About Managaging Cognitive Load/ Mayer & Moreno article

I think if we all think back to our days in high school we can relate to this article. All those times we were a million miles away instead of listening to the teacher explain a certain lesson......It's easy to relate to when you examine the subject of learning how to use technology.For myself this article is clear, more information is not always better, less is more. Today's lesson on garage band is a great example.We did a simple procedure and kept it short so we could process the important aspects of a beginner.

I like early in the article when we read about dual channels and how we humans possess separate channels for processing visual/pictorial material & auditory/ verbal material. We have a limited capacity in the amount of material we can process and meaningful learning depends on active cognitive processing during learning.

We read about extraneous cognitive load which basically means that the less distractions we put into a lesson plan, the better. Keep it simple & direct. Show one way of doing things and eventually the student will become comfortable with the material or technology and discover other ways on his own.

The remainder of the article explains the different principles  that have been tested. The tests are conclusive and simply put, the less distractions the better. The exception being the Signaling Principle where extraneous material actually helps the student recognize important words or phrases thereby decreasing extraneous processing.

Let's remember this article when we are elementary school teachers where young a child's mind can be easily distracted and attention spans can be limited.