Kalyuga, S., & Plass, J.L. (2008). Evaluating and managing cognitive load in educational games. In R.E. Ferdig (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education, 719-737. New York: IGI Global.
The paper talks about our cognitive architecture and its implications for games for learning.
Processing limitations of working memory represent a major effect in learning and performance. Lots of search to make connections between sources of info, irrelevant info, etc due to poor design interfaces makes use of cognitive resources and causing high cognitive load.
Levels of learner prior knowledge and experience in domain is a major factor while designing for learning and considering cognitive load.
Software applications including educational games need to have understandable and recognizable and functionally efficient interface components.
Our cognitive architecture: LTM (Long-term memory), and WM (working memory)
1) LTM is the large store of organized info with unlimited storage capacity and duration
2) WM is the functional mechanism that limits the scope of immediate changes to the LTM. It is limited in duration and storage.
3) During the learning process, information is borrowed from other sources by actively being reconstructed in WM, reorganized and integrated with available knowledge in LTM.
4) Ability to organize complex situations and tasks.
cognitive economy principle: tends to minimize cognitive resources involved in performance of a cognitive task.
To reduce cognitive load in learning
- use of available knowledge as a guide and external function
- Encapsulating information elements into chunks in WM using the prior knowledge structures in LTM e.g. phone number by subsets such as one’s birth year...
- practicing skills, until they become automated
- learner’s expertise change the reduction in cognitive load
- direct instructions and guidance (Plass et al, 2007) found that simulation exploration outperforms the direct instructions.
Intrinsic cognitive load: caused by cognitive activities that establish key connections between elements of information and integrating them with available knowledge structure and building new knowledge structures in WM. This type of cognitive load is depends on the degree of interactivity and learner’s level of expertise.
Extraneous load: diversion of cognitive resources on activities irrelevant to performance and learning.Caused by design related factors. Searching for solutions, game rules, evaluating game states... Extraneous load imposed by:
1) representations that require users extensive search
2) excessive rate of information change that introduces too many new elements to WM
3) insufficient external guidance causing search
4) user knowledge overlaps with provided external guidance, redundancy
For educational games,
- sufficient instructional guidance and support for learners is important
- benefits of guidance,
- students’ unfamiliarity with the game hardware
- no instruction leads to discovery based learning, but guided games is more instructionaly effective than discovery based games
- physical simulations benefit from addition of iconic representations for low-prior knowledge learners.
- interactive manipulations have benefit for experienced learners but cause extraneous cognitive load.
How to compare cognitive load?
- asking users how difficult
- dual - task technique, secondary test could be reaction times to mouse clicks, counting backwards
- think aloud protocols
The paper talks about our cognitive architecture and its implications for games for learning.
Processing limitations of working memory represent a major effect in learning and performance. Lots of search to make connections between sources of info, irrelevant info, etc due to poor design interfaces makes use of cognitive resources and causing high cognitive load.
Levels of learner prior knowledge and experience in domain is a major factor while designing for learning and considering cognitive load.
Software applications including educational games need to have understandable and recognizable and functionally efficient interface components.
Our cognitive architecture: LTM (Long-term memory), and WM (working memory)
1) LTM is the large store of organized info with unlimited storage capacity and duration
2) WM is the functional mechanism that limits the scope of immediate changes to the LTM. It is limited in duration and storage.
3) During the learning process, information is borrowed from other sources by actively being reconstructed in WM, reorganized and integrated with available knowledge in LTM.
4) Ability to organize complex situations and tasks.
cognitive economy principle: tends to minimize cognitive resources involved in performance of a cognitive task.
To reduce cognitive load in learning
- use of available knowledge as a guide and external function
- Encapsulating information elements into chunks in WM using the prior knowledge structures in LTM e.g. phone number by subsets such as one’s birth year...
- practicing skills, until they become automated
- learner’s expertise change the reduction in cognitive load
- direct instructions and guidance (Plass et al, 2007) found that simulation exploration outperforms the direct instructions.
Intrinsic cognitive load: caused by cognitive activities that establish key connections between elements of information and integrating them with available knowledge structure and building new knowledge structures in WM. This type of cognitive load is depends on the degree of interactivity and learner’s level of expertise.
Extraneous load: diversion of cognitive resources on activities irrelevant to performance and learning.Caused by design related factors. Searching for solutions, game rules, evaluating game states... Extraneous load imposed by:
1) representations that require users extensive search
2) excessive rate of information change that introduces too many new elements to WM
3) insufficient external guidance causing search
4) user knowledge overlaps with provided external guidance, redundancy
For educational games,
- sufficient instructional guidance and support for learners is important
- benefits of guidance,
- students’ unfamiliarity with the game hardware
- no instruction leads to discovery based learning, but guided games is more instructionaly effective than discovery based games
- physical simulations benefit from addition of iconic representations for low-prior knowledge learners.
- interactive manipulations have benefit for experienced learners but cause extraneous cognitive load.
How to compare cognitive load?
- asking users how difficult
- dual - task technique, secondary test could be reaction times to mouse clicks, counting backwards
- think aloud protocols
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