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Cognitive Aging and Computer-Based Instructional Design: Where Do We Go From Here?

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Abstract

In this article, themost relevant literature on cognitive aging and instructional design is merged to formulate recommendations for designing computer-based training material aimed at elderly learners. The core message is that researchers and instructional designers do not need to develop special computerized instruction for older adults. Rather, existing principles of general instructional and multimedia design can be evaluated and used to accommodate the needs of elderly learners. Particular attention is given to John Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and Richard Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). It is argued that these instructional theories bear important benefits for older learners because they support an efficient use of available cognitive resources. New research directions are suggested to test the implications of these theories for learning in old age.

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Notes

  1. Solution to the water-jug problem in Fig. 1: The five units of water in the right working jug are poured into the left working jug, which has a capacity of seven units and can thus receive two more units of water. If the right jug is refilled and poured into the left jug, three units remain in the right jug. These three units are poured into the left jug after the left jug is emptied. Thus, the left jug can contain four more units of water. If the right jug is refilled with five units and is then poured into the left jug, one unit remains in the right jug. This is exactly the required amount of water which is subsequently poured into the target jug.

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Acknowledgments

We thank three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the first version of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurocognition, Faculty of Psychology, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200, MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Pascal W. M. Van Gerven

  2. Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Fred Paas

  3. Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Huib K. Tabbers

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  1. Pascal W. M. Van Gerven
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Correspondence to Pascal W. M. Van Gerven.

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Van Gerven, P.W.M., Paas, F. & Tabbers, H.K. Cognitive Aging and Computer-Based Instructional Design: Where Do We Go From Here?. Educ Psychol Rev 18, 141–157 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9005-4

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