Balancing the cognitive load to maximize a learner’s capabilities benefits both the student and the instructor. Designing content that eliminates extraneous material and enhances the germane load does just that. According to Robin M. Smith, an instructor “can manage [the cognitive load] by segmenting and sequencing content” (Smith, 114). This can be done by chunking content into smaller, manageable learning segments. Additionally, providing clear instructions and creating content that allows for pausing, and repeating can aid in maximizing a learner’s capabilities.
The brain processes visual [images] and verbal [text/audio] information separately. For instructional designers, this means your learners will benefit from material that incorporates complimentary visual and verbal content (Cook, 2006).
Enter the instructional video. Short, well-tailored instructional videos can deliver visual and verbal content in neatly packaged chunks. They can combine visual and verbal cues and they allow the learner to easily pause and repeat the material.
Creating a 2-6 minute instructional video doesn’t need to be a production, either. The process itself can be chunked:
1) Outline or script your content—eliminating an extraneous material.
2) Collect the appropriate visuals (a powerpoint to narrate, a website to navigate through, appropriate graphs or images, a live recording of yourself, etc.)
3) Practice delivering your content
4) Record using a screencasting software like Camtasia, Screenflow, or Jing and simple webcam. Be sure to add light to your face, if you choose to be on camera.
5) Upload and deliver to your students
Here’s one example of a screencast I recently developed that walks students through using a required software interface: https://vimeo.com/academictechnology/whdmediaproduction.
An even more powerful learning tool is having a student create the instructional video. Here’s an example in which my students mastered the material and created the instructional video themselves: https://vimeo.com/academictechnology/fenderpasystem
Often times, an instructor can find Open Educational Resources (OERs) that accomplish the goal, too. Some resources includeLynda.com, Wisc-Online, MERLOT, National Science Digital Library,Carleton College’s SERC, and many more.
Delivering content is easy. Designing or finding content that helps manage the cognitive load for students is a little more time-consuming–but essential. Concise instructional videos can be a great tool for both the instructor and the learner.
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Works Cited
Cook, V. J. (1992), Evidence for Multicompetence. Language Learning, 42: 557–591. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1992.tb01044.x
Smith, Robin M. “How the Brain Processes Information.” Conquering the Content: A Blue Print for Online Course Design and Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014. 112-26. Print.
