We can all remember moments when our brains were overloaded with information—the sense of drowning in information or feeling like we could not catch up. Sometimes, we find ourselves flying through details because they seem easy and intuitive or we have some prior knowledge or experience. Cognitive psychologists refer to the brain’s use of working memory resources as cognitive load.
Having prior knowledge is crucial in reducing cognitive load. Prior knowledge helps reduce the hurdle of learning a new concept or skill. Prior knowledge can provide an understanding of context, experience, vocabulary, the ability to compare and contrast, and more. Researchers Ngu et al. (2022) studied four approaches to solving percentage problems (unitary, unitary-pictorial, equation, and equation-pictorial) with 218 secondary students. This study showed that students with high prior knowledge had higher performance with complex problems than those with low prior knowledge. Students with low prior knowledge demonstrated higher mental effort across three approaches. Students with high prior knowledge demonstrated low cognitive effort.
As teachers, we need to be mindful of cognitive load when designing instruction. As a new teacher, I ask myself these two questions when planning a lesson:
- Do my students have any prior knowledge? How can I find out?
- Is my lesson scaffolded properly to help the varying levels of prior knowledge?
A few good resources to help with scaffolding are:
- Providing Instructional Supports by IRIS Center
- 5 Scaffolding Strategies by Edutopia
- University of Buffalo Scaffolding Content
Scaffolding Content Module by IRIS Center – Vanderbilt University
The IRIS Center is focused on providing evidence-based strategies and interventions to improve the educational outcomes of all students, including students with disabilities. They have fantastic training modules, including one for scaffolding. In grad school, we used this website to supplement the curriculum. The linked module walks you through a scenario and provides training on scaffolding strategies. This recommendation is listed first because of its quality and depth.
5 Scaffolding Strategies Video by Edutopia
Edutopia is a great teaching resource. Think of it as a digital magazine that communicates research studies into everyday language. The video linked here is a typical short video showing how teachers bring to life the different scaffolding strategies. It mainly glosses over the strategies, but it is enough to give you an understanding and keywords to search for if you wish to learn more.
Scaffolding Content by University of Buffalo
This webpage has visual organizers that walk you through scaffolding your lesson. It is thorough and all on one page if you do not wish to walk through an Iris module.
This year, I am teaching in a new school. As I follow the curriculum, I find that my 6th-grade math students are struggling with the first chapter, which covers finding the area of polygons and writing algebraic expressions. Sprinkled throughout the chapter are problems asking students to follow the order of operations (PEMDAS). According to the Ohio Learning Standards, this is supposed to be learned starting in 3rd grade, 5th grade, and again in 6th grade. Therefore, they should have prior knowledge of this, but they are demonstrating to me that they do not. I did not do a good enough job of understanding their lack of knowledge on this topic. So, I am taking a few steps back because this topic must not be skipped. Their cognitive load has been high, which can explain some class behaviors. I have reasoned that most behaviors are due to the class being the second to last class of the day. However, I am hypothesizing that the time of day with a high cognitive load may be the culprit. I will focus solely on PEMDAS for the next few days until they feel confident. I will start with a bellringer that will have them define PEMDAS and explain the sequence. We will then practice using the “I Do, We Do, You Do” approach and end with an exit slip that will loop back to the bellringer and an example problem. Wish me luck!
References
Ngu, B. H., Phan, H. P., Usop, H., & Hong, K. S. (2023). Instructional efficiency: The role of prior knowledge and cognitive load. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37(6), 1223–1237. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4117
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