What is Cognitive Load?

Cognitive Load theory was first developed by educational psychologist John Sweller in the late 1980s while analysing how his students studied and solved problems. Sweller realised that to solve problems, his students needed to have high cognitive thinking skills. From then on, Sweller dedicated himself to understanding how to reduce this cognitive load to help his students. Cognitive Load theory was John Sweller’s way of quantifying this effort. He defines Cognitive Load as “the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory.”