I’ve come to the conclusion that Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory is the single most important thing for teachers to know

– Dylan Wiliam

On this episode Lars speaks with John Sweller, professor emeritus at University of New South Wales in Australia, about the field of cognitive load theory, a research field in educational psychology that John has been developing since the early eighties. 

We talk about the cognitive architecture, how working memory and long term memory interact, and how this interaction and its limits make out the foundational insight that is explored in cognitive load theory; how our cognition is shaped by evolution, how David Geary’s theory about biologically primary and secondary skills helped John put cognitive load theory into a bigger picture; some of the main effect that have been identified, like element interaction effect, worked examples, redundancy, split attention, and much more. 

Recommended books and articles

• Ashman, G. (2023). A little guide for teachers: Cognitive load theory. Corwin UK.
• Carlson, J. S., & Levin, J. R. (2007). Educating the evolved mind : conceptual foundations for an evolutionary educational psychology. Information Age Pub.
• Geary, D. C. (2024). The evolved mind and modern education: Status of evolutionary educational psychology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009454858         
• Geary, D. C. (2008). An evolutionarily informed education science. Educational Psychologist, 43(4), 179–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520802392133 
• Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86. 
• Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., Kirschner, F., & Zambrano R., J. (2018). From cognitive load theory to collaborative cognitive load theory. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 13(2), 213–233.
• Lovell, O. (2020). Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory in Action. John Catt Educational.
• Paas, F., & Sweller, J. (2012). An Evolutionary Upgrade of Cognitive Load Theory: Using the Human Motor System and Collaboration to Support the Learning of Complex Cognitive Tasks. Educational Psychology Review, 24(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9179-2
• Sweller, J. (2008). Instructional Implications of David C. Geary’s Evolutionary Educational Psychology. Educational Psychologist, 43(4), 214–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520802392208
• Sweller, J. (2023). The Development of Cognitive Load Theory: Replication Crises and Incorporation of Other Theories Can Lead to Theory Expansion. Educational Psychology Review, 35(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09817-2 
• Sweller, J. (2024). Cognitive Load Theory and Individual Differences. Learning and Individual Differences, 110(1), 102423–102423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102423 
• Sweller, J. et al (2024). Response to De Jong et al.’s (2023) paper “Let's talk evidence – The case for combining inquiry-based and direct instruction”. Educational Research Review, 42, 100584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100584 

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Our logo is by Sveinung Sudbø, see his works on originalkopi.com

The music is by Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen, see the facebook page Nygrenda Vev og Dur for more info. 

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Thank you for listening. Please send feedback and questions to larsogpaal@gmail.com

There is no better way for the podcast to gain new interested listener than by you sharing it with friends, so if you find what we do interesting and useful, please consider doing just that. The podcast is still most in Norwegian, but we have a lot of episodes coming out in English. 

Our blogs:

https://paljabekk.com/

https://larssandaker.blogspot.com/

Alt godt, hilsen Lars og Pål

Dette er del to av vår lille innføring i kognitiv belastningsteori, bedre kjent som cognitive load theory (CLT). Selv om teorien først ble formulert på 80-tallet, så er det først i de siste par årene at den begynt å få større oppmerksomhet i utdanningsfeltet. 

Vi snakker om de studiene som ledet John Sweller til å utforme teorien, om arbeidsminne og langtidsminne, ulike kilder til kunnskap, evolusjonær psykologi og hvordan Sweller inkluderte David Gearys distinksjon om biologisk primære og sekundære ferdigheter, generelle og domenespesifikke ferdigheter, kritisk tenking, indre og ytre belastning ved læring, og en rekke av de mest sentrale effekter som er kartlagt i CLT, og litt om kritikken som er blitt rettet mot teorien. 

I en tredje episode i denne lille serien, som vil komme ut litt etter disse to innføringsepisodene, vil vi også publisere et intervju som Lars gjorde med opphavsmannen til cognitive load theory, John Sweller. 

Anbefalinger nevnt i episoden:

• Willingham, D. T. (2023). Outsmart your brain: Why learning is hard and how you can make it easy. Gallery Books.
• Ashman, G. (2022). A little guide for teachers: Cognitive load theory. Corwin.
• Sweller, J. (2008). Instructional implications of David C. Geary's evolutionary educational psychology. Educational Psychologist, 43(4), 214–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520802392208
• Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1

Annet nevnt i episoden:

• Jorge Louis Borges, Mannen med den gode hukommelsen, fra samlingen Labyrinter
• Magnus Karlsens hukommelse blir testet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1BAcOzHyY 
• Bonawitz, E., Shafto, P., Gweon, H., Goodman, N. D., Spelke, E., & Schulz, L. (2011). The double-edged sword of pedagogy: Instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery. Cognition, 120(3), 322–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.10.001 
• Morningside Academy: https://morningsideacademy.org/ 
• Podkasten Sold a Story: https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/ 

Tidligere Lars og Pål-episoder om relaterte tema: 

• Episode 149 Den gamle skolen møter ny forskning, med Morten Brattbakk
• Episode 141 Hva vi har lært om læring så langt
• Episode 139 Stanislaw Pstrokonski from Education Bookcast
• Episode 135 Natalie Wexler on the role of knowledge in education
• Episode 127 Cro-Magnon på skolebenken

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Logoen vår er laget av Sveinung Sudbø, se hans arbeider på originalkopi.com

Musikken er av Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen, se facebooksiden Nygrenda Vev og Dur for mer info.

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Takk for at du hører på. Ta kontakt med oss på larsogpaal@gmail.com

Det finnes ingen bedre måte å få spredt podkasten vår til flere enn via dere lyttere, så takk om du deler eller forteller andre om oss. 

Både Lars og Pål skriver nå på hver sin blogg, med litt varierende regelmessighet. Du finner dem på disse nettsidene:

https://paljabekk.com/

https://larssandaker.blogspot.com/

Alt godt, hilsen Lars og Pål