The concept of 'cognitive load' refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory. In educational psychology, cognitive load theory suggests that learning is most effective when instructional materials are designed to minimize extraneous cognitive load, thereby freeing resources for the intrinsic load necessary to understand complex tasks. For instance, when students are presented with a diagram and accompanying text that are physically separated, they must expend mental energy to integrate the information, increasing extraneous load. Conversely, integrating visual and verbal explanations in a single, coherent format can reduce this load and enhance comprehension. However, researchers caution that reducing load is not always beneficial; for novice learners, some redundancy may actually support schema construction, whereas for experts, it can impede learning by causing unnecessary repetition. Thus, effective instructional design must consider the learner's prior knowledge and the complexity of the material to optimize cognitive processing.
❓ According to the passage, what is a key factor in determining whether reducing cognitive load is beneficial for a learner?
A. A) The physical layout of the instructional materials
B. B) The learner's level of prior knowledge and material complexity
C. C) The total amount of visual information presented
D. D) The speed at which the material is presented
✅ 正确答案
B) The learner's level of prior knowledge and material complexity
IELTS Reading Tips
Skim the questions first, underline keywords, then locate in the passage
Watch for paraphrasing; correct answers are often reworded
Be wary of absolute statements (all, always, never) — usually wrong
Pay attention to content after transition words (however, but, yet)
Manage time: about 20 minutes per passage; skip difficult questions first