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The study investigated the effectiveness of causal words embedded in Chinese texts to explicitly indicate causal links between the described events. Primary school students with different levels of reading expertise participated in the experiment that compared an embedded casual-words format with the original no-causal-words format. An interaction (expertise reversal) effect was obtained with the causal-words format benefiting novices but not more experienced readers. In contrast to previous studies of the expertise reversal effect that have related the effect to the variations in extraneous cognitive load caused by experts processing redundant for them information, this instance of the effect is likely to be due to differential levels of intrinsic cognitive load. The results of the reported experiment imply the use of different text formats for individuals with different levels of reading expertise.

The expertise reversal effect occurs when learner’s expertise moderates design principles derived from cognitive load theory. Although this effect is supported by numerous empirical studies, indicating an overall large effect size, the effect was never tested by inducing expertise experimentally and using instructional explanations in a computer-based environment. The present experiment used an illustrated introductory text and a computer program about statistical data analyses with 93 students. Retention and transfer tests were employed as dependent measures. Each learner was randomly assigned to one condition of a 2 × 2 between subjects factorial design with the two factors expertise (novices vs. ‘experts’) and explanations (with vs. without). Expertise was induced by adding expository examples and illustrations to the introductory text to enhance text coherence and facilitate text comprehension. The expertise reversal effect was replicated for the dependent measure transfer, but not for retention. Results and implications for adaptive learning environments are discussed.

We investigated the effects of feedback and collaboration on undergraduates' transfer performance when using a computer networing training simulation. In Experiment 1, 65 computer science "novices" worked through an instructional protocol individually (control), individually with feedback, or collaboratively with feedback. Unexpectedly, collaboration appeared to inhibit students' transfer performance relative to individual feedback. Experiment 2 was a replication with 62 computer science "experts." This time, collaboration facilitated transfer performance. Both experiments revealed an interaction between instructional procedures producing an expertise reversal effect: Novices who worked individually with feedback actually outperformed their expert counterparts (Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003). When students have low prior knowledge, presenting feedback as they work independently is more effective than collaborating with other novices. On the other hand, when students have high prior knowledge, individual feedback may actually inhibit learning and reverse the benefits of expertise.

The goals of this study were to investigate the timing and the mechanism by which two types of model-centered instruction (MCI)—expert modeling (EM) and self-guided modeling (SGM)—might be made increasingly effective, efficient, and engaging for learners with different levels of expertise. The 62 pre-service and in-service evaluators who participated in the study were randomly assigned to one of these two types of MCI. The participants in the EM group were provided with the conceptual models used by experts to solve ethical conflicts within program evaluation. The participants in SGM group received no guidance in developing their own mental models. Regarding instructional effectiveness measures, there were no significant differences between the two types of MCI. However, inexperienced learners in the EM group invested less instructional effort and time than did those in the SGM group. In addition, inexperienced learners in the EM group also exhibited more engagement than did those in the SGM group. Therefore, EM is likely to be the more appropriate instructional design for inexperienced learners. Expert modeling required experienced learners to invest more mental effort, because if the conceptual model of the expert was redundant, it required them to integrate the previous schema with resulting overload of their working memory. Regardless of the types of MCI employed, the inexperienced participants showed significantly higher levels of attention and satisfaction than did the experienced participants.

This research examined the impact of formative quizzes on e‐learning designed to teach volunteers how to tutor struggling readers. Three research questions were addressed: (1) Do embedded quizzes facilitate learning of e‐content? (2) Does the announcement of upcoming quizzes affect learning? (3) Does prior knowledge interact with quizzing and learning? Participants (n=178) were randomly assigned to condition: (1) no warning, no quiz (control), (2) no warning, quiz, and (3) warning, quiz. Users demonstrated significant learning gains. A predicted main effect for quiz warning was not supported. However, the effect of quizzes on learning was significantly moderated by the amount of prior experience. Low experience tutors learned significantly more when quizzes were embedded compared with expert tutors – a classic expertise reversal effect. A new neurocognitive interpretation for this effect is presented, as well as a call for more “stealthy” assessments that take into account novelty and the learner’s zone o...

In cognitive load theory, element interactivity has been used as the basic, defining mechanism of intrinsic cognitive load for many years. In this article, it is suggested that element interactivity underlies extraneous cognitive load as well. By defining extraneous cognitive load in terms of element interactivity, a distinct relation between intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load can be established based on whether element interactivity is essential to the task at hand or whether it is a function of instructional procedures. Furthermore, germane cognitive load can be defined in terms of intrinsic cognitive load, thus also associating germane cognitive load with element interactivity. An analysis of the consequences of explaining the various cognitive load effects in terms of element interactivity is carried out.

CONTEXT Cognitive load theory aims to develop instructional design guidelines based on a model of human cognitive architecture. The architecture assumes a limited working memory and an unlimited long-term memory holding cognitive schemas; expertise exclusively comes from knowledge stored as schemas in long-term memory. Learning is described as the construction and automation of such schemas. Three types of cognitive load are distinguished: intrinsic load is a direct function of the complexity of the performed task and the expertise of the learner; extraneous load is a result of superfluous processes that do not directly contribute to learning, and germane load is caused by learning processes that deal with intrinsic cognitive load. OBJECTIVES This paper discusses design guidelines that will decrease extraneous load, manage intrinsic load and optimise germane load. DISCUSSION Fifteen design guidelines are discussed. Extraneous load can be reduced by the use of goal-free tasks, worked examples and completion tasks, by integrating different sources of information, using multiple modalities, and by reducing redundancy. Intrinsic load can be managed by simple-to-complex ordering of learning tasks and working from low- to high-fidelity environments. Germane load can be optimised by increasing variability over tasks, applying contextual interference, and evoking self-explanation. The guidelines are also related to the expertise reversal effect, indicating that design guidelines for novice learners are different from guidelines for more experienced learners. Thus, well-designed instruction for novice learners is different from instruction for more experienced learners. Applications in health professional education and current research lines are discussed.

Finding the best match between learners' expertise and instruction is a central issue in educational psychology. The idea that different learners might need different instruction gave rise to the concept of aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) launched by Cronbach and Snow (1977). The expertise reversal effect is a variant of an ATI effect. It occurs, when an instructional format that is beneficial for novices compared to other formats looses its advantage with increasing expertise of the learners and finally becomes disadvantageous for individuals with higher expertise (Kalyuga et al. 2003). Expertise reversal effects have been found for example by Kalyuga et al. (1998, 2000, 2001a, b, 2003), Leahy et al. (2003). The contributions of this special issue further elab orate these findings. Oksa, Kalyuga, and Chandler (this issue) demonstrate that the expertise reversal effect can be found not only in well-structured, but also in ill-structured domains such as the interpretation of literacy. Niickles, Hubner, Diimer, and Renkl (this issue) show that the expertise reversal effect has also motivational aspects and applies to the use of strategies. The article of Homer and Plass (this issue) indicates that the effect is not only related to domain-specific prior knowledge, but also to the general developmental level of learners. The findings of Blayney, Kalyuga, and Sweller (this issue) argue for the importance of adapting learning environments to the changing levels of learner expertise in the use of spreadsheets. Finally, Salden, Aleven, Schwonke, and Renkl (this issue) address the question of balance between providing sufficient instructional assistance on the one hand and self-regulated generative learning on the other hand in the case of worked examples, and they demonstrate that adaptive fading of instructional assistance is crucial for effective learning. There are some fundamental assumptions that can be found throughout the contributions of this special issue and in other papers on cognitive load theory. One assumption is that cognitive load is contingent to the limited capacity and duration of working memory. Another assumption refers to the concept of redundancy. It implies that information that is necessary for novices may become redundant for more advanced learners and may over load working memory. The following comments will analyze these assumptions more

The influence of prior knowledge and cognitive development on the effectiveness of iconic representations in science visualizations was examined. Middle and high school students (N = 186) were given narrated visualizations of two chemistry topics: Kinetic Molecular Theory (Day 1) and Ideal Gas Laws (Day 2). For half of the visualizations, iconic representations of key information were added. Results indicated a main effect of prior knowledge on learning in Day 1. In Day 2, a three-way interaction was found between prior knowledge, age group and icons: icons were effective for all middle school students and for high school students with low prior knowledge, but were not effective for high school students with high prior knowledge. These findings indicate that the expertise reversal effect can be mediated by cognitive development and other factors, not just domain specific prior knowledge.

This article presents two longitudinal studies that investigated expertise reversal effects in journal writing. In Experiment 1, students wrote regular journal entries over a whole term. The experimental group received a combination of cognitive and metacognitive prompts. The control group received no prompts. In the first half of the term, the experimental group applied more cognitive and metacognitive strategies in their journals and showed higher learning outcomes than the control group. Towards the end of the term, the amount of cognitive and metacognitive strategies elicited by the experimental group decreased while the number of cognitive strategies applied by the control group increased. Accordingly, the experimental group lost its superiority on learning outcomes. In order to avoid these negative long-term effects of prompts, a gradual and adaptive fading-out of the prompts was introduced in the experimental group in Experiment 2 while a control group received permanent prompts. The results showed that, over the course of the term, the fading group applied increasingly more cognitive strategies while the control group applied fewer and fewer cognitive strategies. Accordingly, at the end of the term, the permanent prompts group showed substantially lower learning outcomes than the fading group. Together, these results provide evidence for an expertise reversal effect in writing-to-learn. The more the students became skilled in journal writing and internalized the desired strategies, the more the external guidance by prompts became a redundant stimulus that interfered with the students’ internal tendency to apply the strategies and, thus, induced extraneous cognitive load. Accordingly, a gradual fading-out of the prompts in line with the learners’ growing competencies proved to be effective in mitigating the negative side-effects of the provided instructional support.

The formulation of robust and empirically-funded instructional principles is one of the major goals of instructional science. Research on aptitude-treatment interactions (ATIs) have, however, shown that instructional principles usually do not apply to any type of learner. As learners’ prior knowledge is the most important learning pre-requisite, it is clear that instructional principles should take prior knowledge into account: What could be beneficial for beginning learners might get detrimental for advanced learners. In recent years, the concept of the expertise reversal effect—developed within the framework of cognitive load theory—has inspired a renewed interest on the interactions between levels of learner prior knowledge and effectiveness of different instructional techniques and procedures. The expertise reversal is a reversal in the relative effectiveness of instructional methods as levels of learner knowledge in a domain change. The effect has been investigated since mid-1990s (see Kalyuga 2005, 2007; Kalyuga et al. 2003, for available overviews). It has been replicated in many studies with a large range of instructional materials and participants either as a full reversal (a disordinal interaction with significant differences for both novices and experts) or, more often, as a partial reversal (with non-significant differences for novices or experts, but with a significant interaction). The major instructional design implication of these studies is the need to adjust instructional methods and procedures as learners acquire more experience in a specific domain. The expertise reversal effect fits well some empirical findings obtained in ATIs studies initiated in mid-1960s (Cronbach and Snow 1977). However, although learners’ prior knowledge was recognized as an essential aptitude within the ATI approach (e.g., see Tobias 1976, 1989 for overviews), aptitudes and instructional treatments were investigated without taking into account underlying cognitive processes, and psychometric measurement tools used in ATI studies were not suitable for realistic instructional systems that could tailor instructional methods to individual learners.

The reported study compared the instructional effectiveness of Modern English explanatory interpretations of Shakespearean play extracts integrated line by line into original Elizabethan English text, with a conventional unguided original text condition. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the explanatory notes group reported a lower cognitive load and performed better in a comprehension test than the control group when students had no prior knowledge of the text. In Experiment 2, a reverse effect occurred when the same material was presented to a group of Shakespearean experts. Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 1 using a different Shakespearean play. The study demonstrated that the relative effectiveness of instructional conditions depended on learner levels of expertise. In accordance with the expertise reversal effect, the benefits of guided instruction reversed and became detrimental for learners with high prior knowledge levels. Retrospective verbal protocols indicated that the explanations were redundant for expert readers.

Prior research has shown that tutored problem solving with intelligent software tutors is an effective instructional method, and that worked examples are an effective complement to this kind of tutored problem solving. The work on the expertise reversal effect suggests that it is desirable to tailor the fading of worked examples to individual students’ growing expertise levels. One lab and one classroom experiment were conducted to investigate whether adaptively fading worked examples in a tutored problem-solving environment can lead to higher learning gains. Both studies compared a standard Cognitive Tutor with two example-enhanced versions, in which the fading of worked examples occurred either in a fixed manner or in a manner adaptive to individual students’ understanding of the examples. Both experiments provide evidence of improved learning results from adaptive fading over fixed fading over problem solving. We discuss how to further optimize the fading procedure matching each individual student’s changing knowledge level.

This study investigated interactions between the isolated–interactive elements effect and levels of learner expertise with first year undergraduate university accounting students. The isolated–interactive elements effect occurs when learning is facilitated by initially presenting elements of information sequentially in an isolated form rather than in a fully interactive form. The expertise reversal effect occurs when the relevant advantage of one instructional technique over another reverses depending on the learner’s level of expertise. The results provided support for the predicted interaction with lower expertise students benefitting from the isolated elements instructional method, while students with more expertise learned more from the interacting elements format.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of presentation formats of worked examples and the interaction effects between the presentation formats of worked examples and the prior knowledge of learners. An investigation with 97 middle school students working in four conditions (CPWE, CWE, PWE, and the control group) was conducted. The results indicate that CPWE was the most effective condition in retention and transfer. In addition, a partial expertise reversal effect was revealed in the element transfer test. High prior knowledge learners in both CPWE and PWE were superior to those who were in CWE and the control group, while low prior knowledge learners in CPWE were superior to those who were in other conditions.

How can cognitive load in visual displays of computer simulations be optimized? Middle-school chemistry students (N = 257) learned with a simulation of the ideal gas law. Visual complexity was manipulated by separating the display of the simulations in 2 screens (low complexity) or presenting all information on 1 screen (high complexity). The mode of visual representation in the simulation was manipulated by presenting important information in symbolic form only (symbolic representations) or by adding iconic information to the display (iconic + symbolic representations), locating the sliders controlling the simulation separated from the simulation or integrating them, and graphing either only the most recent simulation result or showing all results taken. Separated screen displays and the use of optimized visual displays each promoted comprehension and transfer, especially for low prior-knowledge learners. An expertise reversal effect was found for learners' prior general science knowledge. Results indicate that intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load in visual displays can be manipulated and that learners' prior knowledge moderates the effectiveness of these load manipulations.

The general aim of the contributions to this special issue was to foster learning in computer supported collaborative learning environments by designing instructional interventions that enhance collaboration between learners. Scripts and external representations were used as instructional interventions to support social and cognitive processes, respectively, during collaborative learning. Although, the interventions enhanced these social and cognitive processes, beneficial effects on learning outcomes were not always found. This discussion uses cognitive load theory, particularly the expertise reversal effect, to explain these results. It is concluded that the principles from this theory which pertains to individual learning, show great promise for the design of collaborative learning environments.

The conditions under which explicit instruction in checking, combined with worked examples, may be beneficial in learning how to translate sentences into algebraic equations was examined from the perspective of cognitive load theory. In two experiments it was shown that Grade 8 and 9 students were initially disadvantaged by the inclusion of a checking method. However, after a more substantial period of acquisition, students with a low level of mathematical knowledge performed significantly better after receiving checking instructions than those who did not receive checking instructions. In contrast, higher knowledge students were continually disadvantaged by the inclusion of a checking method. The positive effect of checking for lower knowledge students and the negative effect for higher knowledge students in this domain is a further example of the expertise reversal effect.

The expertise reversal effect was initially predicted by cognitive load theory as a form of the redundancy effect (see Chapter 11) that occurs when information beneficial to novice learners becomes redundant to those more knowledgeable. It is one of several cognitive load effects that rely on an interaction between a basic cognitive load effect, in this case the redundancy effect, and other factors, in this case levels of expertise. As an example of the expertise reversal effect, detailed textual explanations, especially if they are embedded into diagrams thus reducing the possibility of ignoring them, may be essential for novices but redundant for experts.

Complex learning aims at the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes; the coordination of qualitatively different constituent skills; and the transfer of what is learned to daily life or work settings. Recent instructional theories stress authentic learning tasks as the driving force for learning; but due to the complexity of those tasks, learning may be hampered by the limited processing capacity of the human mind. In this article we present a framework for scaffolding practice and just-in-time information presentation, aiming to control cognitive load effectively. We briefly describe a design model for complex learning consistent with cognitive load theory. Theoretical and practical implications of the presented framework are discussed.

Cognitive load research has shown that learning from worked-out examples, in comparison to problem solving, is very effective during the initial stages of cognitive skill acquisition. In later stages, however, solving problems is superior. In this contribution, theoretical analyses of different types of cognitive load and their changes over the stages of skill acquisition are presented. Two basic arguments are put forth: (a) Intrinsic cognitive load gradually decreases so that a gradual increase of problem-solving demands is possible without inducing cognitive overload. (b) In contrast to the earlier stages, different learner activities during the later stages constitute either germane or extraneous load, because different instructional goals are to be achieved. Based on these analyses, we propose a fading procedure in which problem-solving elements are successively integrated into example study until the learners are expected to solve problems on their own. Empirical evidence supporting this fading proce...

Methods of instruction which are intended to facilitate understanding tend to incorporate all the information elements required for understanding in the instructions. Frequently, these types of instructions may overwhelm a learner's limited working memory and hinder learning. In four experiments, a two-phase, isolated-interacting elements learning approach was developed in which in the first phase, the element interactivity of complex material was artificially reduced by presenting the material as isolated elements of information that could be processed serially, rather than simultaneously, in working memory. In the second phase, all the information for understanding was presented. The control group was simply presented with all the information for understanding in both Phases 1 and 2. The results provided powerful evidence that for certain groups of learners, information is better learnt through the isolated-interacting elements instructional method.

Research has shown that it is effective to combine example study and problem solving in the initial acquisition of cognitive skills. Present methods for com bining these learning modes are static, however, and do not support a transition from example study in early stages of skill acquisition to later problem solving. Against this background, the authors proposed a successive integration of problem-solving elements into example study until the learners solved problems on their own (i.e., complete example -? increasingly more incomplete examples ?> problem to-be solved). The authors tested the effectiveness of such a fading procedure against the traditional method of using example-problem pairs. In a field experiment and in 2 more controlled laboratory experiments, the authors found that (a) the fading pro cedure fosters learning, at least when near transfer performance is considered; (b) the number of problem-solving errors during learning plays a role in mediating this effect; and (c) it is more favorable to fade out worked-out solution steps in a back ward manner (omitting the last solution steps first) as compared with a forward manner (omitting the first solution steps first).

This chapter presents an integrated model of text and picture comprehension (ITPC model) that takes into account that learners can use multiple sensory modalities combined with different forms of representation. Multimedia learning can occur in different forms. When learners understand texts and pictures, they construct multiple mental representations in their cognitive system. Research in cognitive psychology suggests that the architecture of the human cognitive system includes multiple memory systems. A common view proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin distinguishes three memory subsystems - sensory registers, working memory, and long-term memory with different functions and different constraints on processing texts and pictures. The ITPC model of text and picture comprehension provides a framework for the analysis of learning from multiple representations including spoken or written text, visual pictures, and sound pictures. Future research will clarify whether the ITPC model is a useful tool for the analysis of text-picture integration.

International audience; In two experiments, we investigated how animation of play (soccer) should be designed in order to avoid the high cognitive load due to the fleeting nature of information. Using static pictures and altering the animation’s presentation speed have been proposed as instructional strategies to reduce learners’ cognitive load. In the first experiment, we tested the effect of static vs. animated presentations on learning. The results indicated that novices benefited more from the static presentation whereas experts benefited more from the animated presentation. The second experiment investigated the effect of low vs. normal vs. high levels of presentation speed on learning. The results showed that novices profited more from the low presentation speed while experts profited more from the normal and high presentation speeds. Thus both experiments demonstrated the occurrences of the expertise reversal effect. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of instructional strategies depends on levels of soccer players’ expertise.

Understanding learner differences with sensors is increasingly important for effective learner modeling. Learner models based on a student's problem-solving actions and the automated interpretation of those actions have successfully advanced computer tutoring services. However, such transaction level actions provide insufficient detail about higher-rate cognitive variations, which may hold key information about individual differences in cognition and learning, and about factors that differentiate attention-switching strategies and instructional effects between individuals. To fill this gap, we have conducted a user study to investigate causal relationships between learners' expertise levels and patterns of interaction and attention during learning tasks by using an eye tracker and physiological sensors. In this paper, we validate our experimental test-bed built for inferring learners' cognitive processing states and diagnosing learning phases with sensors, and present initial results about expert-novice differences revealed in transaction level samples and sensor data streams.

Interactions between levels of learner knowledge in a domain and levels of instructional guidance were investigated. Inexperienced mechanical trade apprentices were presented with either a series of worked examples to study or problems to solve. On subsequent tests, inexperienced trainees benefited most from the worked examples condition, with this group performing better with lower ratings of mental load than similar trainees who solved problems. With more experience in the domain, worked examples became redundant and problem solving proved superior. It is suggested that the relative effectiveness of either worked examples or problem solving depends heavily on levels of learner knowledge.

Interactions between levels of learner knowledge in a domain and levels of instructional guidance were studied in this investigation. Inexperienced mechanical trade apprentices were presented with one of two alternative instructional designs: a series of worked examples or a less guided exploratory-based environment allowing participants to explore the same material on their own. Two levels of task difficulty were used: (a) simple tasks with a very limited problem space with a small number of possible options to explore; and (b) complex tasks with a relatively larger problem space with numerous options to explore. Following instruction subjective mental load ratings and test performance measures were collected. There were only minimal differences between the instructional procedures on the simple tasks. For complex tasks, inexperienced trainees clearly benefited most from the worked examples procedure. This group performed significantly better with lower ratings of mental load than similar trainees who st...

In Experiment 1, inexperienced trade apprentices were presented with one of four alternative instructional designs: a diagram with visual text, a diagram with auditory text, a diagram with both visual and auditory text, or the diagram only. An auditory presentation of text proved superior to a visual-only presentation but not when the text was presented in both auditory and visual forms. The diagram-only format was the least intelligible to inexperienced learners. When participants became more experienced in the domain after two specifically designed training sessions, the advantage of a visual diagram-auditory text format disappeared. In Experiment 2, the diagram-only group was compared with the audio-text group after an additional training session. The results were the reverse of those of Experiment 1: The diagram-only group outperformed the audio-text group. Suggestions are made for multimedia instruction that takes learner experience into consideration. The experiments reported in this article were designed to test some hypotheses generated on the basis of cognitive load theory (see Sweller, 1999, and Sweller, van Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998, for a recent review of the theoretical model). Central to the theory is the notion that working memory limitations should be a major consideration when designing instruction. Although working memory considerations are often overlooked, storage and processing limita

This article reports experimental work comparing exploration and worked-examples practice in learning to use a database program. Exploration practice is based on discovery learning principles, whereas worked-examples practice arose from the development of cognitive load theory. Exploration practice was expected to place a considerable load on working memory, whereas a heavy use of worked examples was hypothesized to lead to more effective processing by reducing extraneous mental load. Students with no previous domain familiarity with databases were found to substantially benefit from worked examples in comparison to exploration. However, if students had previous familiarity with the database domain, the type of practice made no significant difference to their learning because the exploration students were able to draw on existing, well-developed domain schemas to guide their exploration.

Cognitive load theory assumes that information should be structured to eliminate any avoidable load on working memory in order to enhance learning. We hypothesized that the appropriate type of structure may depend on the learner's level of expertise. Less expert learners using a diagram might require the diagram to be physically integrated with related text-based information in order to reduce cognitive load. However, the same diagram might be intelligible in isolation by more experienced learners, who might require the elimination of redundant text to reduce cognitive load. The results of three experiments indicated that as level of expertise increased, the best instructional designs changed from ones in which diagrams and text were physically integrated to ones in which the text was eliminated.

Cognitive load theory has been designed to provide guidelines intended to assist in the presentation of information in a manner that encourages learner activities that optimize intellectual performance. The theory assumes a limited capacity working memory that includes partially independent subcomponents to deal with auditory/verbal material and visual/2- or 3-dimensional information as well as an effectively unlimited long-term memory, holding schemas that vary in their degree of automation. These structures and functions of human cognitive architecture have been used to design a variety of novel instructional procedures based on the assumption that working memory load should be reduced and schema construction encouraged. This paper reviews the theory and the instructional designs generated by it.

Accent variability is an emerging field of study in listening to varieties of English. Mutual intelligibility of accent variations in monolingual, as well as multilingual settings may become challenging for native as well as non-native speakers of English. In a CLT framework this thesis examined the accent variability effect and the expertise reversal effect in listening to native and foreign-accented English with different levels of expertise groups. The three experiments reported in this thesis addressed issues of how accent variability boosted meaningful understanding of listening comprehensions, and how instructional design could aide learning in perceptual listening environments so that learners did not become entangled in the novelty of the accents; at the same time maximising the learning of such instructional procedures.In Experiment 1 three single-accent conditions and six multiple-accent conditions were used. The accents were Australian English, Chinese-accented English and Russian-accented English. These three accents were permuted in six combinations to have the six multiple-accent conditions. The results of Experiment 1 did not support the hypotheses. The low expertise learners did not perform better in single-accent conditions and the high expertise learners did not perform better in multiple-accent conditions. In Experiment 2 Russian-accented English and Australian English were employed. The results partially supported the hypotheses. It was found that the single-accent condition was not easier for the low expertise students whereas the dual-accent condition was easier for the high and very high expertise students. In Experiment 3 the low expertise group listening to Indian-accented English found the accent condition easier than the low expertise group listening to both Indian and Arabic-accented English. The high and very high expertise students learned more listening to Arabic and Indian-accented English than listening to Indian-accented English only. The low expertise individuals were more prone to be challenged by the novelty of the dual-accent conditions. The findings of the experiments were explained in terms of accent variability effect and expertise reversal effect in a CLT framework. Instructional design, as pertaining to this thesis facilitated the naïve, as well as expert English language learners’ abilities in extracting accent-independent global adaptation to English within a CLT framework.

The goal of this study was to Investigate individual differences in learning from worked-out examples with respect to the quality of self-explanations. Restrictions of former studies (e.g., lacking control of time-on-task) were avoided and additional research questions (e.g., reliability and dimensionality of self-explanation characteristics) were addressed. An investigation with 36 university freshmen students of education working in individual sessions was conducted. The domain was probability calculation. Prior knowledge and the quality of self-explanations (protocols of the individuals' thinking aloud) were assessed as predictors of learning. A post-test was employed to measure the learning gains as the dependent variable. The following main results were obtained. Most self-explanation characteristics could be regarded as relatively stable person characteristics. The individual differences in the quality of self-explanations were, however, found to be multidimensional. Most Important, even when controlling for time-on-task (quantitative aspect), learning gains could be substantially predicted by qualitative differences of self-explanation characteristics. In particular, successful learners tended to employ more prlnciplebased explanations, more explication of operator-goal combinations, and more anticipative reasoning. In addition, there were two types of effective learners, labeled anticipative reasoners and principle-based explainers.

Cognitive load perspective was used as a theoretical framework to investigate effects of expertise and type of presentation of interacting elements of information in learning from dynamic visualizations. Soccer players (N = 48) were required to complete a recall reconstruction test and to rate their invested mental effort after studying a concurrent or sequential presentation of the elements of play. The results provided evidence for an expertise reversal effect. For novice players, the sequential presentation produced better learning outcomes. In contrast, expert players performed better after studying the concurrent presentation. The findings suggest that the effectiveness of different visual presentation formats depend on levels of learner expertise.

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that many traditional instructional techniques may unnecessarily overload limited working memory and impede learning. Based on cognitive load theory, it was hypothesised that instructional design only takes on a crucial role when there is a high level of interaction between learning elements resulting in those elements having to be simultaneously held in working memory. When there is little, if any, interaction between individual learning elements, then the format of presentation should be inconsequential. These hypotheses were tested using a computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) package with trainees from a Sydney company. Results showed that when instructions involved high element interactivity, a self-contained manual that physically integrated disparate information and did not require the use of the computer hardware was vastly superior to instructional formats that involved continual interaction with the computer. No differences were found between instructional formats when the learning material entailed low element interactivity. Evidence that these findings were due to cognitive load rather than other factors came from secondary task analysis. In light of these and previous results, suggestions are made for cognitively guided instructional packages.

Two experiments, theoretically motivated by the construction-integration model of text comprehension (W. Kintsch, 1988), investigated the role of text coherence in the comprehension of science texts. In Experiment 1, junior high school students' comprehension of one of three versions of a biology text was examined via free recall, written questions, and a key-word sorting task. This study demonstrates advantages for globally coherent text and for more explanatory text. In Experiment 2, interactions among local and global text coherence, readers' background knowledge, and levels of understanding were examined. Using the same methods as in Experiment 1, we examined students' comprehension of one of four versions of a text, orthogonally varying local and global coherence. We found that readers who know little about the domain of the text benefit from a coherent text, whereas high-knowledge readers benefit from a minimally coherent text. We argue that the poorly written text forces the knowledgeable readers t...

The worked example effect indicates that learning by studying worked examples is more effective than learning by solving the equivalent problems. The expertise reversal effect indicates that this is only the case for novice learners; once prior knowledge of the task is available problem solving becomes more effective for learning. These effects, however, have mainly been studied using highly structured tasks. This study investigated whether they also occur on less structured tasks, in this case, learning to reason about legal cases. Less structured tasks take longer to master, and hence, examples may remain effective for a longer period of time. Novice and advanced law students received either a description of general process steps they should take, worked examples, worked examples including the process steps, or no instructional support for reasoning. Results show that worked examples were more effective for learning than problem-solving, both for novice and advanced students, even though the latter had significantly more prior knowledge. So, a worked example effect was found for both novice and advanced students, and no evidence for an expertise-reversal effect was found with these less structured tasks.

Multimedia instructional materials were used to design science presentations for the topics of Magnetism and Light. Two experiments were conducted with younger learners (Year 5) who had no prior knowledge of the topics, and older learners (Year 6) who had studied the topics previously. Half of the learners were presented the information in auditory form only while the other half were presented the auditory information simultaneously with a visual presentation. Results indicated that for younger students with no prior knowledge of the topic, an audio-visual presentation was superior to an auditory presentation only. These students required a visual presentation to make sense of the auditory explanation. However, older students with prior knowledge of the topic learned more from the auditory only presentation. For these students, the addition of visual information was redundant and so they were disadvantaged by the use of an audio-visual presentation. Together, these two sets of results provide an example of the expertise reversal effect that can be explained by cognitive load theory. These results also provided a basis from which an hypothesis was generated to determine the effectiveness of hands-on instructional materials in science. Experiment 3 was conducted with younger learners (Years 5 and 6) who had no prior knowledge of Newton s First Law of Motion. Half of the learners were presented the information explicitly by the teacher who used instructional materials to visually demonstrate the explanations. The other half watched this presentation while also using the instructional materials themselves during the presentation. Results indicated that if the students are presented with a redundant set of representations, these materials may have a negative consequence for the learning process. Experiment 4 replicated Experiment 3 with minor changes to the experimental design to eliminate possible threats to the validity. The results obtained were similar to those of Experiment 3. The cognitive processing associated with hands-on materials by the students may impose an excessive working memory load. These results provided additional support to those generated by Experiments 1 and 2, emphasising the importance instructors should place on the identification and consideration of prior learning before designing instructional materials.

Cognitive load theory investigates the implications of processing limitations of human cognitive architecture for learning and instruction in a variety of domains. This research has applied principles of cognitive load theory to the discipline of accountancy, an area not extensively studied. Specifically, it investigated the effect of lessening the intrinsic complexity of various accountancy tasks with use of the isolated - interactive elements method whereby learners are initially presented with sequential steps of a more complex overall task. The interaction between the effectiveness of this method and levels of learner prior knowledge (expertise reversal effect) was the primary concern of this project. Four experiments were conducted over a four-year period with classes of first year introductory accounting students provided with learning materials through a highly customised and largely automated Excel-based computer spreadsheet model. Each of the experiments assessed the students’ preparedness for learning with a pre-session knowledge test at the beginning of their learning session and prior to their random assignment to an isolated elements or an interacting elements instructional group (in Experiments 1, 2 and 4). Experiment 3 compared an adaptive instruction group in which less knowledgeable learners were presented isolated elements instruction while more knowledgeable learners received integrated instructions with a non-adaptive control group in which learners were presented isolated or integrated instructions on a random basis. The results of these experiments provided strong support for the expertise reversal effect. In Experiment 1, the effect was caused mainly by the novice participants who performed better following isolated elements instruction. The effect in Experiment 2 was primarily driven by the better prepared (e.g. expert) participants who generally thrived with interacting elements instruction. The results of Experiment 3 supported the adaptive instruction technique in which the selected instructional method depended on the expertise level of the learners. Experiment 4 showed a three-way interaction between complexity, expertise and instructional method. This research clearly demonstrated the expertise reversal effect in an accountancy domain. Furthermore, it provided evidence that adaptive instruction needs to simultaneously consider both the learners’ preparedness and the complexity of the material with the isolated or interactive element method assignment.

There have been several rather counterintuitive phenomena observed in different fields of research that compared the performance of experts and novices. For example, studies of medical expertise demonstrated that less experienced medical students may in some situations outperform seasoned medical practitioners on recall of specific cases. Studies of cognitive load aspects of complex skill acquisition in technical and academic domains demonstrated that more experienced technical trainees or students may learn less than expected from instructions that are very effective for novices. Finally, research in the execution of movements in sports showed that, while novice players performed well under skill-focused and accuracy conditions, such conditions inhibited performance of experts who benefitted from speed conditions. Apparently, in each of those phenomena, there is a mechanism that disrupted successful expert performance while, at the same time, enhanced performance of less experienced individuals. This paper presents a review of the expertise reversal effects that have been found in the different fields and identifies their specific underlying mechanisms and common origins. Knowledge of theoretical models and empirical findings in one of those fields could enrich research ideas and approaches in others. The implications of these ideas for research aimed at improving learning and instruction are discussed.

Feedback on learning strategies is a promising instructional support measure. However, research on the expertise reversal effect suggests that if instructional support measures are provided to expert learners, these learners would have to integrate and cross-reference redundant instructional guidance with available knowledge structures, resulting in less available resources for effective learning processes. Thus, feedback might be detrimental for learners who possess high-quality learning strategies. Against this background, the authors used an online learning management system to employ a feedback procedure that included highly elaborated feedback on learning strategies in a learning journal. The effects of this feedback procedure were tested in a field study using a within-subject design with the factor feedback (no vs. yes). Participants were 246 university students who wrote journal entries over an entire term. The results show that providing feedback to low expertise learners is effective, whereas the effectiveness of feedback is reversed regarding high expertise learners.

Research has demonstrated that instruction that relies heavily on worked examples is more effective for novices as opposed to instruction consisting of problem-solving. However, excessive guidance for expert learners may reduce their performance. This study investigated optimal degrees of guidance using geometry worked examples. Three conditions were used. In the Theorem & Step Guidance condition, students were told the steps to find each angle, the measure of the angle, and the theorem used to justify the answer. In the Step Guidance condition, learners were told the sequence of steps needed to reach the answer, but not told the theorem required to make a step. The problem solving condition required learners to solve problems with no guidance. It was hypothesized that by using Step Guidance, a new concept could be more readily incorporated into existing knowledge held in long-term memory compared to a Problem Solving approach or a Theorem & Step Guidance approach. Problem Solving would impose the heavy cognitive load associated with problem solving search while providing information concerning well-known theorems would be redundant. In other words, as long recognised by cognitive load theory, most students need to learn to recognise problem states and the moves associated with those states and this information is provided by Step Guidance without additional, redundant information. A series of geometry instruction experiments supported these hypotheses. The results of these experiments revealed that for students who already understand the relevant theorems, learning to solve problems primarily consists of learning to recognise problem states and their associated moves. Information concerning theorems only should be provided if students have yet to learn and automatise theorem schemas.

The experiments reported in this article flow from the following assumptions concerning our cognitive processes: (a) Schema acquisition and automation are major learning mechanisms when dealing with higher cognitive activities and are designed to circumvent our limited working memories and emphasize our highly effective long-term memories. (b) A limited working memory makes it difficult to assimilate multiple elements of information simultaneously. (c) Under conditions where multiple elements of information interact, they must be assimilated simultaneously. (d) As a consequence, a heavy cognitive load is imposed when dealing with material that has a high level of element interactivity. (e) High levels of element interactivity and their associated cognitive loads may be caused both by intrinsic nature of the material being learned and by the method of presentation. (f) If the intrinsic element interactivity and consequent cognitive load are low, the extraneous cognitive load is critical when dealing with i...