1. Cognition Crew
Cognitive Load during Problem Solving: Effects on Learning
Sweller, J. (1988) Cognitive Science, 12,

2. Why are we here? Stay up to date Discuss with like minded individuals
Wide range of perspectives and breadth of expertise
Make a positive impact on our educational community
Be a research engaged Trust. Dylan Wiliam – ‘everything works somewhere but nothing works everywhere’ i.e. under what conditions does this work?

3. Evidence informed practice
“A combination of practitioner expertise and knowledge of the best external research, and evaluation based evidence” (DfE, 2014).
Greany and Brown, 2017: ‘Studies suggest that research engagement can shift a school from an instrumental “top tips” model of improvement to a learning culture in which staff work together to understand what appears to work, and when and why it does (Godfrey, 2014; Sharp et al., 2006; Handscomb & MacBeath, 2003)’
Education Endowment Foundation – Be aware and be a ‘critical consumer’ – funding etc.

4. Discuss interpretations/ perspectives
What MIGHT we want to do?
Free space for free discussion of the (latest?) ideas, free from any agenda or need to conform to any set/ hidden purpose
Filter what’s out there and share the most robust evidence for colleagues
Transform teaching and learning
Question
Discuss interpretations/ perspectives
Critique
Application/ trial
Feedback

5. How might this look? Short piece to read prior Overview of the piece
Strengths
Limitations
Application to own practice
Potential for other Year groups/subjects/ roles

6. What might happen after each session?
Trial
Refine
Embed
Reflect
Share impact

7. Today’s Piece How might we plan learning and pitch it appropriately?
How might we balance challenge?
Which activities might we use?
Designing teaching “which flouts or merely ignores working memory limitations inevitably is deficient (Sweller, van Merriënboer and Paas, 1998, p.253).
The cognitive processing capacity needed to handle (this) information may be of such a magnitude as to leave little for schema acquisition, even if the problem is solved. (Sweller, 1988, p.261).
Working memory
Long term memory

8. Total Cognitive load Intrinsic cognitive load
The difficulty of the problem
Facts learned in isolation have low intrinsic load
Higher intrinsic load when linking and understanding relationships
Past knowledge
Extraneous cognitive load
The strategy to teach it
‘The distraction caused by tasks which occupy working memory but do not contribute to the formation of long-term memories’
Modality effect
Germane cognitive load
How that fits in with existing knowledge
‘A goal of high quality instructional design is to promote high levels
of germane load, ultimately creating a more positive learning experience’(De Jong 2010)
Spaced/varied practice

9. Reflections on our paper
Strengths/ Relevance
Limitations
Application to own practice
Potential for other Year groups/subjects/ roles

10. Perceived Strengths from the groups
Support for things we already do- informed decisions rather than purely instinctive
Through a thinking lens - links to Maps and some of the cognitive structures we utilise
Insights into differences between novices and experts
Provides a basic working model of the memory

11. Perceived limitations from the groups
Replicable in other settings and subjects? The nature of problem solving being domain specific
Applicability of findings to present – technological advances and dealing with different sources of material
Small sample – how reliable are the findings?
Arguably the distinction between the germane and extraneous cognitive load is ad hoc.

12. Task- Taking it to the logical extreme
If you only taught using these principles what might it look like?
What might be effective and ineffective?
Sweller Infographic
/Cog_Load_Theory_Poster.pdf

13. Future sessions
What are you going to report back about in our next session?
A democratic approach  Voting and nominating
Doodle Poll
Take it in turns to chair the discussion

14. Further links to clt readings
memories-teaching-for-long-term-learning/
load-theory.htm
Hendrick, C and Macpherson, R. (2017) What does this look like in the classroom? Bridging the gap between research and practice. Page

15. For those with more memory space….
e2a286012c54/t/57d03e669de4bbd3567d57a6/ /All-Color-Posters.pdf
Podcast: news/breaking-views/listen-what-every-teacher-needs- know-about-memory-professors-robert