The Different Types of Cognitive Load 👇🏽

Did you know that fellow Australian John Sweller, Professor Emeritus at the University of New South Wales, developed the Cognitive Load Theory? How cool!

There are three main types of cognitive load:

1️⃣ Intrinsic Cognitive Load

This refers to the inherent difficulty of the task.
It depends on the complexity of the content or skills required.
It's determined by how much information must be processed simultaneously in the working memory.
While you can't change this complexity, you can manage it by simplifying or breaking down the work.

2️⃣ Unnecessary (Extraneous) Cognitive Load:

Arises from how work or information is structured and presented, not the task itself.
Includes distractions, poor documentation, unclear processes, and toxic social dynamics.
Adds unnecessary mental effort without contributing to achieving the goal.
Avoidable effort wasted on irrelevant or distracting aspects, which can be reduced through better design.

3️⃣ Learning (Germane) Cognitive Load:

Energy spent on learning and building deeper understanding.
Productive effort directed at mastering skills or concepts that will help perform better in the future.
Involves creating new mental models and structures of meaning.
Focuses on organising, integrating, and storing new information in long-term memory.

❗️The key here is to: ▶️ Balance Intrinsic Cognitive Load with the team's capabilities ▶️ Minimise or eliminate Unnecessary Cognitive Load altogether ▶️ Intentionally create time and space for Learning Cognitive Load

💬 Is your intrinsic cognitive load balanced? How much unnecessary cognitive load do you have? Can you make time and space for learning cognitive load? 👇🏽