Oversize Load - Using Cognitive Load Theory to Curate the Readiness Process
This interactive workshop is designed to provide educators with a better understanding of the different types of cognitive load and how to modify the readiness process to optimize cognitive load.
About this event
The design of the readiness process (i.e., pre-class learning objectives, materials, and instructions) is a critical yet highly variable phase within team-based learning. In health professions education, the readiness process often involves "complex learning" (i.e., the integration of numerous interacting elements such as anatomy & physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, etc.). Creating a readiness process for complex learning tasks requires a delicate balance between time constraints, the volume of information to be covered, and the mental workload (i.e., cognitive load) imposed on learners.
In this interactive team-based learning workshop we will focus on practical ways to curate the readiness process through the lens of cognitive load theory. Attendees will learn about the basic tenets of cognitive load theory, how it can inform the design of pre-class materials, and practical ways to exchange unnecessary cognitive load with productive cognitive load. Attendees are invited to participate in the small and large group discussions.
Who this is for
- Deans, educators, instructional designers, and others who want to learn about how to improve the readiness process of team-based learning.*
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this online workshop, participants should be able to:- Describe the three types of cognitive load (intrinsic, extraneous, and germane).
- Explain how cognitive overload influences learning.
- Compare and contrast methods to replace unproductive cognitive load with productive cognitive load.
- Recommend modifications to the readiness process to optimize cognitive load.
- Experience the TBL approach on InteDashboard from a student's perspective
*The session will have a health professions focus and is geared towards health science educators; however, the principles discussed are relevant across multiple disciplines.
Online Events Details
Chicago
New York
Singapore
Sydney
About the facilitator
Dr. Zachary Noel
Dr. Zachary Noel is a passionate educator and evidence-based education enthusiast. He obtained his Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy and completed his post-graduate residency training at UK Healthcare in Lexington, KY. He is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and is currently a student in the Health Professions Education PhD program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. His research interests are focused on the intersection of team-based learning, motivational theory, and cognitive load theory.
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What our workshop participants say
What our workshop participants say
I work in the administration with tasks like adapting the syllabus to the teaching and assessment so it is very valuable to understand how TBL works in real life to be able to transform it to a legal language.
Carolina Carneck
Karolinska Institute, Administrative OfficerBeing on the learner side, exploring how learners would utilize the platform were the most valuable aspect of the workshop.
Shikara Poblete
University of Santo Tomas, Faculty - Civil EngineeringLearning from the students' perspective is the most valuable aspect of these TBL-styled workshops.
Holly Turula
Western Michigan University, Assistant Professor, Biomedical ScienceThis was valuable to me as a refresher since I have not tried to run an online TBL since spring 2020. It was also valuable to network with people from other institutions and hear how they are using TBL in their curriculum.
Rachel Hopkins
SUNY Upstate Medical University, Associate Professor, MedicineWe have been doing TBL for a number of years and I think these workshops gave us a better idea of what we are doing right, what we are doing wrong, as well as just raising our game in general. Also, we put together our TBL sessions in an ad hoc manner, but having tutors that have done hundreds of these sessions discuss the reasoning behind the way they do things gave me a lot to think about. We formally focused on the mechanics of running TBL rather than just trying to "put together a case". It just feels more structured and focused now than it did before the workshop.
Ronald Mackenzie, PhD
Texas McGovern Medical Center, Assistant Professor, ResearchVery well organized workshop, covered many questions about how online TBL works, emphasized issues/problems in moving online
Kevin Krane
Tulane University, Vice Deam Professor, Academic Affairs MedicineI enjoyed the workshop thoroughly - getting to experience online TBL as a participant, getting helpful tips on facilitation, getting to ask questions about things I had wondered about. Learning that facilitating can work better if you address particular teams was transformative.
Tessa Milman
University of Southern California, Assistant Professor, Clinical Occupational TherapyGetting to work closely with experts in all different fields, getting the opportunity to hear from persons from all different backgrounds and expertise. The variety fo guest facilitators were also great.
Stephanie Date
Ross University, Instructor Medical FoundationsIt was straightforward, and it led me to believe that I can easily do TBL in online modality.
Martha Mansah
Griffith University, Lecturer, NursingThe idea that TBL can be done online finds me in awe since we have been doing it in-person and online TBL is much easier from a students' perspective!
Michael Busa
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Director, Center for Human Health & PerformanceAll aspects of the workshop were valuable. I learned things ouside of the curriculum; appreciation of others viewpoints, to keep an open mind to different techniques, to let others voice their views and speak.
Ian Murray
Texas A&M University, Instructional Associate Professor, PhysiologyWhile I was already familiar with TBL, this workshop really helped me visualize how to move it online. It was very helpful to see how it was moderated. I gained a great deal from the discussions with the others. It was good to review the core principles.
Neal Carter
Brigham Young University - Idaho, Professor, Political ScienceI loved the workshop - all of it! Probably most valuable was experiencing first hand how it all works together in the online environment. Besides that, learning about constructing MCQs and how to construct an effective TBL module were most useful.
Fiona Denney
Brunel University London Brunel Business School, Professor, Business EducationGreat example of the introduction and how to prep participants on what was going to happen and how and when. Very helpful to see the breakout sessions along with the full group interaction. Also a nice demonstration of how to handle incoming comments and questions from the participants.
Kristin Gosselink
Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, Associate Professor, Physiology & PathologyI value that I was able to come away visualizing how I could implement TBL in an online environment.
Dana Wanzer
University of Wisconsin-Stout, Assistant Professor, PsychologyTeam-Based Learning Fundamentals Series turned out to be a great learning experience for me. The series illustrated how the prework and participation in the process leads to greater understanding and retention. I've had some experience with TBL in the past, however, learning from these experts with years of experience brought my understanding, and hopefully skills, to another level altogether.
Miriam Feuerman, PhD
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Associate ProfessorI wanted to thank the InteDashboard team for hosting such a wonderful workshop series. Communication was timely and accurate, all the learning outcomes and my personal expectations were met, organization was superb, and I learned a lot! I will definitely recomment InteDashboard and any workshops you host to my colleagues. Plus, I hope to convince my administration to adopt InteDashboard to facilitate our TBL activities.
Adam Kolatorowicz, PhD
DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine at LMU-Knoxville, Associate Professor, AnatomyI enjoyed the online workshop series experience very much and feel I did get a good start on understanding some of the basics of TBL. I am not on the cutting edge of using technology and learning via online methods so it was a bit out of my comfort zone as I tried to manage the technology, listening and participating, and summarizing. Having said that, I think it is a tribute to the quality of the program that made the experience enjoyable and a meaningful learning opportunity. I am appreciative of the entire team, including the facilitators, that were a part of this program. Your follow-up and the technology support was evident and consistently well handled. Also, I did like working with the same team members throughout the program and also found it helpful to hear from the other program participants whose previous TBL experiences contributed to the discussions.
Margaret L. Wilkinson, PhD, MA
Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Associate Dean Assistant Professor, Pre-Clinical Education Department of Family MedicineThe most valuable takeaway from the workshop was going through an online TBL itself, very practical tips and advices.
Dr. Zhe Han
National University of Singapore, Lecturer, Department of PharmacyGetting to experience TBL for myself throughout the workshops, and hearing about the experiences of so many others who have tried it in different areas was an insightful experience.
Nicolette Richardson
York University, Associate Professor, KINE AnatomyIt was valuable to be able to experience myself how TBL online can work and to see some of the problems we can anticipate when implementing it.