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- Vol 3 RE: Chapter 4, App A
cognitive load theoryworking memory distributiontask complexitytransaction costsshared representationsindividual accountabilitytransferable schemasJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Kirschner, Paas, and Kirschner use cognitive load theory to explain when collaborative learning may be more efficient than individual learning. Working memory is limited, and complex tasks can exceed one learner’s processing capacity.
Key ideas
A group can distribute interacting information across several working memories, combine complementary knowledge, and build a shared representation. Collaboration also creates transaction costs: communicating, coordinating, resolving different interpretations, and maintaining shared awareness consume resources. For simple tasks these costs may outweigh the benefit, making individual work more efficient. As intrinsic task complexity rises, distribution can become advantageous, especially when members possess relevant knowledge and coordinate effectively. The authors review an inconsistent literature and propose task complexity as a key moderator rather than treating group learning as uniformly superior. They distinguish performance, learning, mental effort, and efficiency, since a group may solve a task without every member acquiring transferable schemas.
Why it matters
Instructional design should therefore select complex tasks, ensure individual accountability and participation, support coordination, and assess individual transfer. The article offers a theoretical framework and research agenda rather than a universal rule to put learners into groups.
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Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
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