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, first proposed by John Sweller in the 1980s, suggests that learning is most effective when instructional designs align with human cognitive architecture. The theory distinguishes between intrinsic load, which is inherent to the complexity of the material, and extraneous load, which is generated by the way information is presented. Extraneous load can be reduced by well-designed instructional materials, freeing up working memory resources for schema construction. Recent research has further explored the role of germane load, which is the effort devoted to processing and understanding the material. However, critics argue that measuring these distinct types of load separately remains a methodological challenge, as they may overlap in practice.