Articles:Optimizing cognitive load for learning from computer-based science simulations
From unthinkMedia
Contents |
Questions
- How can computer-based scientific simulations be designed to optimize their instructional effectiveness?
"The purpose of the present study was therefore not to investigate whether simulations are effective for learning but to ask under what conditions they are most effective."
Simulations
An interactive application that allows for users to tweak variables to understand their relationships, based on their finding they could formulate hypothesis, and test.
Simulation and Learning
A simulations affordance to visualize complex concepts by exposing some of the properties for the learner to play with is very good for learning of:
- complex scenarios
- problem-solving tasks
- study of phenomena that are not visible to the human eye
Cognitive Load
visual complexity
(Forsythe, Sheehy, & Sawey, 2003; Patel & O’Brian Holt, 2001)
- the absolute number of subcomponents an image contains
- more subcomponents = higher visual complexity
- treats all visual subcomponents of an image equally, without distinguishing the meaning they convey and the different types of cognitive load they may impose <= Cognitive Load Theory better
Cognitive Load Theory
- High complexity simulations require that designer reduces any extraneous load
- distinguishes intrinsic load, extraneous load, and germane load.
Gas Low Simulation design
The highly complex simulation design, was broken up into 2 sperate screen with much lower complexity. The con is that the learner would need to make the connection between both screens. (Split Attention?)
design goal
reduce extraneous cognitive load
- split-attention
- spatial contiguity effect
- color coding
- signaling
- clustering of related concepts within the image
- Gestalt theory principles
other:
how the semantic content of the visual display is represented in the display and how well this representation is able to support the cognitive processing of the visual information
- Use of icons to reduce extraneous cognitive load.
results
The combination of the following three measures resulted in both better lower level comprehension and higher level learning compared with the nonoptimized treatment conditions that were modeled after simulations typically used in the classroom:
- displayed icons of burners to represent temperature instead of using the word temperature only
- displayed sliders "next to" the representations that could be manipulated
- chart to display a history of measures that the students had taken during their session.
lower prior knowledge performed better when
- key information was represented in I and S form
- controls were located next to these representations
- all measures taken by a student were displayed in the chart.
higher prior knowledge performed better when
- key information was represented in S form
- controls were grouped and displayed apart from the simulation
- the chart displayed only the most current measure taken by the student.
Other interesting research
pedagogical questions related to
- the level of control available to the learner (Swaak & de Jong, 2001)
- the role of guidance, reflection, and interactivity (Moreno & Mayer, 2005)
- the type of feedback that should be provided (Moreno, 2004)
- issues of contextual interference (de Crook, van Merrie ̈nboer, & Paas, 1998)
