Cognitive Overload
Definition: “Cognitive overload is the result of excessive demands made on the cognitive processes, in particular memory”.
Cognitive overload occurs when you are presented with so much new information that your mind simply cannot process it fast enough. As a result the information is not transferred to the long-term memory which, alas, is where it becomes useful.
The result of cognitive overload is boredom, frustration and zero improvement.
Classroom training – a world of cognitive meltdown?
We know that we learn by doing. We know that we gain experience through failure. We know that people require different degrees of experience to become effective. So why then do we train our people in an environment where theory dominates practice, failure is feared and the pace of learning is the same for all? For students, traditional classroom training can be nothing more than lifeless comprehension. From a learning perspective, this type of training for the masses is cognitively flawed and minimally effective.
Consider this. Learning how to juggle is easy – you can learn from a book. You start by throwing one ball in the air and letting it land in your hand. Eventually you will know the position of your hand relative to the ball without having to look. Then you add an extra ball and go through the process again, programming your hands to be in the correct place. You will drop the balls many times but every time you fail you will improve. Practice makes perfect.
Content can be a problem for classroom courses. They can often focus on theory and not practical application. Would you be able to learn to juggle if we took away the balls but let you keep the book? Human brains just don’t work like this. Our short term memory is capable of storing information for no more than 30 seconds . In order to store the information it must be repeated or rehearsed.
Furthermore, many courses try to cram in too much. Course developers are often asked to squeeze eight days of training into five. This minimises spend, and fits nicely into our calendars and course booking systems, but it is not good for the learner. The training room becomes a pressure cooker and not a place for study.
Learners reach the point of cognitive overload when their brains just cannot cope with the amount of information being presented to it. This learning then becomes a waste of time and money.
Another problem with classroom training is that the expert teaching the class has to work at a pace which suits the majority. Consequently the detail into which they can go is intrinsically limited. Furthermore, there will be significant numbers of learners who will fall outside of the ‘majority’ who will either find the course too fast or too slow. They will either want more or less detail.
Any practical exercises are designed to be completed within a set amount of time. If, for any reason, these exercises are not completed within the allotted time, learners are forced to move on. They will only have a limited opportunity to practice what has been learnt in a traditional classroom because there is no time to do any more. The trainer has, after all, got a lot of material to get through before the centre is closed at 4.30pm and the cleaners move in!
Failure is an opportunity to learn. The more you fail at a task, the more you remember. In a classroom with a large number of delegates the ability to fail is rare because the expert is moving along at a pace which suits the majority.
Learners do not like to be seen to be failing. Peer pressure is strong and students would rather not understand than be seen to be stupid. This is vital experience which is missed. Being allowed to fail is a good thing. And this needs time.