The Effect of an Instruction Designed by Cognitive Load Theory Principles on 7th Grade Students’ Achievement in Algebra Topics and Cognitive Load

Aygil Takir,Meral Aksu

doi:10.4236/ce.2012.32037

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an instruction designed by the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) principles on 7th grade students’ achievement in Algebra topics and cognitive load. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in totally six weeks with 80 students. The instruction designed by CLT principles was used in the experimental group, while the instruction recommended by the Ministry of Education (MONE) was used in the control group. Researchers developed Teachers’ Guidelines and Students’ Booklets for using in the experimental group. At the end of each unit, the Subjective Rating Scale (SRS) was used to measure students’ cognitive load. At the end of the treatment, the Algebra Achievement Test (AAT) was administrated to both of the groups. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used for analyzing data. Results showed that instruction designed by CLT principles was effective for the Algebra teaching with the limitations of the study.

Highlights

The Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) has emerged over the last decade as an influential theory of educational psychology and instructional design
The study aimed to answer the following questions: 1) Does the instruction designed by CLT have significant effect on 7th grade student’s Algebra achievement and cognitive load? 2) Is there a significant difference between the efficiency scores of students who were exposed to instruction designed by CLT principles compared to instruction recommended by MONE? The following hypotheses that are stated in null form tested the research questions given above
The second research question of the study was “is there a significant difference between the efficiency scores of students who were exposed to instruction designed by CLT principles and to instruction recommended by MONE?”

Summary

Introduction

The Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) has emerged over the last decade as an influential theory of educational psychology and instructional design. The CLT predicts learning outcomes by taking into consideration the capabilities and the limitations of this architecture (Plass, Moreno, & Brünken, 2010). As understood from its definition, CLT differs from other instructional theories with its emphasis on human cognitive architecture. It considers knowledge of human cognitive architecture to be critical for instructional design and effectiveness of an instruction depends heavily on whether it takes the characteristics of human cognition into account

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Results

Conclusion