Delving into the intricacies of how we learn, two components of our cognitive architecture play critical roles with profound implications for educational practices related to teaching and learning: working memory, where we process information, and long-term memory, where this information finds its permanent residence. This is at the heart of Cognitive Load Theory, an essential framework in educational research that guides us in understanding the limitations of our cognitive processing capabilities (Sweller et al., 2019). Essentially, it highlights a fundamental truth: our minds can only handle so much information at a time. Overloading students with information, especially if it’s not directly relevant to what they’re trying to learn, doesn’t just hinder their learning process; it can stop it in its tracks. By minimizing this extraneous cognitive load, we optimize the learning environment, ensuring that the valuable content we’re teaching is not just consumed but also stored for the long haul.
Examples of limiting cognitive load in practice involve the following theme: “cutting out all of the fluff and extra information ” from our lessons. We are all guilty of this from time to time. The goal of cutting out any extraneous information is to ensure our students’ working memory is freed up. Luckily, there are many things we can do to limit cognitive load in our teaching. As instructional coaches and leaders, we want to observe and pinpoint areas within instructional sequences to help teachers navigate scenarios where they can limit cognitive load. As a result, in this blog, there are a number of instructional scenarios to consider where we can see how we can coach teachers to limit any extraneous load we are putting on our student’s working memory.
Instructional Scenarios
| Classroom Problem | Coaching Solutions to Consider |
| Multitasking during lessons overwhelms students. | Suggest the teacher focus on one concept or activity at a time during lessons. Offer strategies for breaking tasks into smaller segments. Breaking down tasks into smaller chunks helps lessen the cognitive load on students. |
| Overuse of jargon confuses students (unless they have prior vocabulary knowledge). | Encourage the teacher to use simpler language and provide explanations for necessary vocabulary words that may need to be further defined. |
| Long, unbroken lectures lead to information overload. | Ask the teacher to focus on chunking information into smaller segments throughout a lesson. Additionally, recommend the teacher integrate interactive activities such as interactive slides during guided practice, think, write, pair, or share, or guided discussions within the lecture, allowing time for processing as a result of strategies that utilize chunking sequences. Offer to demonstrate this in a co-teaching session. |
| Overcrowded lesson plans rush through concepts. | Suggest using a consistent theme or real-world examples that are relevant to students’ lives. Offer to brainstorm with the teacher on themes that would engage students. Additionally, provided students with worked examples and models often to provide clear expectations and problem-solving methodologies. |
| Use of inconsistent themes or examples in lessons. | Suggest using a consistent theme or real-world examples that are relevant to students’ lives. Offer to brainstorm with the teacher on themes that would engage students. Additionally, provided students with worked examples and models often to provide clear expectations and problem solving methodologies. |
One Last Scenario Before We Go: Overly Decorated Classrooms
Last, before we end this blog, there is one other scenario that should be addressed. One area where we can really limit cognitive load is to ensure our classrooms are not stuffed full of objects and decorations. When we have too many stimuli on our walls, it ultimately takes up part of our student’s working memory. As coaches, we really want to show teachers we do not need to cover every single wall with student work, a poster, or decorations. We want our classrooms to be clean – this does not necessarily mean barren. But, we want to limit how much we have on our classroom walls and around the classroom when we want to limit cognitive load.
Conclusion – Coach with Cognitive Load Theory in Mind
Cognitive load theory needs to be addressed in many teacher preparation programs and through ongoing professional development. It is one area where we can make many small changes to our instruction, which can support and amplify student learning. As coaches, we need to be aware of the cognitive load in each and every lesson we observe and to emphasize it during our coaching conversations and cycles we have with our teachers.
References
Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. (2019). Cognitive architecture and instructional design: 20 years later. Educational Psychology Review, 31(2), 261–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09465-5
Navigating the Present and Future of Education 
One thought on “Help Teachers Cut Out Irrelevant Information in Their Lessons As An Instructional Coach”