S8 E11: Cognitive load theory: Four items at a time, with Greg Ashman

Feb 28, 2024

Dr. Greg Ashman explores cognitive load theory, working memory vs long-term memory, and the importance of evidence-based teaching. He emphasizes the need for structured teaching methods and debunking the idea that kids only need to practice skills. Ashman advocates for questioning teaching methods and ensuring they are based on evidence for optimal student learning outcomes.

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ANECDOTE

Experiment That Failed To Teach

Greg Ashman describes doing a chemistry experiment where students produced valid data but failed to infer the intended concept.
He felt guilty telling them the answer afterwards and later realized he could have structured the lesson to avoid overwhelming students' working memory.

INSIGHT

Four Items Is The Bottleneck

Cognitive Load Theory models cognition as working memory (≈4 items) interacting with effectively limitless long-term memory.
Overwhelming working memory prevents transferring new knowledge into long-term memory.

INSIGHT

Items Depend On Knowledge

What counts as an 'item' depends on prior knowledge; experts chunk many elements into single items using schemas.
When schemas live in long-term memory, tasks impose little or no load on working memory.

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Greg Ashman—author of multiple books including A Little Guide for Teachers: Cognitive Load Theory, deputy principal, and professor—sits down with Susan Lambert on this episode to discuss cognitive load theory and how it applies to how students learn and how to best teach them. Together their conversation covers cognitive load theory, including an exploration of working memory and long-term memory; intrinsic load and extraneous load; biologically primary vs. biologically secondary knowledge; and how to apply these concepts in the classroom. Ashman also provides listeners with helpful advice on ensuring their teaching practices are based on evidence.

Show notes:

Book: “A Little Guide for Teachers: Cognitive Load Theory” by Greg Ashman
Read: Greg Ahsman’s “Quick Insight Series”
Subscribe: Greg Ashman’s Substack “Filling The Pail”
Read: Barak Rosenshine’s “Principles of Instruction”

Quotes:
“I now know I shouldn't have felt guilty, but I also know that I could have taught that from the outset in a much more structured way where the students would have left understanding the concepts better without wasting time.” —Greg Ashman

“This idea that kids don't need to know anything anymore, they just need to practice skills is really quite a pernicious and damaging idea.” —Greg Ashman

“Think about the teaching methods that you're being presented with. Ask about the evidence and question whether this is really the optimal way of teaching literacy or whatever it is, or whether it's more based on wishful thinking.” —Greg Ashman

Episode timestamps*
2:00 Introduction: Who is Dr. Gregg Ashman
5:00 Feeling guilty about the way you had been teaching
7:00 Book talk: A Little Guide for Teachers on Cognitive Load Theory
8:00 Defining cognition
11:00 Working memory and long-term memory
13:00 Retrieval of long-term memory
15:00 What is cognitive load?
19:00 Working memory holds 4 items: What is an item?
24:00 Automaticity
26:00 Biologically primary vs biologically secondary knowledge
31:00 Mythbusting: “Long-term memory is like a computer system”
34:00 How can educators use cognitive load theory?
38:00 Explicit teaching
42:00 Productive struggle and productive failure
49:00 Final advice
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute