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. 2022 Jun 24:13:665835.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.665835. eCollection 2022.

Teaching in Uncertain Times: Expanding the Scope of Extraneous Cognitive Load in the Cognitive Load Theory

Tracey A H Taylor  1 , Suzan Kamel-ElSayed  1 , James F Grogan  1 , Inaya Hajj Hussein  1 , Sarah Lerchenfeldt  1 , Changiz Mohiyeddini  1
Affiliations

Teaching in Uncertain Times: Expanding the Scope of Extraneous Cognitive Load in the Cognitive Load Theory

Tracey A H Taylor et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented and highly threatening, constrained, and confusing social and educational environment, we decided to expand the traditional focus of the extraneous load in Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) acknowledging the psychological environment in which learning occurs. We therefore adapted and implemented principles of the CLT to reduce extraneous load for our students by facilitating their educational activities. Given previous empirical support for the principles of CLT, it was expected that the adoption of these principles might enable our students to cultivate attitudes and skills across multiple domains such as online learning and presentation technologies, implementing and maintaining a "classroom atmosphere" in a virtual environment, participating in discussions among large online groups of students, facilitating group work, providing virtual office hours for students, and proactively planning for upcoming semesters.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cognitive Load Theory; extraneous load; germane load; intrinsic load; pandemic; the impact of the situation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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