The Limitations of Working Memory

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Working Memory Limitations & Dual Coding

John Sweller has identified nearly twenty cognitive load effects that add very practical advice for teachers. Here are six of them most directly related to dual coding theory.

Worked example effect

Worked examples show novices the step-by-step path to solving problems.
They help novices store the problem-solving schema into their long-term memory.
- Our courses at Seneca usually contain several worked examples, to help students' learning, especially in STEM subjects.

Transient information effect

Teachers’ spoken words disappear, i.e. they are transient.
This can cause interference in novices’ learning, as they struggle to remember earlier parts of the teacher’s explanation.

Guidance fading effect

The gradual withdraw of worked examples should be dynamically tailored to novices’ changing levels of expertise in particular areas of study.
In other words, teachers should gradually take away scaffolding.

Split-attention effect

When two sources of information are split in time or space but need to be understood together, students suffer overload as they switch back and forth.

Redundancy effect

When a novice moves along the continuum towards more expertise, they no longer need earlier, simpler sources of information aimed at novice status.
- In fact, the more students progress, the more such simplified information will hinder learning.

Modality effect

We take in information through two separate channels: the auditory and the visual channels.
It’s best to avoid one channel being overloaded by dealing with two sources of information concurrently.