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

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 AshmanRead: 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