Cognitive load impacts learning from "summary" of Why Don't Students Like School? by Daniel T. Willingham
Cognitive load impacts learning because the brain can only hold so much information at once. When we ask students to remember lots of things, they can't do it. This is because the brain can only do so much at once. Imagine that your brain is like a computer and has a certain amount of memory. If you try to run too many programs at once, the computer gets slow and starts to crash. The same thing happens to our brains when we overload them with information.
When students are trying to learn something new, they have to use their working memory. This is like a mental scratch pad that holds information while we think about it. But working memory is limited in size. If we try to put too much information in there, it overloads and we can't learn anything. This is why it's important for teachers to be mindful of how much they are asking students to remember at once.
One way to reduce cognitive load is to break information down into smaller chunks. By presenting information in smaller, more manageable pieces, students are better able to process and remember it. This is because our working memory can only hold a few pieces of information at once. By breaking things down, we make it easier for students to learn.
Another way to reduce cognitive load is to make sure that students have already learned the background information they need to understand new material. If students are struggling to understand something because they don't have the necessary background knowledge, their working memory will be overloaded. This is why it's important for teachers to scaffold new material on top of what students already know.
By being mindful of cognitive load, teachers can help students learn more effectively. By breaking information down into smaller chunks and ensuring that students have the necessary background knowledge, teachers can reduce cognitive load and help students learn more easily. This is essential for creating a positive learning environment where students can succeed.
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