How to Help Students Make Informed Assessments of Cognitive Load: Examining the Role of Training Interventions

ABSTRACT Measuring cognitive load and its different types is a significant challenge that is closely related to the development of cognitive load theory (CLT). Previous research has shown that students have difficulty assessing cognitive load after learning or problem‐solving. Accordingly, they may not reliably differentiate between the different types of cognitive load. Moreover, students may not consider the entire problem‐solving process in their overall cognitive load assessment. The purpose of this work was to examine two training interventions designed to assist students in making informed cognitive load assessments. Study 1 ( N = 99) included pre‐training with a theoretical introduction to CLT to improve differentiation between cognitive load types. Study 2 ( N = 80) implemented post‐training by instructing students to consider all impressions during problem‐solving for the overall load assessment. As both interventions were unsuccessful, further research is needed to assist students in assessing cognitive load in an informed manner.