For more than three decades, cognitive load theory has been addressing learning from a cognitive perspective. Based on this instructional theory, design recommendations and principles have been derived to manage the load on working memory while learning. The increasing attention paid to cognitive load theory in educational science quickly…

Cognitive load theory's incorporation of evolutionary perspectives has generated several instructional designs based on movement, including the tracing effect, occurring when learners benefit from explicit instructions to trace out specific elements of lesson materials with the index finger. Historical descriptions of children's tracing behaviours…

Objective: Explicit instructions to students to use the index finger to trace out specified elements of mathematics worked examples have been shown to improve mathematics learning outcomes; however, there is limited research on whether the magnitude of tracing actions impacts these outcomes. Method: Using an experimental design, 34 adults were…

Given the widespread use of touch screen devices, the effect of the users' fingers on information processing and learning is of growing interest. The present study drew on cognitive load theory and embodied cognition perspectives to investigate the effects of pointing and tracing gestures on the surface of a multimedia learning instruction.…

People can make pointing gestures and tracing actions with the index finger with little or no conscious effort. From the perspective of cognitive load theory, such "biologically primary" gestures and actions might help people learn "biologically secondary" concepts and skills requiring extended cognitive effort, such as…

The expansion of cognitive load theory to include evolutionary perspectives posits that biologically primary knowledge might support the acquisition of biologically secondary knowledge, which needs explicit instruction for novices to construct. Pointing and tracing actions with the index finger may be forms of biologically primary knowledge that…

Cognitive load theory has incorporated evolutionary perspectives to consider how "biologically primary knowledge" (such as physical movement and pointing), acquired through evolutionary processes, might support the acquisition of "biologically secondary knowledge" (such as reading or writing), requiring explicit teaching.…

Cognitive load theory seeks to generate novel instructional designs through a focus on human cognitive architecture including a limited working memory; however, the potential for enhancing learning through non-visual or non-auditory working memory channels is yet to be evaluated. This exploratory experiment tested whether explicit instructions to…