From Chaos to Order: Addressing Cognitive Overload in the Learning Journey

This book explores the multifaceted role cognitive load has on one’s learning journey, while introducing actionable approaches and resources to help bolster success.

Multiple deadlines, competing responsibilities, an endless barrage of information, and constant stress: these situations are becoming increasingly common and intense for 21st-century learners. Even well-established needs, like finding and accessing relevant, credible information, take up more cognitive energy in this ever-changing information landscape. As pressure and complexity converge, learners are more likely to experience cognitive overload.

Cognitive load refers to the amount of information an individual is able to retain in their working memory at one time. When cognitive load is surpassed, it can be much more difficult to process, encode, and retain new information. The purpose of this book is to help professionals transform passive efforts to support learners into more purposeful actions that address cognitive overload in the context of research and information seeking.

Library practitioners may take cognitive load into consideration when creating resources like LibGuides, designing instruction sessions, or planning programming. Yet cognitive load cannot be addressed through isolated efforts; it cuts across departmental boundaries and organizational silos. To reflect the cross-sectoral dynamic of cognitive load and its impact, this book is organized around three crucial areas of one’s learning journey: Instruction, Systems, and Outreach.

Each section hosts a diverse collection of instructional, system design, and outreach/programmatic ideas that are built upon Cognitive Load Theory, providing readers with actionable approaches and resources that can inform their own practices when meeting the needs of their patrons.

Whether you are a seasoned professional, new to your role, or just keen to explore the intersectionality of cognitive load throughout the learning journey, From Chaos to Order is designed to bring together useful theories, practices, and provocations for future exploration.

Courtney McAllister (MA, MLIS) is a Senior Solution Architect at Atypon, where she leverages her library background and technology expertise to consult with publishers and map their needs to platform features. The emphasis on needs assessment, collaborative problem-solving, user experience optimization, and accessibility builds upon McAllister’s earlier work as a Library Services Engineer (EBSCO) and Electronic Resources Librarian (Yale Law and The Citadel). McAllister’s research interests focus on change management, human computer interaction, and usability. She authored Change Management for Library Technologists: A LITA Guide and serves as the Associate Editor for The Serials Librarian and Serials Review.

Elliott C. Rose (MLIS) is a STEM Librarian at The Pennsylvania State University and provides research, instruction, and collection development support to the School of Earth and Mineral Sciences. They have an ongoing research interest in cognitive load, belonging in the library, instruction pedagogy, accessible resources, and open educational resources (OERs). They have previously served as a co-editor for the LITA Guide, Augmented and Virtual Reality in Libraries, and authored (and co-authored) various book chapters and articles on inclusive teaching, outreach, communication in the sciences, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Sara C. Kern (MA, MSLIS) is an Engineering Librarian at the Pennsylvania State University, where she provides outreach, instruction, and other research support to the College of Engineering. She has authored or co-authored several book chapters and articles, most focused on accessible outreach and instruction. Her research centers on undergraduate and graduate student engagement with the libraries, specifically how inclusive instruction practices and a variety of types of programming and outreach can impact student engagement and sense of belonging.