Germane cognitive load is reformulated as redistributing working memory resources from extraneous to intrinsic processing rather than adding to total load¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Empirical studies showing total load falls when extraneous load is reduced motivated redefining germane load as redistributive rather than additive. → Sweller 2019

Evidence¶

Sweller 2019¶

Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. (2019). Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design: 20 Years Later. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 261–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09465-5

q2 · i? · review · r2

Theoretical reformulation in this narrative review, motivated because "Numerous empirical studies indicated a reduction in load following a reduction in extraneous load," contradicting the 1998 assumption that germane load substitutes for extraneous load at constant total load.

"The current formulation eliminates this problem by assuming that germane cognitive load has a redistributive function from extraneous to intrinsic aspects of the task rather than imposing a load in its own right."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Prior knowledge and worked-example type (full vs completion) interact significantly on self-reported germane cognitive load, but not on intrinsic or extraneous load — related
• Task difficulty (easy vs difficult simultaneous-equation problems) has significant main effects on intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load, but not on germane load — related
• High- and low-prior-knowledge learners differ significantly on an algebra posttest and on intrinsic and germane cognitive load, but not on extraneous load — related
• Self-reported extraneous cognitive load correlates negatively with germane load and with expected probability of success in an algebra task — related
• Self-reported germane cognitive load correlates positively with interest (QCM) among college students solving algebra problems — related
• The cognitive architecture has been used to design a variety of novel instructional procedures — related
• Designing learning activities corresponding to germane load has always required methods and techniques external to cognitive load theory — related
• Germane cognitive load can be defined in terms of intrinsic cognitive load, associating it with element interactivity — related
• Reducing extraneous load can also remove affordances for germane processes — related
• Adding equations to tree diagrams reduced cognitive load but did not improve learning outcomes — related
• Correlations among cognitive load types partially contradict theory-based assumptions of the additivity hypothesis — related
• Reduction of cognitive load can sometimes impair learning rather than enhance it — related
• ARPG+ shifts cognitive load composition toward productive effort and reduces overload frequency in simulation — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Intrinsic and extraneous load are distinguished by whether element interactivity is essential to the task or a function of instructional procedures — related
• Correlations of cognitive load types with learning outcomes and prior knowledge support CLT assumptions, and results support the three-factor model — related
• Germane cognitive load was added to the cognitive load framework on theoretical grounds rather than because of empirical results requiring the concept — related
• Reducing extraneous cognitive load is not a significant moderator of drawing support effects on comprehension — related
• The model's assumed negative correlation between cognitive load and learner resources was not supported; the overall correlation was positive — related
• Instructional techniques for studying worked examples can increase germane cognitive load (per van Merriënboer, Schuurman, De Croock, & Paas) — related