Instructional Design Consequences of an Analogy between Evolution by Natural Selection and Human Cognitive Architecture

Abstract

Evolution by natural selection may becharacterized as a system in which a largestore of genetic information will persistindefinitely while it remains coordinated withits environment but will continuously producesmall random variations that are tested forenvironmental effectiveness. In anyenvironment, effective variations will persistwhile ineffective variations will disappear.Similarly, human cognitive architectureincludes a large store of information held inlong-term memory that coordinates our cognitiveactivities. A very limited working memory teststhe effectiveness of small variations tolong-term memory with effective variationsaltering long-term memory while ineffectivevariations are lost. Both an existing geneticcode and information in long-term memoryprovide a central executive that guidesbehaviour. Such a central executive isunavailable when an environment alters or whenworking memory must be used to deal with novelinformation. A major function of instructionaldesign is to provide the otherwise missingstructure of a central executive when dealingwith novel information and to reduce thatstructural support as knowledge accumulates inlong-term memory. Cognitive load theory bothprovides instructional design principles thatwould be difficult to devise without itsparticular view of human cognitive architectureand throws further light on that architecture.