Like Drinking From a Fire Hose, So Is Cognitive Overload in Learning

At some point in our adult lives we have all sat through boring training or felt overwhelmed by the amount of information being thrown at us. When we feel this way, is usually due to cognitive overload.

Cognitive overload occurs when our working memory has reached capacity. Being bombarded by information is the equivalent to drinking from a fire hose. It’s a futile effort. As learners, we comprehend data first through our senses (sight, smell, taste, sound, touch). It then enters our short-term memory where it is processed and later stored in long-term memory for retrieval at another time. Short-term memory can only hold so much information before it is discarded or stored by the learner for other incoming information.

It’s not the least bit surprising more and more people experience cognitive overload in their daily lives. With advancements in technology, the vast sum of the world’s information is easily accessible. Information is distributed in many forms, all competing for our attention. As much as we would like to take it all in, humans physically cannot process and comprehend all that is thrown at us. That is why we as learners must filter out what is only relevant to us and trainers must facilitate this by only presenting what is valued based on the expressed training need.

The key to reducing cognitive overload is to stay objective about your learning. Focus only on desired outcomes and the information that is relevant to the learner – the tasks or knowledge important to their role. If you apply this overall rule each time you develop training, you will create training that is engaging and effective.

If you would like to learn more about how to reduce cognitive overload and create effective training, sign up for our free 5-part e-mail course on How to Build Effective Training if Five Easy Steps.

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