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Cited by 780Visual and Cognitive Learning ProcessesInnovative Teaching and Learning MethodsOnline and Blended Learning

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

THE SPLIT‐ATTENTION EFFECT AS A FACTOR IN THE DESIGN OF INSTRUCTION

CHANDLER, PAUL, SWELLER, JOHN·1992·British Journal of Educational Psychology
DOI 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1992.tb01017.x
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Abstract

S ummary . Cognitive load theory suggests that many conventional instructional formats are ineffective as they involve extraneous cognitive activities, which interfere with learning. The split‐attention effect provides one example of the consequences of inappropriate cognitive activities caused by poor instructional design. Learners are often forced to split their attention between and mentally integrate disparate sources of information (e.g., text and diagrams) before the instructional material can be rendered intelligible. This preliminary process of mental integration, while an essential precursor to learning, is likely to impose a heavy extraneous cognitive load. Physical integration (e.g., combining text and diagrams) may reduce cognitive load and so facilitate learning. This study reports findings from two experiments investigating the split‐attention effect. Using an engineering programming language (Numerical Control programming), the first experiment investigated the possible advantage of physically integrating text and diagrams. In a normal training environment, the integrated instructions group outperformed the conventional group. Experiment 2 was designed to see if the split‐attention effect would generalise to an area where mutually referring segments of text are conventionally separated, namely, empirical reports in psychology and education. In a laboratory study, Experiment 2 showed that students in an integrated group spent less time processing instructions ye…

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1992.tb01017.x

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  • CLT emphasizes that support for novice learners must be fully integrated with the task environment; otherwise split-attention effects increase extraneous cognitive load.

    “CLT emphasizes the need to integrate support for novice learners with the task environment fully; otherwise, split-attention effects increase extraneous cognitive load because learners have to integrate information mentally from the task environment with the given support (Chandler & Sweller, 1992;Sweller & Chandler, 1994).”

    From Taking the Load Off a Learner's Mind: Instructional Design for Complex Learning (2003) · cites this paper as Chandler & Sweller, 1992

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Metadata

Authors
CHANDLER, P., & SWELLER, J.
Affiliations
UNSW Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
SWELLER, JOHN
ORCID
Venue
British Journal of Educational Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
1992-06
Volume
62
Issue
2
Pages
233-246
ISSN
  • 0007-0998 (ISSN-L)
  • 2044-8279
DOI
10.1111/j.2044-8279.1992.tb01017.x
OpenAlex
W2141019025
Cited by
767
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 27 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 44
FWCI
3.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 6920 d)
Locations
British Journal of Educational Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
  • Social Sciences › Education › Online and Blended Learning
Keywords
split-attention effect, cognitive load theory, instructional design, extraneous cognitive load, physical integration, mental integration, NC programming, reading comprehension, learning from text

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