How to Measure Cognitive Load in a Simulation Setting

There are three components that we're thinking about. One is intrinsic cognitive load. And it has to do with the learner's prior knowledge and how much experience they've had doing this type of thing. The second component is extraneous load, imposed by ineffective instructional design. And then the third component, perhaps the most important that we're looking at is germane load. What I mean by that is how you interpret this new information and then reorganize it in your mind so that you can assimilate it from your working memory into your long-term memory.