Review by: Dreier, Matthias (2004-09-07)

Van Merriënboer is a cognitive psychologist who has studied psychological aspects of learning for many years. Most notable is his four-component model for complex cognitive skills. In this publication he and his co-authors address the question how to reduce the learners’ cognitive load in complex learning tasks.

The authors state that authentic learning based on real-life tasks result in a high cognitive load for learners. The task itself is already very complex – i. e. it has a high intrinsic cognitive load. In addition, teachers add extraneous cognitive load by providing support like guidelines, hints, and checklists. As a result, split-attention effects occur. The authors then discuss traditional and recent approaches to this problem like “part tasks” and “simplifying conditions”.

Since extraneous material is indispensable to carry out complex learning tasks, the question is whether to present necessary information before the learners start working on the task of beforehand. In their theoretical framework the authors distinguish between supportive information and procedural information. Based on literature review and empirical result they conclude that supportive information is best presented before learners start working on the task, and procedural information is best given along with the task description.

The authors provide helpful instructional design principles for complex learning with respect to the cognitive load theory. Theoretical and practical implications of the presented framework are discussed. The authors also describe the limits of their framework. Neither their design model nor cognitive load theory alone are sufficient to develop useful instructional material for complex learning.