The New Virtual Classroom: Evidence-based Guidelines for Synchronous e-Learning

Chapter 8. Manage Mental Load in the New Virtual Classroom

INSTRUCTOR-PACED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS like the virtual classroom are especially prone to learner overload because participants cannot control the rate of information flow. From the instructor's perspective, managing and monitoring the various virtual classroom facilities imposes cognitive overload on new facilitators. Because humans have a very limited working memory, instructional professionals must diligently conserve students' memory capacity for learning purposes. In this chapter we summarize a number of proven guidelines for avoiding student and new instructor cognitive overload by:

• Minimizing extraneous content in your lessons

• Minimizing extraneous mental processes that do not lead ...