Top 5 Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in eLearning

Research shows that over 77% of companies, businesses, and corporations use eLearning strategies.

By 2020-2021, 98% of corporations are planning to incorporate eLearning into their programs. The U.S eLearning market will grow by $12 billion between 2020 and 2024. Likewise, the global online learning market will reach a whopping $325 billion by 2025. Studies highlight that eLearning increases retention rate by 60%, but you must reduce cognitive load to ensure the information is actually being processed. 

Learning procurement and supply chain management helps companies streamline their operations and maximize profits. Our eLearning enables businesses and employees to understand the core concepts of supplier quality, cost reduction, supply assurance, and other vital strategies that can reduce overall supply chain risk.

Online learning provides substantial benefits to companies, but it is crucial to know how to reduce cognitive load in elearning because the extraneous cognition can create distractions and prevent employees’ working memory from information processing. Thus, it is important we ensure all of our courses strike a perfect balance. Here are a few ways we reduce cognitive load in our courses.

The duration or length is an important factor to consider when creating a supply chain management course. Many Learning and Development Professionals tend to reduce the length of the course, but at the same time, they add to much content into the course. As a result, it leads to more cognitive load, and employees start to lose interest in learning procurement and related concepts.

Choosing a specific duration of time for the course can help reduce cognitive load. Research shows that eLearners who take regular breaks can process more information and remain productive throughout the online class. Therefore, breaking down content into smaller chunks lead to an engaging learning process.

Infographics are used in a variety of ways, from illustrating the latest supply chain trends to learning sales strategies. These concepts can be used practically to increase return on investment (ROI). Infographics are a powerful and practical tool in eLearning. Introducing infographics in the procurement course, for example, can reduce lengthy content.

Learning complicated supply chain tasks that involve different steps is usually challenging. An infographic makes a difficult content easy to understand. Not only do infographics make the course content visually appealing, but they also make it more engaging and memorable. Infographics simplify and distil the information down to easily digestible pieces.

Creating an intuitive user interface can significantly reduce cognitive load in elearning. The interface is the first thing that most eLearners notice after they log into the supply chain management course. Focus on the user interface design principles, which are:

In simple words, the user interface creates the first impression, which means it must be appealing to the learners. Having an easy-to-use interface will make the learners pulled into the procurement, supply chain, and sales courses.

Create a user interface that engages and communicates directly in the user’s language. It must also provide shortcuts and navigation buttons that allow the user to jump from one page to another easily. That way, the learner does not get lost.

Practical work encourages online learners to perform experiments. It promotes self-learning and familiarizes employees with essential tools to master the concepts of procurement, supply chain management, and sales.

If you want to reduce cognitive load in your e-learning courses, it is wise to implement practical learning methods. That way, your learners will get to practice the concepts they have learned throughout the course.

Moreover, applying practical methods in the eLearning course design can reduce cognitive load. It allows learners to make informed decisions and apply the concepts of real-life situations.

That will help learners retain the course content for a long time. Some of the methods you can include are performance support resources, video content, practical exercises, polls, and short quizzes.

Experts recommend authentic, relevant, and real-world course content that allows users to learn about procurement and supply chain management. The content should be constructive, sequential, and interlinked. It must require learners to use and engage with higher-order cognitive processes.

To reduce cognitive load in online learning, create course content that is aligned with procurement and supply chain concepts. It must also provide a challenge to the learners so that they remain interested in the course and have increased learning motivation.

The writing style also plays a key role in the eLearning course. Experts recommend writing clear and concise content to enables the learners to understand the concepts easily. Avoid using irrelevant ideas, concepts, and topics of discussion. Be clear, concise, and straightforward!

eLearning is one of the most effective ways to share knowledge. Cutting-edge technology advancements have made the online learning process accessible, easier, and effective. Although eLearning offers various benefits, it is essential to keep things clean, simple, and organized to reduce cognitive load for learners.

Read more about, why eLearning is the future for corporate training.