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 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. Intrinsic load cannot be altered without changing the subject matter itself, whereas extraneous load can be reduced through better instructional design. Germane load, a third type, is the effort devoted to processing and understanding the material, which contributes directly to learning. Research has shown that when extraneous load is minimized, learners have more working memory capacity available for germane processing, leading to improved comprehension and retention. However, overly simplified presentations may also reduce germane load by failing to encourage deep processing, indicating that an optimal balance is necessary.