When delivering new content, it’s important to teach in small steps to reduce cognitive load.
Checklist
| Don’t ask questions: teach the new content. | 🗸 |
| Use visual representation, allowing thinking and processing time (e.g. in science, a simplified diagram of the heart). | 🗸 |
| Use simple diagrams/models | 🗸 |
| Avoid using speech and text: children cannot listen and read simultaneously. | 🗸 |
| Using speech and diagrams together aids learning. | 🗸 |
| Be concise with your language to reduce children’s cognitive load. | 🗸 |
| Reveal new information slowly. | 🗸 |
| Strip back presentation: remove extraneous visuals and text. | 🗸 |
| Use signalling to direct pupils’ attention where you need it (use highlighting, underlining, pointing and bold text/text size) | 🗸 |
| Explicitly teach vocabulary. | 🗸 |
Example
In a science lesson when teaching children about how the heart works, show a simplified diagram of the heart without labels. Then use concise language to explain the different functions.
Further Information
Power Up Your Pedagogy: Bruce Robertson (Page 157)
Video
Video coming soon