There are numerous reasons why students with disabilities struggle in school. A key reason is professionals in the field may not pay enough attention to students' overwhelmed cognitive capacity. Cognitive load theory explains that all humans have limited capacity at any given time to use their auditory, visual, and tactile inputs (independently or…

This paper reports on a framework of thinking, memory and learning that emerged from a qualitative research study into the nature of learning for individuals with autism. The framework is useful for professional development of teachers regarding the learning characteristics of neurodiverse students with autism spectrum disorder. The paper provides…

Sequencing language production activities based on the inherent cognitive load of each activity type can improve student performance and self-efficacy on high cognitive load language tasks like conversational speech (either face-to-face or via video chat). This ordering according to cognitive difficulty can scaffold learners in their development…

Cultivating EFL learners' critical thinking ability is an urgent task for English teachers. To integrate the training of language skills and cultivation of critical thinking ability into one language course, the author designed an activity called simplified Modal United Nations conference, which is based on the revised Bloom's Taxonomy that…

A national survey reports that 42% of mainstream teachers have English language learners (ELLs) in their classrooms, but only 12.5% say they have been prepared to work with them (National Center for Education Statistics 2002). This article supplies a framework to address the cognitive demands of ELLs with varying proficiency levels, guided by the…

Multiple-choice questions are an important part of large-scale summative assessments, such as the advanced placement (AP) chemistry exam. However, past AP chemistry exam items often lacked the ability to test conceptual understanding and higher-order cognitive skills. The redesigned AP chemistry exam shows a distinctive shift in item types toward…

Cellular processes that rely on knowledge of molecular behavior are difficult for students to comprehend. For example, thorough understanding of meiosis requires students to integrate several complex concepts related to chromosome structure and function. Using a grounded theory approach, we have unified classroom observations, assessment data, and…

In assessment, the ability to construct test items that measure a targeted skill is fundamental to validity and alignment. The ability to do the reverse is also important: determining what skill an existing test item measures. This paper presents a model for classifying test items that builds on procedures developed by others, including Bloom…

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) test requires a tester to attempt to teach to a person, using standard prompting and reinforcement procedures, six tasks that are hierarchically ordered in difficulty. Performance on the test provides valuable information for teachers and rehabilitation workers to match the difficulty of training…