Teachers often notice that even well-prepared lessons can overwhelm students — too many steps, too much new information, and attention that fades quickly. Why does this happen, and how can instruction be designed to support rather than overload learners? In Cognitive Load Theory  (Sweller, Ayres, & Kalyuga, 2011), the authors explain how the limits of working memory shape how people learn, and how teachers can use this knowledge to design more effective instruction. The theor

Many teachers have noticed that students can solve problems perfectly during practice but struggle to apply the same methods later on, especially when problems are presented in a new order or context. Why does this happen? In The Shuffling of Mathematics Problems Improves Learning  (Rohrer & Taylor, 2007), the researchers explore this question by comparing two common approaches to practice: blocked practice , where students work on one type of problem at a time, and interleav