Cognitive overload is when our brains receive too much information to process at one time. When we teach in-person we have the advantage of proximity and the ability to read body language and read the cues that our students give off. But when we teach virtually we lose all those abilities which can cause us (teachers) to overload our students with too much at one time. When we are teaching we can read our students cues, these tell us if they understand or if they need more help. Without the help of these cues we can unintentionally assume students are comprehending when they actually are not.
Cognitive overload is common when teaching virtually, we’ve probably all done this to our students with the best intentions, of course. There is so much pressure to teach more, teach it faster and make sure they learn a billion things in one session, but this is not possible or healthy. Contrary to what those who pressure us think, this is not best for our students. This just overwhelms students and adds to one of the reasons students don’t show up for virtual class.
Student Processing time Takes Longer
When teaching our students virtually it will take them longer to process information. We must also remember that time in virtual space is not equivalent to the amount of time spent teaching in-person. This time does not transfer one to one. For example, ten minutes virtually teaching is not equal to ten minutes of in-person teaching.
Time spent in the virtual classroom seems much longer, therefore we tend to teach much faster. In reality time spent virtually is the same but our students’ attention span is greatly reduced when we teach them virtually compared to teaching them in person. This is why we cannot try to teach “all the things” at once.
We must prepare to give students more “think time” and spend more time explaining and practicing processes that will be used on a regular basis like turning in assignments in google classroom or opening a google slide.
Why Processing Takes Longer
There are a few reasons why processing can take longer when learning virtually. One is having too many steps to complete a task. When students have to click too many times to get to the assignment or the resource you want them to use, this adds to cognitive load and slows down their processing time. This can overwhelm adults too. This is why you want students to reach assignments and resources in the least amount of clicks possible,use one click if possible. Students are splitting their concentration. Although they are in a virtual space with you, they are also at home, in their space, which makes it harder to concentrate.
Another reason is that students cannot read your cues, body language or make eye contact with you. We all depend on these cues to help us understand each other.
Although we are teaching virtually we want our students to thrive. We can do that by not teaching “all the things” at once, leaving more time to learn processes used on a regular basis and reducing the number of clicks it takes to complete a task. These things will reduce their cognitive overload and encourage their virtual success.