T heory of cognitive load and optimal complicacy of textbooks

1. Theory of cognitive load and optimal complicacy of textbooks Jaan Mikk 04.12.2013

2. Cognitive load theory • Information is processed in working memory. • The working memory capacity is restricted by 7+/-2 units, which may have a different size. • If the working memory is overloaded, then learning is rather slow. • Filling in a carafe with a narrow hole. • The content of the units is not restricted.

3. Beginners and specialists • Experienced chess player can learn the positions of twenty chessman in some seconds. He remembers several thousands of positions. • Experienced players and beginners have the same mental abilities but specialists have huge experiense. • It is not needed to learn by hearth; I can look in textbook???

4. Mental schemas • Knowledge is stored as schemas in long term memory (read only memory). • Mental schemas reduce the load of working memory. • Mental schemas are formed as a result of training. For example, learning to read or solve some simple mathematical problems. • Thinking is subject specific. • The aim of education is the creation and automation of mental schemas.

5. Reducing the cognitive load • Tasks from real life are too complicated. • It is important to support the learner • From simple to complicated, • Hints for solving problems • fedback

6. Goal free problems • Data and the question: What can be calculated. • The load to working memory is smaller because aim is not fixed and there is no need to find the way to the aim

7. Worked examples • The load on working memory is smaller. • worked examples facilitate learning mental schemas more than problem based learning. • worked examples facilitate meta-cognition and transfer but reduce motivation. • In one study, worked examples enabled to acquire three year math course in two years. • First give overview of complicated task and then practice solving parts of it.

8. Partly worked examples • Some steps in the solution are missing and students have to add these steps. • Cognitive load is smaller than in solving the whole problem.

9. Recommendations from dual coding theory • Use words and graphics in explanations. • Place print words near corresponding graphics (maps, illustrations with words on them). • Words should be presented as speech rather than onscreen text (teacher explaining graphics at blackboard, multimedia). • Avoid words as narrations and identical text on graphics.

10. Redundant information • Redundant information raises the cognitive load because learners have to elaborate also the information retrieved from long-term memory. • Peoples’ learning is hindered when extraneous sound, pictures, and words are used in teaching.

11. Cognitive load reversal effect • Novice learners facilitate from worked examples, experts learn more while solving problems. • Auditory explanations of illustrations may hinder learning by experts. • Integrated explanatory notes increased the cognitive load of high ability students.

12. The cognitive load in sentence comprehension • Too long sentences overload the working memory and hindere learning. • Text written in too short sentences is redundant and therefore not the most effective in learning. • There should be some optimal length of sentences for students.

13. Rationale • We do not know the optimal value of sentence length. • Let us try different borderlines between the short and long sentencesin calculations . • The borderline by which the correlation between the percentage of too long sentences and text acquiring is maximal is the sentence length for CLT reversal effect

14. Method • 37 students 17-18 years old interested in depth study of chemistry. • 30 texts from popular-scientific books. The average length of the texts was 170 words. • Every student filled in the blanks in every text (cloze procedure). • The coefficients of correlation between the cloze test results and the percentage of text in long sentences was calculated.

15. Results

16. Figure 7.4. The dividing line between the short and oversized sentences plotted against the correlation between the percentage of oversized sentences and the results of the content test. 124 students from 7th, 8th and 10th grade.

17. Figure 7.2. Relationship between the percentage of unknown words in a text and the number of unknown words read in an hour (Kondrateva, 1974).

19. Grade 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Sentence length 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Abstract-ness 1,0 1,1 1,1 1,2 1,2 1,3 1,3 Compli-cacy 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 Optimality criteria I

20. Optimality criteria II • One new concept in an hour • In foreign language, 5new words for active acquering in an hour. • 3,6 % of new words in foreign language text for independent reading • Up to 3 (5) words between connected words • Every new for students idea in a separate sentence • New words should be repeated 7 times in the textbook. • Up to 3 operations in physics tasks.

21. Students are very different! • In PISA 2009 reading test, one fifth of Estonian schools achieved 530 points or more and one fifth of Estonian schools below 470 points. The difference 60 points corresponds to one and half year in students’ development. • Individual differences of students are larger. • On the next slide, we see the average results and SD of a verbal test carried out with 2. – 8. grade students in Estonia.

23. Different textbooks are needed • Textbooks on different level of difficulty • Textbooks with tasks on different level • Textbooks with different content • Additional materials in internet