The Science of Learning
Over recent years we have seen a dramatic increase in interest in the science of learning within the teaching profession. It is now informing day to day teaching practice, whole school professional development programmes and even national policy. However, in an era when the latest fad seems to be on every schools’ agenda for a year before it disappears how useful is cognitive science to us in the classroom? What can we learn from cognitive science and how much do teachers really need to know about the science of teaching?
Those who are running Initial Teacher Training programmes clearly think that it is important for those entering the profession and a number of key principles have emerged, as set out in the Deans for Impact reportsi and Ambition Institute’s Learning Curriculum 2.0.ii
So, how do we process information and how much of the scientific research is genuinely useful to us in the classroom, be that the physical, or as we are all now accustomed to, the virtual?
What is Cognitive Load Theory (CLT)?
CLT was developed by John Sweller (1988).iii "Cognitive load" relates to the amount of information that working memory can hold at one time. Sweller argued that, since working memory has a limited capacity, instructional methods should avoid overloading it with additional activities that don't directly contribute to learning.
For example, a labelled diagram places a lower demand on your working memory than one that has the labels listed at the side: