雅思阅读

📖 Reading Passage

The concept of 'cognitive load' refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory. In educational contexts, reducing extraneous cognitive load is crucial for effective learning. Extraneous load is generated by the way information is presented to learners, rather than by the inherent complexity of the material itself. For instance, a poorly designed diagram that requires excessive searching for relevant components can increase extraneous load, thereby hindering schema acquisition. Conversely, instructional designs that integrate related information spatially or temporally can minimize this unnecessary burden. Research by Sweller and colleagues suggests that when extraneous load is high, learners have fewer cognitive resources available for the deep processing necessary to construct meaningful mental models. Therefore, educators are advised to streamline presentations, eliminating any non-essential elements that do not directly contribute to learning goals.