Abstract:
High cognitive load is often a consequence of learning complex ideas in science. One approach to reducing cognitive load when learning complex material is ìpretrainingî which involves the presentation of the information essential for understanding the concepts in two stages: Stage 1 - present names and characteristics of the main parts or ideas to provide the learners with some prior knowledge but no understanding of the concepts; Stage 2 - present material required for full understanding of the concepts. This study assessed the impact of pretraining on the efficiency of learning of basic graphing skills and complex physics concepts within actual classrooms. 495 students participated in this study and were given either pretraining and a power-point presentation, just the power-point presentation, or the power-point presentation twice. The pretraining group reported lower subjective cognitive load scores, greater improvement from pre to posttest and greater efficiency in learning (i.e., effective use of mental effort while learning) than the other two treatments. This supports the usefulness of pretraining as a strategy to reduce cognitive load and enhance learning within authentic settings.
