Developing fluency and flexibility in mathematics is a key goal of upper primary schooling, however, while fluency can be developed with practice, designing activities that support the development of flexibility is more difficult. Drawing on concepts of adaptive expertise, we developed a task for a multi-touch classroom, NumberNet, that aimed to…

When using modern educational technology, some forms of instruction are inherently transient in that previous information usually disappears to be replaced by current information. Instructional animations and spoken text provide examples. The effects of transience due to the use of animation-based instructions (Experiment 1) and spoken information…

This study tested the effects of two instructional aids in a complex, dynamic environment, specifically, a business simulation. Participants studied (1) a "causal map," which depicted key variables in an interconnected network, (2) a textual outline of the same relationships, or (3) no-aid. With the relevant aid still available, the participants…

The process of knowledge elaboration is considered from the perspective of cognitive load theory. This theory assumes that the available knowledge structures in long-term memory (LTM) are used to organize and guide cognitive processing in complex learning. Accordingly, the role of external instructional guidance in the process of knowledge…

Designers of interactive learning environments face the issue of managing the learner's cognitive load, reducing irrelevant sources while optimizing useful sources of load. I propose a conceptual framework aimed at organizing the contributions of the papers presented in this special issue. The framework identifies three main dimensions, namely…

Participants in the present study were 87 college students who learned about botany using an agent-based instructional program with three different learning approaches: individual, jigsaw, or cooperative learning. Results showed no differences among learning approaches on retention. Students in jigsaw groups reported higher cognitive load during…

New technologies enable flexible combinations of text and interactive or non-interactive pictures. The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) whether adding pictures to texts is generally beneficial for learning or whether it can also have detrimental effects, (b) how interactivity of pictures affects learning, (c) whether the…

Comprehension of an illustrated document can involve complex visual scanning in order to locate the relevant information on the screen when this is evoked in spoken explanations. The present study examined the effects of two types of attention-guiding means (color change or step-by-step presentation of diagram elements synchronized with a spoken…