Cognitive load theory uses our knowledge of how people learn, think and solve problems to design instruction. In turn, instructional design is the central activity of classroom teachers, of curriculum designers, and of publishers of textbooks and educational materials, including digital information. Characteristically, the theory is used to generate hypotheses that are tested using randomized controlled trials. Cognitive load theory rests on a base of hundreds of randomized controlled trials testing many thousands of primary and secondary school children as well as adults. That research has been conducted by many research groups from around the world and has resulted in a wide range of novel instructional procedures that have been tested for effectiveness. Advances in Cognitive Load Theory, in describing current research, continues in this tradition. Exploring a wide range of instructional issues dealt with by the theory, it covers all general curriculum areas critical to educational and training institutions and outlines recent extensions to other psycho-educational constructs including motivation and engagement. With contributions from the leading figures from around the world, this book provides a one-stop-shop for the latest in cognitive load theory research and guidelines for how the findings can be applied in practice.

Learning Design refers to research and development work that equips teachers with tools and strategies to aid their design thinking. Its origin stems from two lines of inquiry: (i) how to represent teaching practice from a technical perspective in the development and delivery of online learning environments; and (ii) how to represent teaching practice in an appropriate form to enable teachers to share ideas about innovative online pedagogy and think about the process of design. The underlying premise of learning design is that, if effective, teaching and learning practice can be represented in a systematic way, thus supporting the process of reuse, which could ultimately lead to improved practice. A large international body of work has produced specifications of technical standards to support the delivery of online learning, different learning design representations to disseminate 'best practice' examples to support and encourage adaptation, and software tools and strategies to support the design process. This book presents a view of current thinking about learning design and provides insight into the future direction of this field of research and development. It is a timely contribution that will stimulate discussion about these issues and guide and advance the learning design field. This book was originally published as a special issue of Learning, Media and Technology.

Cognitive load theory uses our knowledge of how people learn, think and solve problems to design instruction. In turn, instructional design is the central activity of classroom teachers, of curriculum designers, and of publishers of textbooks and educational materials, including digital information. Characteristically, the theory is used to generate hypotheses that are tested using randomized controlled trials. Cognitive load theory rests on a base of hundreds of randomized controlled trials testing many thousands of primary and secondary school children as well as adults. That research has been conducted by many research groups from around the world and has resulted in a wide range of novel instructional procedures that have been tested for effectiveness. Advances in Cognitive Load Theory, in describing current research, continues in this tradition. Exploring a wide range of instructional issues dealt with by the theory, it covers all general curriculum areas critical to educational and training institutions and outlines recent extensions to other psycho-educational constructs including motivation and engagement. With contributions from the leading figures from around the world, this book provides a one-stop-shop for the latest in cognitive load theory research and guidelines for how the findings can be applied in practice.