Hi everyone! Hope you all are doing great. These days when there is information overload, I wanted to know how we, as instructional designers, can reduce the cognitive load on the learners. Any best practices or guidelines on this? Please tell me what strategies you use to reduce the cognitive load on learners. Thanks in advance.
Hello! Organizing information in a logical sequence can significantly reduce cognitive load. Breaking down complex concepts into smaller, sequential steps can make a world of difference. For instance, in a recent module I designed on project management, I structured the content using a clear framework: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. By presenting information in this structured manner, learners were able to follow a logical flow and connect the dots easily. A pro tip that I implement. Ditch the jargon! Keep it simple, clear, and straight to the point.
You need to know your audience in the first place. It is important to know if they will access the course on desktop/laptop or on mobile devices. Do not believe the ‘hype’ that the same course can be efficient on all screens, because that is not true.
Use narration whenever possible and do not use it as ‘reading the text on the slides’. That is redundancy and makes a course boring. Avoid bulleted lists. Give the user as much control as possible over the way he consumes the course. Do not impose a sequence nor force views. You need to respect the learners not to treat them like dumb kids. Always try to watch the course as if you were the learner, and try to watch some really efficient engaging ones as examples. They are rare….
You must be logged in to post a comment.