Graham A. |title=The Use of Worked Examples as a Substitute for Problem Solving in Learning Algebra |journal=Cognition and Instruction |date=14 December 2009 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=59–89 |doi=10.1207/s1532690xci0201_3 }}</ref> and [[expertise reversal effect]].<ref name="Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, and Sweller, 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Kalyuga |first1=Slava |last2=Ayres |first2=Paul |last3=Chandler |first3=Paul |last4=Sweller |first4=John |s2cid=10519654 |title=The Expertise Reversal Effect |journal=Educational Psychologist |date=March 2003 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=23–31 |doi=10.1207/S15326985EP3801_4 |url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1141&context=edupapers }}</ref>