Measuring Knowledge to Optimize Cognitive Load Factors During Instruction.

By Slava Kalyuga, John Sweller. 2004

216 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The expertise reversal effect occurs when a learning procedure that is effective for novices becomes ineffective for more knowledgeable learners. The authors consider how to match instructional presentations to levels of learner knowledge. Experiments 1–2 were designed to develop a schema-based rapid method of measuring learners’ knowledge in a specific area. Experimental data using algebra and geometry materials for students in Grades 9 –10 indicated a highly significant correlation (up to .92) between performance on the rapid measure and traditional measures of knowledge, with test times reduced by factors of 4.9 and 2.5, respectively. Experiments 3– 4 used this method to monitor learners’ cognitive performance to determine which instructional design should be used for given levels of expertise. The expertise reversal effect (see Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003) occurs when an instructional procedure that is relatively effective for novices becomes ineffective for more knowledgeable learners. A consequence of the effect is that an instructor must be able to accurately estimate the knowledge levels of learners to determine an appropriate instructional design for them. Frequently, knowledge levels of learners need to be assessed and monitored continuously during instructional episodes to dynamically determine the design of further instruction. Accordingly, it is critical to have a simple, rapid measure of expertise, especially in computer- and Web-based learning. Current measurement and test procedures may not be adequate for this purpose. The aim of the current work was to devise a rapid test of levels of expertise based on our knowledge of human cognitive architecture and then to use the test as a means of determining instructional procedures. The expertise reversal effect is an example of an aptitude– treatment interaction (e.g., see Cronbach & Snow, 1977; Lohman, 1986; Snow, 1989) or, more specifically, a disordinal interaction between person characteristics and educational treatment such that if instructional design A is superior to B for novices, B is superior to A for experts. In our research, the expertise reversal effect was derived from longitudinal studies of the effectiveness of different instructional formats and procedures with changing levels of learner expertise and explained using cognitive load theory (see Paas, Renkl, & Sweller, 2003; Sweller, 1999; and Sweller, Van Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998, for reviews), a theory based on the assumption that the processing limitations of working memory might be a major factor influencing the effectiveness of instructional presentations. Working memory capacity is overloaded if

Subfields: Artificial Intelligence, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0c988f8889459d5f734780583ebba43983097425

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Artificial Intelligence

In Developmental and Educational Psychology

In Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Citations in the corpus

Cognitive Load Theory and Complex Learning: Recent Developments and Future Directions (2005, background): “Kalyuga and Sweller (2004) proposed a “rapid assessment test” to measure the quality of learners’ schemata that guide their problem-solving process.”
Improving Seventh Grade Students' Learning of Ratio and Proportion: The Role of Schema-Based Instruction. (2009, background): “…of multiple solution strategies for learners of different ability levels, we focused on explicitly teaching a small but adequate number of strategies to scaffold the learning of low achieving students by providing well-guided instructions to reduce the cognitive overload (Kalyuga & Sweller, 2004).”
Example-Based Learning: Integrating Cognitive and Social-Cognitive Research Perspectives (2010, background): “…these were shown to be more effective for learning than engaging in problem solving only (Carroll 1994; Cooper and Sweller 1987; Kalyuga et al. 2001; Kalyuga and Sweller 2004; Mwangi and Sweller 1998; Sweller and Cooper 1985), at least for low ability or low prior knowledge learners (Cooper and…”
The worked example effect and human cognition (2006, background): “Kalyuga and Sweller (2004, 2005) commenced work on this goal.”
Learning by Doing Versus Learning by Viewing: Three Experimental Comparisons of Learner-Generated Versus Author-Provided Graphic Organizers (2007, background): “As a related matter, learners familiar with the reading topic may also utilize graphic organizers differently than learners unfamiliar with the reading material (Kalyuga & Sweller, 2004).”
Interactivity in Video-based Models (2007, methodology): “A method proposed by Kalyuga and Sweller (2004) requires learners to use schemas in order to recognize a problem state and retrieve the appropriate next solution step, The method has promising results, because the time involved in assessing expertise levels was drastically reduced compared with…”
Facilitating Flexible Problem Solving: A Cognitive Load Perspective (2010, background): “Most research in adaptive learning environments in CLT has traditionally dealt with system-controlled environments (e.g., adaptive learning in Kalyuga and Sweller 2004, 2005).”
Expertise Reversal Effect and Its Implications for Learner-Tailored Instruction (2007, methodology): “In the first study ( Kalyuga and Sweller 2004 ), the allocation of learners to appropriate stages of instructional guidance was based on levels of expertise as measured by the rapid online first-step test.”
Cognitive Load Theory and the Role of Learner Experience: An Abbreviated Review for Educational Practitioners (2008, background): “As interest in optimizing cognitive load has increased, so too has a more dynamic approach to CLT ( Kalyuga & Sweller, 2004, 2005 ).”
Sequential effects of high and low instructional guidance on children’s acquisition of experimentation skills: Is it all in the timing? (2013, background): “…Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller 1988) proposes that working memory limitations dictate high levels of instructional guidance initially for domain novices, but that such guidance becomes redundant, and even dysfunctional, as learners acquire expertise (Kalyuga 2007; Kalyuga and Sweller 2004).”
Effects of worked examples, example-problem, and problem-example pairs on novices learning (2011, background): “Therefore, students with higher levels of prior knowledge no longer need the guidance provided by worked examples, and for them, example study can be ineffective or even detrimental for learning compared to problem solving (Kalyuga, Chandler, Tuovinen, & Sweller, 2001; Kalyuga & Sweller, 2004).”