Cognitive Load Theory

In Cognitive Load Theory: A handbook for teachers, Steve Garnett brings clarity to the complexity surrounding CLT and provides a user-friendly toolkit of techniques to help teachers optimise their pupils' learning. Cognitive load theory (CLT) is rapidly becoming education's next 'big thing'. It is natural, therefore, that teachers will want to know more about it and, more importantly, understand how they can embed it in their classroom teaching. Written by author and international teacher trainer Steve Garnett, this invaluable handbook offers a complete yet concise summary of what CLT involves and how it can impact on pupil performance. Steve covers a wide range of teaching strategies to help teachers avoid overloading their pupils' working memories, and empowers them with the tools to get their pupils learning more effectively - particularly when learning new content. He talks you through the 14 effects that can 'clutter' working memory - for example, the split-attention effect, redundancy effect, and expertise reversal effect - and shares a diverse collection of figures and diagrams as examples of how teachers can optimise their delivery of content to students. Furthermore, he also explores the 'cognitive architecture' of the brain and how a better understanding of it can inform and improve teachers' practice. Suitable for teachers, department heads, school leaders and anyone with a responsibility for improving teaching and learning.