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Three Types of Cognitive Load

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About This MicroSim

This interactive visualization demonstrates how the three types of cognitive load—intrinsic, extraneous, and germane—compete for limited working memory capacity. Understanding these distinctions is essential for instructional designers creating effective learning experiences.

The Three Load Types

Intrinsic Load (Blue) represents the inherent complexity of the material being learned. This load cannot be eliminated—it is intrinsic to the content itself. For example, learning recursion in programming has an inherent complexity that cannot be simplified away. Instructional designers can only manage intrinsic load through scaffolding and sequencing.

Extraneous Load (Red) represents cognitive effort wasted on poor instructional design. This load adds nothing to learning and should be minimized. Examples include confusing navigation, irrelevant graphics, poorly organized information, or requiring learners to mentally integrate information from multiple sources (split attention effect).

Germane Load (Green) represents productive mental effort spent on schema construction and deep learning. This is the "good struggle" that leads to meaningful learning. Examples include making connections between concepts, practicing retrieval, and reflecting on problem-solving strategies.

Key Insight

When the total cognitive load exceeds working memory capacity (shown in orange), learning breaks down. Good instructional design minimizes extraneous load, freeing up capacity for germane processing.

How to Use

  1. Hover over each colored section to see detailed definitions and examples
  2. Adjust the Content Complexity slider to see how material difficulty affects intrinsic load
  3. Adjust the Design Quality slider to see how good design reduces extraneous load and creates room for germane processing
  4. Compare the two tanks to see the difference between poor and good instructional design

Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  1. Define and distinguish between intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load
  2. Explain how these three types compete for limited working memory capacity
  3. Identify examples of each load type in instructional materials
  4. Apply cognitive load principles to improve instructional design

Discussion Questions

  1. Think of a time when you felt overwhelmed while learning something new. Which type of cognitive load do you think was responsible?

  2. How might a poorly designed MicroSim create extraneous load? What specific design choices would help reduce it?

  3. Why is it important to understand that intrinsic load cannot be eliminated, only managed?

  4. How can instructional designers increase germane load (the productive learning effort) in their materials?

Activity: Load Analysis

Have students examine an existing educational resource (video, tutorial, or simulation) and identify:

  • Sources of intrinsic load (inherent complexity)
  • Sources of extraneous load (design problems)
  • Opportunities for germane load (meaningful cognitive effort)
  • Recommendations for improvement

Source Code

1
// See cognitive-load-types.js for the full source code

View Source on GitHub

References

  • Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257-285.
  • Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J., & Paas, F. G. (1998). Cognitive architecture and instructional design. Educational Psychology Review, 10(3), 251-296.
  • Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.