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Cognitive Load Theory and Its Relationships with Motivation : a Self-Determination Theory Perspective
Evans, Paul Vansteenkiste, Maarten Parker, Philip David Kingsford-Smith, Andrew Zhou, Sijing
Evans, Paul
Vansteenkiste, Maarten
Parker, Philip David
Kingsford-Smith, Andrew
Zhou, Sijing
Abstract
Although cognitive load theory research has studied factors associated with motivation, these literatures have primarily been developed in isolation from each other. In this contribution, we aimed to advance both fields by examining the effects of instructional strategies on learners’ experience of cognitive load, motivation, engagement, and achievement. Students (N = 1287) in years 7–10 in four Australian high schools completed survey measures of motivation, engagement, cognitive load, and their teachers’ perceived instructional strategies and motivating style. Results suggest that teachers’ load-reducing instructional strategies were related to lower cognitive load and were positively associated with relative autonomous motivation, engagement, and achievement. Teachers’ motivating styles characterized by autonomy support and structure were also associated with reduced extraneous and intrinsic cognitive load, as well as motivation and engagement. We conclude that by using load-reducing strategies and a motivating style characterized by structure and autonomy support, teachers can reduce students’ cognitive load and improve their self-regulated motivation, engagement, and achievement. In so doing, we discuss a number of future avenues for the joint study of self-determination theory and cognitive load theory, with the aim of refining and extending both perspectives.
Keywords
Cognitive load theory, Self-determination theory, Motivation, Engagement, Disengagement, Circumplex
Date
2024
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
36
Issue
7
Page Range
1-25
Article Number
ACU Department
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
File Access
Open
Open
Open
Notes
© The Author(s) 2024
his article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/.
Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions
his article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/.
Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions