TABLE 1. Practices to maximize student learning from educational videos

Finally, the utility of video lessons can be maximized by matching modality to content. By using both the audio/verbal channel and the visual/pictorial channel to convey new infor-mation, and by fitting the particular type of information to the most appropriate channel, instructors can enhance the germane cognitive load of a learning experience.

Weeding, or the elimination of interesting but extraneous information that does not contribute to the learning goal, can provide further benefits. For example, music, complex back-grounds, or extra features within an animation require the learner to judge whether he or she should be paying attention to them, which increases extraneous load and can reduce learn-ing.

The benefits of signaling are complemented by segmenting, or the chunking of information in a video lesson. Segmenting allows learners to engage with small pieces of new information and gives them control over the flow of new information.

Signaling, which is also known as cueing (deKoning et al., 2009), is the use of on-screen text or symbols to highlight important information. For example, signaling may be provided by the appearance of two or three key words (Mayer and John-son, 2008; Ibrahim et al., 2012), a change in color or contrast (deKoning et al., 2009), or a symbol that draws attention to a region of a screen (e.g., an arrow; deKoning et al., 2009).

The third component of a learning experience is extraneous load, which is cognitive effort that does not help the learner toward the desired learning outcome.

The first of these is intrinsic load, which is inherent to the subject under study and is determined in part by the degrees of connec-tivity within the subject

he second component of any learning experience is germane load, which is the level of cognitive activity necessary to reach the desired learning outcome—for example, to make the comparisons, do the analysis, and elucidate the steps necessary to master the lesson.

This processing is a prerequisite for encoding into long-term memory, which has virtually unlimited capacity. Because working memory is very limited, the learner must be selective about what information from sensory mem-ory to pay attention to during the learning process, an observa-tion that has important implications for creating educational materials

Cognitive load theory, initially articulated by Sweller (1988, 1989, 1994), suggests that memory has several components. Sensory memory is tran-sient, collecting information from the environment. Information from sensory memory may be selected for temporary storage and processing in working memory,

Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in the California Community Colleges, Contextualized Teaching and Learning (CTL) is identified as a promising strategy that actively engages students and promotes improved learning and skills development. CTL has been defined in different ways, based on the intent of the group championing its use. Most recently, the United States Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education (2001) characterized CTL as a “conception of teaching and learning that helps teachers relate subject matter c

This theory posits that memory has two components: storage strength and retrieval strength. Retrieval events improve storage strength, enhancing overall memory, and the effects are most pronounced at the point of forgetting—that is, retrieval at the point of forgetting has a greater impact on memory than repeated retrieval when retrieval strength is high.