CDLA · Module 2 — Learning science for digital media
Cognitive load theory: intrinsic, extraneous and the current debate over germane load. Design spends working memory on the job, not on chrome.
About 18 min
Practice in the lesson player
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01
A procurement module shows an animated logo, a ticker of policy reminders, a narrator, a three-column comparison and a "Did you know?" pop-up, all while asking the learner to decide which bid is compliant. Every item was approved by someone. Together they leave little working memory for the one decision the screen exists for.
02
John Sweller's cognitive load theory starts from a constraint, not a style preference: working memory can hold and process only a few new elements at once, and only briefly. Long-term memory has no such limit. Learning is the process of building organised knowledge in long-term memory so that the job stops overloading working memory. Every design choice either helps that process or competes with it.
03
Intrinsic load: The difficulty of this task for this learner, set by element interactivity: how many things must be held in mind together to understand it. Managed by sequencing and examples, not by deleting the job.
Extraneous load: Load created by the design: split attention, redundant text and narration, unclear buttons, unrelated motion. Cut it.
Germane processing: The effort of building knowledge: comparing examples, retrieving, explaining. Protect it. Do not confuse it with more content.
04
Confetti on every correct click. — Extraneous. One short confirmation is enough.
A worked example before a novice's first attempt. — Reduces intrinsic load for novices. Fade it for experienced learners.
A diagram on the left, its labels in a scrolling panel on the right. — Extraneous: split attention. Put labels on the diagram.
A pause to reconstruct the last decision from memory. — Germane processing: retrieval that builds the skill.
05
Sweller, van Merriënboer and Paas published a 20-year review of the theory in 2019. Two points matter for designers. First, germane load is now treated less as a separate third load and more as the working-memory resources devoted to intrinsic load; in practice, you do not add germane load, you free resources for it by cutting extraneous load. Second, element interactivity explains why the same screen is easy for one learner and overwhelming for another: what counts as one element depends on what the learner already knows. Design for the specific audience, and test with them.
06
Pick one module your organisation already runs. Take three screenshots of its busiest screens. For each, list every element and mark it intrinsic, extraneous or germane. These are the first three findings in your module artifact.