Instructional-Design-Live#21 2010-06-11 Revisiting Cognitive Overload

Having recently discussed the need to avoid cognitive overload in online courses, we take a step back to consider whether or not cognitive overload is actually an issue. As Arlene Walker-Andrews, Associate Provost and Psychology Professor at the University of Montana, points out: “I do not believe that attention and cognitive capacities are limited. In my view, attention shouldn’t be considered a finite resource, rather it should be characterized as “attending,” which suggests flexible, skilled action. Recent theories about attention suggest that although not all stimuli are analyzed, nonattended stimuli are not all filtered out and their impact on learning and memory will vary depending on relevance and/or personal experience.” Great stuff!

Join Arlene and the ID team this week to listen to what this means for individualizing the learning experience and tailoring instructional strategies to the cognitive abilities of learners.

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Arlene's Notes for the Discussion

Chat Transcipt: Jun 11, 2010 10:05:22 AM - IDL 21: COGNITIVE OVERLOAD 'REVISITED'
 
 

00:06 - Marlene Zentz
Glad the link worked, Heather. Welcome!

01:00 - Gayla
Instructional Designer at Fayetteville Technical Community College in NC

01:28 - Marlene Zentz
Thanks, Gayla.

01:46 - Gayla
Can I access previous programs?

02:00 - Robert
http://instructionaldesigning.org

03:56 - Mary
Yes! Go for it.

04:06 - Mary
lol

04:17 - Jennifer
Way to step up Robert!

04:20 - Mary
much more difficult.

04:47 - Robert
interesting

05:18 - Gayla
relates to how we process visually also

06:17 - Robert
http://www.slideshare.net/ranihgill/learning-design-for-the-brain-multim...

08:22 - Mary
eliminating extraneous info... that is an issue that needs to be addressed more in onilne courses, in my opinion.

09:03 - Joni
I agree, Mary. I think there is a difference between redundancy of relevant information, and the phluff that is a distraction.

09:25 - Gayla
Mary--in textbooks also

09:40 - Mary
good point, Gayla.

10:54 - Mary
Individualizing via Universal Design for Learning principles:  http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines

13:07 - Gayla
so often instructors present information the way they learn best

13:20 - Mary
very true, Gayla.....

13:34 - Gayla
too much text to me is difficult

13:50 - Mary
and most of them never learned via an asynchronous online learning environment

14:07 - Marlene Zentz
Welcome, Barbara.

14:20 - Mary
ok

14:34 - Barbara Lindsey
Thank you

15:14 - Gayla
"attention guidance"?

15:27 - Mary
Yes, Gayla.

15:39 - Gayla
what is this?

15:43 - Heather waseman
Not to mention the issue with history textbooks following the new controversial texas standards for history.

16:04 - Mary
Roda and Nabeth, 2005. The role of attention in the design of Learning Management Systems (conf presentation)

16:35 - Robert
Roda, C., Nabeth, T. (2005) The role of attention in the design of Learning Management Systems IADIS International Conference CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age) Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 148 - 155. Mary beat me to it :-)

16:48 - Gayla
Blackboard 9 now includes blog and wiki options for social learning opportunities

18:08 - Gayla
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATS)

18:11 - Marlene Zentz
No, this is very interesting.

18:57 - Gayla
Using the discussion board

19:03 - Gayla
surveys

19:40 - Gayla
too much summative assessment and not enough formative assessment

19:45 - Mary
ahhhh

19:54 - Mary
yes, a diagnostic approach

21:17 - Mary
I understand what you're saying, Arlene.  And I think instructors do that as they facilitate online discussions.

21:25 - Joni
I think part of this is contextual. I can think of a lot of professional situations that require folks to deal well with cognitive load issues. So, I try to weave in support/scaffolding that helps people develop their processing abilities.

22:36 - Robert
Chunking information

23:29 - Jennifer
I wondered if you could comment on how this applies to "Live" online lecture settings such as this. Tends to be an "if it is available, use it" perspective with regard to lastest conferencing technologies (i.e. text chat, audio, whiteboards, web browser), but at what point does the instructor need to limit communication and interaction opportunities during a live session? Same would be case with laptops in the classroom.

23:56 - Joni
Sort of the air traffic controller scenario...how do they develop the ability to manage all of the inputs.

24:40 - Robert
I really like this emphasis on the individual in your thinking--it's much more learning centered than a purely scafolding approach to learning--taliroing, adapting, working with individuals as they are in the process of learning--nice

24:54 - Joni
And giving the students the tools to figure it out for themselves -- self-assess a situation -- in the future.

25:13 - Mary
This is usually done in a Week 1 "Meet and Greet" discussion in an online course, Arlene.

25:33 - Heather waseman
I teach 8h grade history with netbooks, and I am getting my masters in instructional media through wlkes and discovery education.

25:39 - Marlene Zentz
Advance organizers can be good tools to put in the hands of students too.

25:41 - Mary
Yes... podcasts, discussion boards, narrated PPTs, etc.

27:31 - Mary
nice analogies!

27:56 - Heather waseman
How much responsibility do students have in their own learning?

29:10 - Heather waseman
yes

32:09 - Joni
Thanks everyone! Have a great weekend!!!

32:34 - Marlene Zentz
Thanks!

32:38 - Jennifer
yes ... thank you

32:57 - Arlene Walker-Andrews
Thanks for listening.  Arlene

32:59 - Barbara Lindsey
Thank you!

33:16 - Robert
:-)

33:33 - Mary
interesting.  thanks.

34:03 - Jennifer
bye