Within the cognitive load theory research community it has become customary to report theoretical and empirical progress at international confer-ence symposia and in special issues of journals (e.g., Educational Psycholo-gist 2003; Learning and Instruction 2002). The continuation of this custom at the 10th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction, 2003, in Padova, Italy, has materialized in this special issue of Instructional Science on the instructional implications of the interaction between infor-mation structures and cognitive architecture. Since the 1990s this interaction has begun to emerge as an explicit field of study for instructional designers and researchers. In this introduction, we describe the basics of cognitive load theory, sketch the origins of the instructional implications, introduce the articles accepted for this special issue as a representative sample of current research in this area, and discuss the overall results in the context of the theory. It is generally accepted that performance degrades at the cognitive load

How can instructors help students construct a meaningful model of a causal system using multimedia technologies? The goal of this study was to extend past research on multimedia learning by examining the role of dual code and interactivity in promoting scientific understanding. First, concerning dual code, we tested the hypothesis that presenting students with dual representations of a causal system (verbal and nonverbal) promotes deeper learning than presenting students with only one representation. Second, regarding interactivity, we tested the hypothesis that asking students to organize the steps in the causal chain of a scientific system promotes deeper learning than presenting students with a set of preorganized causal chain steps. Multimedia environments have the potential of promoting meaningful learning by varying both the number of representations provided to students and the degree of student interactivity. In the present study, we varied the number of representations by comparing how students learn from one representation of a scientific system (i.e., pictures or words) versus two representations (i.e., pictures and words). In addition, we varied the interactivity degree by comparing how students learn from a multimedia program where they either need to organize the causal steps of the system to be learned or spend the same amount of time studying preorganized causal steps. We tested the dual code and interactivity hypotheses by having college students learn about the process of lightning formation with a

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As technical as we have become, modern computing has not permeated many important areas of our lives, including mathematics education which still involves pencil and pa-per. In the present study, twenty high school geometry stu-dents varying in ability from low to high participated in a comparative assessment of math problem solving using existing pencil and paper work practice (PP), and three different interfaces: an Anoto-based digital stylus and pa-per interface (DP), pen tablet interface (PT), and graphical tablet interface (GT). Cognitive Load Theory correctly predicted that as interfaces departed more from familiar work practice (GT> PT> DP), students would experience greater cognitive load such that performance would dete-riorate in speed, attentional focus, meta-cognitive control, correctness of problem solutions, and memory. In addition, low-performing students experienced elevated cognitive load, with the more challenging interfaces (GT, PT) dis-rupting their performance disproportionately more than higher performers. The present results indicate that Cogni-tive Load Theory provides a coherent and powerful basis for predicting the rank ordering of users ’ performance by type of interface. In the future, new interfaces for areas like education and mobile computing could benefit from de-signs that minimize users ’ load so performance is more adequately supported. ACM Classification & General Terms: H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces—user-centered design, interaction styles,

differences in troubleshooting performance: Combining eye movement and concurrent verbal protocol data. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19, 205-221.

ABSTRACT With a focus on presenting information at the right time, the ubicomp community can benefit greatly from learning the most salient human measures of cognitive load. Cognitive load can be used as a metric to determine when or whether to interrupt a user. In this paper, we collected data from multiple sensors and compared their ability to assess cognitive load. Our focus is on visual perception and cognitive speed-focused tasks that leverage cognitive abilities common in ubicomp applications. We found that across all participants, the electrocardiogram median absolute deviation and median heat flux measurements were the most accurate at distinguishing between low and high levels of cognitive load, providing a classification accuracy of over 80% when used together. Our contribution is a real-time, objective, and generalizable method for assessing cognitive load in cognitive tasks commonly found in ubicomp systems and situations of divided attention.

According to cognitive load theory, instruction needs to be designed in a manner that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge in long-term memory while reducing unnecessary demands on working memory. When technology is used to deliver instruction, the sequence in which students learn to use the technology and learn the relevant subject matter may have cognitive load implications, and should interact with their prior knowledge levels. An experiment, using spreadsheets to assist student learning of mathematics, indicated that for students with little knowledge of spreadsheets, sequential instruction on spreadsheets

The expertise reversal effect occurs when a learning procedure that is effective for novices becomes ineffective for more knowledgeable learners. The authors consider how to match instructional presen-tations to levels of learner knowledge. Experiments 1–2 were designed to develop a schema-based rapid method of measuring learners ’ knowledge in a specific area. Experimental data using algebra and geometry materials for students in Grades 9–10 indicated a highly significant correlation (up to.92) between performance on the rapid measure and traditional measures of knowledge, with test times reduced by factors of 4.9 and 2.5, respectively. Experiments 3–4 used this method to monitor learners’ cognitive performance to determine which instructional design should be used for given levels of expertise. The expertise reversal effect (see Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003) occurs when an instructional procedure that is relatively effective for novices becomes ineffective for more knowledgeable learners. A consequence of the effect is that an instructor must be able to accurately estimate the knowledge levels of learners to determine an appropriate instructional design for

Although problem solving supported by Cognitive Tutors has been shown to be successful in fostering initial acquisition of cognitive skills, this approach does not seem to be optimal with respect to focusing the learner on the domain principles to be learned. In order to foster a deep understanding of domain principles, we developed a Cognitive Tutor that contained, on the basis of the theoretical rational of examplebased learning, faded worked-out examples. We conducted two experiments in which we compared the example-enriched Cognitive Tutor with a standard Cognitive Tutor. In Experiment 1, we found no significant differences in the effectiveness of the two tutor versions. However, the example-enriched Cogntive Tutor was more efficient (i.e., students needed less learning time). A problem that was observed is that students had great problems in appropriately using the example-enriched tutor. In Experiment 2, we, therefore, provided students with additional instructions on how to use the tutor. Results showed that students in fact acquired a deeper conceptual understanding when they worked with the example-enriched tutor and they needed less learning time than in the standard Tutor. The results are suggestive of ways in which instructional models of problemsolving and example-based learning can be fruitfully combined.

This study presents a mobile exploration activity that guides elementary students to learn during a social science activity with digital support from mobile devices and wireless communications. The students are situated in both the real world and the virtual world to extend their learning experiences. The learning activities between the field and the digital system not only demonstrate the practices of mobile learning, which emphasizes learning that happens close to real life, but also provides digital learning content to facilitate students ’ field studies. To enhance the learning performance of the students, an inquiry-based mobile learning approach is employed to assist the students in constructing their own knowledge by taking cognitive load into consideration. To evaluate the effectiveness of the innovative approach, 33 fifth grade students were arranged to carry out investigations in the Peace Temple of southern Tainan with the inquiry-based mobile learning system. Through pre- and postclass questionnaires as well as observations and focus group interviews, descriptive quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. The results show significant positive results in terms of the students ’ learning.