Babylon University-College of EducationSafi yil Dee Alhilli
The Cognitive Load of the Eleventh Grade Students
According to Their Perceptual Model Sensory
Preferences Comparison Study
A Thesis submitted to:
The Council of College of Education- Safi yil Deen Alhilli at the
University of Babylon as a Partial Fulfillment of Master Degree
Requirements in the Field of Educational Psychology
Prepared By:
Najat Mohammad Moter
Supervised by:
Kadhem Abidnoor (Ph. D, Assist. Prof.)
Ramadan, 1431 A. H
September, 2011 A.C
The Cognitive Load of the Eleventh Grade Students According to Their Perceptual
Model - Sensory Preferences: A Comparison Study
The Abstract
This Study has been offered out at Babylon University in Hilla - Iraq,
during the Academic Year (2009-2010) as a fulfillment of Master degree
requirements in the field of Educational Psychology. Its problem emerged
from the difficulties that the learners face when a large quantity of
knowledge is presented to them during the teaching - learning processes.
The short - term memory (the working memory), which has a limited
capacity, cannot process the large amount of knowledge. Therefore,
cognitive load impose on the working memory causing inactive learning.
To activate learning, learners needs to use an active perceptual Model.
From these arguments, the problem of this study has emerged to answer the
following question: Is the perceptual model the students prefer leads to
significant
differences
in
their
cognitive
load?
The importance of this study comes from the importance of the study
variables which include secondary schools students, working memory,
sensory preferences, and the cognitive load. The future of the country
depends mainly upon the active learning of the present generations which
this scientific study tries to introduce through its findings and its
implications.
The population of this study consisted of (2122) Eleventh Grade Students Scientific sector, males and Females Subjects studying at secondary
schools located within the Hilla metropolitan. Its sample is consisted of
(212) subjects, consisting about (10%) of the population. (108) of them are
males and (104) are female. They were selected randomly from (8)
secondary schools, (4) for males and (4) for males. Those schools
consisting about (20%) out of the (33) total secondary schools in Hilla
metropolitan.
This
study
aimed
at:
1- Assessing the level of cognitive load that the subjects of this study
possess.
2- Knowing the nature of sensory preferences (visual, reading-writing,
aural, and kinesthetic) that the subjects of this study possess.
3- Assessing the significant difference of the level of cognitive load of the
male and female subjects of this study.
4- Assessing the significant difference of the nature of the perceptual
preferences of the male and female subjects of this study.
5- Assessing the significant difference of the levels of cognitive load of the
subjects of this study according to their sensory preferences.
6- Assessing the significant difference in the levels of cognitive load of the
male and female subjects of this study according to their sensory
preferences.
The main instruments of this study were two scales. The first was the
(VARK) Test of Vierheller (2005) to assess the Perceptual Model sensory preferences and the second was prepare by this investigator to
assess
the
subjects'
cognitive
load.
To achieve the aims of this study, the investigator has applied the two
Scales to the subjects, during (22/4 - 6/5/2010) and then their scores
statically analyzed. The findings were as follows:
1-The level of cognitive load that the subjects of this study possess was
high and significant at (0.01).
2- There are significant differences at (0.01) among the sensory
preferences (visual, reading-writing, aural, and kinesthetic) that the subjects
of this study possess. The kinesthetic preference was the highest among
them.
3- There are significant differences at (0.05) of the levels of cognitive load
of the male and female subjects of this study possess according to their
sensory
preferences.
4- There are not significant differences at (0.05) among the levels of
cognitive load that the male and female subjects of this study possess.
5- There are not significant differences (0.05) among the nature of sensory
preferences that the male and female subjects of this study possess.
6- There are not significant differences at (0.05) in the levels of cognitive
load of the male and female subjects of this study according to their
sensory preferences.
Those findings allowed this investigator to sate some recommendations and
suggestions. Those recommendations are:
1- Re-designing the school curriculum to reduce the three main
cognitive loads the Intrinsic, Extraneous and the German ones.
2- Providing schools with educational technology including information
technology and labs to reduce the cognitive loads of the students and
improve their memories.
And the study suggestions are:
1- Carrying out an experimental study to investigate the impact of the
four sensory preferences upon the cognitive load of secondary schools
students, male and female, scientific and not scientific sectors.
2- Carrying out a comparison study to investigate the sensory
preferences among the talented and not talented students in different
fields of study at a university stage.