Less is More
A single drop of information is better than a bucketful.
A common error in course development is to burden the learner with too many facts and lengthy discussions. People will remember more if they are given less. It is best to pare your online learning down to the necessary essentials.
Expert vs. Novice
It is often tempting to write online courses that consist of a knowledge dump. This is particularly true if you are a subject matter expert or if you are working closely with a subject matter expert. When someone is an expert in a particular field, their minds literally work differently than those of novices. Generally, experts are able to quickly see patterns, to deduce cause and effect and to solve problems. In contrast, novices are often working at a level where they do not yet see the connections between concepts. Novices can be easily overwhelmed.
Why?
Working memory has a limited capacity. Because of this, learners can quickly reach a state where the demands on working memory, or the cognitive load, are greater than the ability to manage the information. When the load is too great, a learner will most likely fail to understand an idea or will misinterpret it. Certainly, the learner will not have the required space to process the information and transfer it into long-term memory. So when it comes to course design, think in terms of single drops rather than buckets.
How to Avoid High Cognitive Load
Here are five ways to avoid creating a high cognitive load in your online learning courses:
- Allow learners space for absorbing new facts and concepts.
- Organize information into small palatable units.
- Provide opportunities for learners to make the content meaningful to them.
- Slow down the pace of instruction.
- Review all the content you want to present and then remove everything that isn’t required to close the gap.
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Connie, this is right on.
I’m a Reservist (National Guard) here in Arkansas. Soldiers receive considerable training, and it’s not all “in the woods”. Much of it is classroom-based, and delivered via multimedia presentations.
And the quality of these productions vary widely. Just last weekend we were forced to watch a thirty-minute presentation on the importance of maintaining digital/file security, and the soldiers lost interest within five minutes. The message was important, but was lost due to excessive verbiage and boring presentation. I was embarrassed for the company that produced it.
Yet three months ago we saw a very effective presentation on suicide prevention, which featured what/if interactions that branched and provided coaching for the soldiers. Well-conceived and engaging.
It amazes me what passes for great teaching sometimes. I agree, less is often more.
So, great thoughts here…I enjoyed it.
-john
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