Books

 

About Cognitive Load Theory

The focus for this pathfinder is the research cognitive load theory as it pertains to instructional design for online learning. While there are numerous books on brain research, books listed here are most relevant to the topic of this pathfinder.

etivitesThe Architecture of Cognition

by John Anderson (1983)

The Architecture of Cognitionis a classic work that remains relevant to theory and research in cognitive science. The new version of Anderson's theory of cognitive architecture - Adaptive Control of Thought (ACT) - is a theory of the basic principles of operation built into the cognitive system and is the main focus of the book.

 

 

   mayerThe Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning

by Richard Mayer (2005)

During the past 10 years, the field of multimedia learning has emerged as a coherent discipline with an accumulated research base that has never been synthesized and organized. This reference constitutes an original work devoted to comprehensive coverage of research and theory in the field of multimedia learning. It focuses on how people learn from words and pictures in computer-based environments. Multimedia environments include online instructional presentations, interactive lessons, e-courses, simulation Games, virtual reality, and computer-supported, in-class presentations.
reberImplicit Learning and Tacit Knowledge: An Essay on the Cognitive Unconscious

by Arthur Reber (1996)

The author presents a highly readable account of the cognitive unconscious, focusing in particular on the problem of implicit learning. Implicit learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge that takes place independently of the conscious attempts to learn and largely in the absence of explicit knowledge about what was acquired. One of the core assumptions of this argument is that implicit learning is a fundamental, "root" process, one that lies at the very heart of the adaptive behavioral repertoire of every complex organism. The author's goals are to outline the essential features of implicit learning that have emerged from the many studies that have been carried out in a variety of experimental laboratories over the past several decades; to present the various alternative perspectives on this issue that have been proposed by other researchers and to try to accommodate these views with his own; to structure the literature so that it can be seen in the context of standard heuristics of evolutionary biology; to present the material within a functionalist approach and to try to show why the experimental data should be seen as entailing particular epistemological perspectives; and to present implicit processing as encompassing a general and ubiquitous set of operations that have wide currency and several possible applications.
   vanTen Steps to Complex Learning: A Systematic Approach to Four-Component Instructional Design

by Jeroen can Merrienboer and Paul Kirschner (2007)

The Fifth Edition presents a practical, easy-to-follow approach to instructional design that can be applied to K-12 classrooms, higher education, distance education, and business programs. The authors incorporate behavioral and cognitive approaches into their model, so that readers can reap the benefits of both.
sweller Efficiency in Learning: Evidence-Based Guidelines to Manage Cognitive Load

by Ruth Clark, Frank Nyugen, John Sweller (2005)

Efficiency in Learning offers a road map of the most effective ways to use the three fundamental communication of training: visuals, written text, and audio. Regardless of how you are delivering your training materials—in the classroom, in print, by synchronous or asynchronous media—the book’s methods are easily applied to your lesson presentations, handouts, reference guides, or e-learning screens. Designed to be a down-to-earth resource for all instructional professionals, Efficiency in Learning’s guidelines are clearly illustrated with real-world examples.