Altering Element Interactivity and Intrinsic Cognitive load

As described in Chapter 15, the concept of element interactivity provides a theoretical construct underpinning understanding and learning. Instructional material that is low in element interactivity and consequently low in intrinsic cognitive load requires few working memory resources, because the constituent elements do not interact and can be understood and learned in isolation. Other material that is high in element interactivity and intrinsic cognitive load includes elements that interact and must be processed simultaneously as they cannot be understood and learned as single elements. High element interactivity information is a major category of information that is of interest to cognitive load theory. Processing such information requires working memory resources that may exceed its capacity. That information cannot be easily understood or learned and creates a significant challenge for teachers and instructional designers. How can students learn new, complex, high element interactivity information if the processing demand is greater than working memory capacity?

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