A Cognitive-Load Approach to Collaborative Learning: Task and Learner Characteristics

While all levels of education are making use of collaborative learning techniques in both traditional and electronic learning environments, the effectiveness of these types of education/learning has still not been proven.
The results are mixed (at best) and educators often have to implement extra measures to either ensure that the participants work together (e.g., requiring a specific number of contributions in electronic environments or requiring attendance in face-to-face environments) or ensure that all learners engage in the learning process (e.g., implementing roles, scripts, and assessment schemes).

The basic assumption of this project is that if individual learners are to work together effectively in groups, the architecture of their cognitive system and the characteristics of the task must be understood, accommodated, and aligned. Specifically, this means that the characteristics of the (group) task must be such that the cognitive system of each of the individuals is not capable of accommodating its solution AND the group communication and coordination activities necessary for effectively functioning as a team (i.e., the cognitive transaction costs) do not impede the collaboration process.

This project uses a cognitive load theory-based approach to develop a method to determine a group s cognitive load and to investigate how task complexity (i.e., intrinsic cognitive load) and the learner characteristics expertise and age can inform the design of effective group-based environments for lifelong learning.