John Sweller's Cognitive Load Theory

Researchers and educators have been consistently searching for a learning theory that would effectively contribute to meaningful learning experiences and outcomes. John Sweller (2005), proponent of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), suggests that for learning to happen, cognitive processes and components in the working memory must be reduced for effective storage of information in the long term memory. While many studies supports that long term memory is limitless and boundless, the working memory is not. It is, in fact, very limited in capacity and duration. Information obtained in the working memory can only last for 20 to 30 seconds before it dissipate if not reinforced by repetition. Moreover, the working memory can only process 4 to 5 elements