Cognitive Load Estimator

Working Memory Capacity

If Intrinsic + Extraneous load exceeds 100%, learning stops.

Intrinsic

Extraneous

Germane

COGNITIVE OVERLOAD DETECTED

Intrinsic Load (Inherent Difficulty)

You cannot change intrinsic load easily, but you can manage it by chunking.

Topic Complexity (Number of interacting elements) Medium

Learner Prior Knowledge Beginner

Extraneous Load (Bad Design)

Check the design flaws currently present in your module. Your goal is to minimize these.

Walls of text / Dense paragraphs on screen.

Redundancy (Reading text out loud exactly as it appears on screen).

Decorative graphics or background music that do not teach anything.

Split attention (e.g., placing the legend far away from the graph).

Confusing or non-intuitive navigation menus.

Germane Load (Good Mental Effort)

Check the strategies used to help learners build mental schemas. Maximize these!

Use of relevant analogies or metaphors.

Worked examples (showing how a problem is solved step-by-step first).

Self-explanation prompts (asking learners "Why did this happen?").

Varied practice scenarios.

Cognitive Load Theory

Developed by John Sweller, CLT states that our working memory can only hold a small amount of information at a time (roughly 4-7 "chunks").

1. Intrinsic Load

The inherent difficulty of the subject matter. Teaching calculus has a higher intrinsic load than teaching the alphabet.

2. Extraneous Load

The load generated by how the material is presented. Bad fonts, confusing layouts, and distracting animations add extraneous load without aiding learning. This must be minimized.

3. Germane Load

The mental effort devoted to actually processing the information and creating permanent schemas in long-term memory. This must be maximized.