How working memory supports dual-task performance is the focus of a long-standing debate. Most previous research on this topic has focused on participant performance data. In three experiments, we investigated whether changes in participant-reported strategies across single- and dual-task conditions might help resolve this debate by offering new…

Cognitive psychology has undergone a paradigm shift in the ways we understand how knowledge is acquired and represented within the brain, yet the implications for how this impacts students' learning of material across disciplines has yet to be fully applied. In this article, we present an integrative review of embodied cognition, and demonstrate…

Cognitive load theory has incorporated evolutionary perspectives to consider how "biologically primary knowledge" (such as physical movement and pointing), acquired through evolutionary processes, might support the acquisition of "biologically secondary knowledge" (such as reading or writing), requiring explicit teaching.…

Around the world, if and how young children learn through their play in early childhood education and care contexts has been the subject of much debate. Yet rarely has the debate heard from the young children themselves, often due to the pervasive belief that they do not understand learning. To redress this, a qualitative case study was conducted…

Several studies have applied the dichotomy of deep and surface approaches to learning in a range of disciplinary contexts. Existing questionnaires have largely assumed the existence of these constructs; however, in a recent study Case and Marshall (2004) described two additional context-specific approaches to learning in engineering. The current…

While students do learn real-world knowledge and skills in virtual worlds, educators have yet to adequately theorise how students' virtual world experiences bring about this learning. This paper critically reviewed theories currently used to underpin empirical work in virtual worlds for education. In particular, it evaluated how applicable these…

Web-based self-learning (WBSL) has received a lot of attention in recent years due to the vast amount of varied materials available in the Web 2.0 environment. However, this large amount of material also has resulted in a serious problem of cognitive overload that degrades the efficacy of learning. In this study, an information graphics method is…

This article explores the opportunities to apply cognitive load theory and four-component instructional design to self-directed learning. Learning tasks are defined as containing three elements: learners must (a) "perform" the tasks, (b) "assess" their task performance, and (c) "select" future tasks for improving their performance. Principles to…

In the present article, we articulate three assumptions underlying theories proposing that restructuring processes play a key role in insightful problem solving: representational difficulty, representational change, and discontinuity in solution processes. We argue that these assumptions need empirical validation to justify the proposition of…

Working memory has been called the "door to learning" (think the library) and is strongly related to performance in reading comprehension and problem-solving. Persons with strong working memory have a wide open door for acquiring all types of new information. They are able to hang on to new information, work with it, integrate it with lots of…

In two experiments, the principles of cognitive load theory were applied to the design of alternatives to conventional music instruction hypothesised to facilitate learning. Experiment 1 demonstrated that spatial integration of visual text and musical notation, and dual-modal delivery of auditory text and musical notation, were superior to the…

Free-recall memory performance of and spontaneous strategy use by 227 field-dependent and field-independent undergraduates were investigated by means of memorized word lists that were high or low in inherent organization and when cognitive strategy instruction was provided or withheld. Results are consistent with current views of field-dependence…

A general theoretical framework to guide research on self-instructional training was presented which suggests that the approach is particularly useful to young nonretarded children and mentally retarded persons. Retarded children taught to self-instruct show better attention, memory, and motivation and manifest less impulsive behavior, maladaptive…

This paper traces the history of 11 prominent learning style theorists from the 1970s to the present. Several theorists focused on the student's cognitive processing style. Manuel Ramirez attributed Mexican-American students' tendency toward field sensitivity to their socialization. Charles Letteri classified learners as analytic, global, or…

Introduction: The distinction between mastery and performance goals has been the dominant theoretical approach to goal orientation study for the past three decades. Recent investigations have begun to provide evidence that further distinctions are necessary. It has also been implied that students' beliefs about the nature of intelligence play a…